Hire a Bricklayer Perth WA - Get Local Quotes

Matching a Perth Bricklayer to the Size of Your Job

Bricklayers in Perth typically charge $60 to $100 an hour, although anything bigger than a small repair is often priced by the thousand bricks or by the square metre of finished wall. The work ranges from a new double brick home or a brick garage to a front fence, a letterbox pier or a few cracked bricks under a window. Choosing well starts with matching the size of your job to the type of business, since a crew that lays whole houses for project builders may not want a two day fence. If you are still choosing between veneer, double brick, blockwork and aerated concrete, start with WA bricklaying and blockwork services, as this page stays with hiring, contracts and running a Perth job. It is written for homeowners who want to judge a brick quote before signing.

Clear job details save time for you and every bricklayer who quotes. Say what is being built or repaired, its length and height, and whether the bricks have to match an existing wall or can be a new colour. Note how a truck can reach the site, because a pallet of bricks dropped on the verge and barrowed down a narrow side path adds labour hours to the price. Photos of the existing brickwork and the ground where the work will go help a bricklayer spot problems early. If you already have plans, an engineer's design or a council permit, send copies with the first enquiry so each price follows the same drawings. For a room addition the bricklayer is one of several trades, and the builder running a home extension books the brickwork as part of the wider contract.

Perth Brick and Block Prices for 2026

Brick veneer, a single skin of face brick tied to a timber or steel frame, typically costs $180 to $280 per square metre supplied and laid in Perth. Double brick, which uses two full brick walls with an air gap, the cavity, between them, runs at about $250 to $380 per square metre because there are twice as many bricks to lay. Concrete blockwork comes in at $150 to $250 per square metre, and a rendered besser block retaining wall about one metre high, built from hollow concrete blocks, runs at $420 to $680 per linear metre. Midland Brick and Austral Bricks both make face bricks and pavers sold in WA, and the range and colour you choose can move the material cost well beyond the labour.

Repointing, which means raking out worn mortar joints and filling them with fresh mortar, typically costs $80 to $150 per square metre, and small brick repairs fall in a similar band. Matching new brickwork to an older home costs more, at about $200 to $350 per square metre, because second hand or specially sourced bricks take longer to find. Footings are a separate line, with strip footings for a fence or garden wall typically $180 to $420 per linear metre depending on depth and the engineer's design. Engineering for a wall or fence adds $500 to $1,500, and the council's building permit fee for a small structure runs at roughly $80 to $280. Retaining walls carry their own extras, including drainage at $45 to $95 per linear metre, and the overall retaining wall cost in WA rises with the height of the wall and the material chosen.

Reading a Perth Quote Priced Per Thousand Bricks

Perth bricklayers can quote labour per thousand bricks, at about $1,200 to $2,000 per thousand for laying alone. That figure covers laying only, so bricks, sand, cement, scaffolding, wall ties (metal ties holding brick to the frame or inner wall) and lintels (beams carrying brick over openings) are added separately or supplied by you or your builder. Large format bricks such as the Maxibrick, which is bigger than a standard brick, cover more wall per unit and can be priced at a different rate per thousand. Square metre prices are easier for homeowners to compare, because they already allow for the number of bricks in each square metre of wall. You can convert one method into the other with the brick count on the plans, which lets the totals line up side by side. Small repairs can be charged by the hour or by the day, and a quote should state any minimum charge for the visit.

Day rates of about $850 to $1,500 tend to cover a team of two bricklayers and an apprentice, and they suit work where the amount of laying is hard to measure in advance. Repairs around old windows and cutting in a new opening are typical examples of that kind of work. The weakness of a day rate is that a slow day costs you the same as a productive one, so agree on a rough number of days and a cap before work starts. Scaffolding, a labourer to carry bricks and waste removal can each appear as separate charges under any of these methods. Site mortar is mixed from sand, cement and lime, using products from makers such as Cockburn Cement in WA or Cement Australia. The mix should suit the wall, and a quote that names the mortar class required by the design is easier to check later.

Travel can appear as a charge when a small job sits a long way from the bricklayer's base, such as a northern suburbs crew quoting a fence in Byford. Larger jobs absorb that cost, so it matters more on repairs, piers and letterboxes. Weather affects the schedule as well, since fresh mortar must be protected from heavy rain, and very hot, windy days dry it too quickly. Good quotes state how lost days are handled and whether the price holds if the start moves back several weeks.

Who Makes Perth's Bricks Now

Midland Brick, which makes clay bricks, pavers and masonry blocks in WA, was once part of Boral and is now owned by the West Australian building group BGC. The ACCC announced in December 2020 that it would not oppose BGC buying the business, so older brochures linking Midland Brick to Boral are out of date. Austral Bricks, part of Brickworks, ran a clay brick plant at Cardup, south east of Perth, until it was mothballed in April 2023. Mothballed means a plant is shut down but kept in a condition that allows it to restart later. The WA Government now describes the state's brick market as short of supply, which is the reason it gave for helping the Cardup plant reopen.

On 29 September 2026 the state government announced up to $4 million to help Brickworks recommission Cardup, made up of $3 million upfront and two incentive payments of $500,000. The plan targets a restart by March 2027, with about 17 million Maxibricks expected within the first year of production. The government says that output would lift WA brick production by about 10 to 15 per cent. The announcement is published on the WA Government website, and the restart date is a target, not a promise.

Bricks are therefore a line item to settle before signing, not something you can assume will turn up. Find out who is ordering the bricks, which range and colour has been chosen and whether the supplier has confirmed stock for your dates. Face bricks for a front fence or a matching extension are harder to swap than plain bricks that will be rendered, since a substitute may not match. Rendered walls give more freedom, because the render coat hides colour differences between brick batches. If a chosen colour is discontinued, get the replacement range agreed in writing before any bricks are laid. Hebel panels, made by CSR, are an aerated concrete alternative for some walls, and the WA bricklaying page linked above weighs them against clay brick.

Start Dates, Back Orders and Paying for Bricks

Under the Home Building Contracts Act 1991, progress payments on a covered contract should pay for work already done or materials already delivered, not for bricks still waiting at the factory. That rule matters when bricks are on back order and a builder asks for money to secure a delivery slot. Paying for materials that have not arrived leaves you exposed if the business stops trading before they reach your site. It is safer to pay the supplier's invoice directly, or to pay once the pallets are on your block and checked against the order. If the builder holds bricks in their own yard for your job, get written confirmation that those pallets are set aside for you. Each step ties the payment to something you can see and count.

Start dates on brick jobs can slip because of a late slab, a delayed delivery or rain on the day mortar is due. Your contract should say whether the price holds if the start moves and whether either side can end the agreement after a long delay. Read any rise and fall clause closely, since it lets the price change if material costs go up and moves that risk onto you. Where a quote includes one, it should carry a cap on any increase and require the supplier's invoices as proof. Fixed prices with a clear expiry date are easier to budget for than an open estimate.

Brick batches can vary slightly in colour, so bricklayers blend bricks from several pallets to avoid visible bands. That blending only works if all the bricks for a wall arrive together or come from the same production run. Splitting a delivery between two dates when stock is short raises the chance of a colour change halfway up a wall. Checking the pallets against the order on the day they arrive catches a wrong colour before any of it is laid. Write the range name and batch details on the plans, or keep the delivery docket with the contract.

When the Job Needs a Registered Builder

Building and Energy, part of the Department of Local Government, Industry Regulation and Safety (LGIRS), says WA building work of $20,000 or more that needs a permit must be done by a registered builder. Bricklayers who are not registered can still lay the bricks on that job, but only as subcontractors to a registered builder who holds the contract with you. Work under $20,000, or work that does not need a permit, can be contracted directly with an unregistered bricklayer. Check the registration number on any contract that claims one against the register of building practitioners kept by Building and Energy.

From 1 July 2026, Class 10a buildings, the building code's term for non-habitable structures such as garages, carports and sheds, valued at less than $50,000 no longer need a registered builder. Double brick garages with their own slab and roof can easily cost more than $20,000, so the change lets an owner contract a bricklayer directly for that kind of work below $50,000. The exemption removes the registered builder requirement only, and the garage still needs a building permit and must meet the building code. Because the Home Building Contracts Act covers garages, a written contract is still needed when the price falls between $7,500 and $500,000. The state guidance ties home indemnity insurance to permit work over $20,000, so check with Building and Energy how that applies to an exempt garage before paying a deposit. Kit sheds are priced very differently from brick garages, so compare quotes for shed and garage construction or carport installation before settling on brick.

Fences and retaining walls are treated as incidental structures under the WA registration rules, so a bricklayer can build them without being a registered builder even when a permit is needed. The permit and any engineering still have to be in place before work starts on site. Extensions, new homes and structural repairs to a house are different, and those need a registered builder once they reach $20,000 and need a permit. When a builder runs the job, your contract is with the builder, and defects in the brickwork are the builder's responsibility to fix. That gives you one point of contact, but it adds the builder's margin to the price.

Written Contracts, Deposits and Indemnity Cover

The Home Building Contracts Act covers home building work priced between $7,500 and $500,000, and its definition of associated work includes fencing, garages, carports, retaining walls and paving. Contracts in that band must be in writing and signed by both parties, and Building and Energy says the maximum deposit is 6.5 per cent of the total contract price. Some guides still quote a lower cap for larger contracts, but current Building and Energy guidance gives 6.5 per cent across the band. On a $30,000 brick garage, that limits the deposit to $1,950 before any work is done. The full text sits on the WA legislation website, including section 7, which says each variation (a change to the agreed work) must be in writing, set out its terms and cost, and be signed by both parties. Changes agreed only by phone or on site leave both sides without a record of what the extra work was meant to cost.

Home indemnity insurance, often shortened to HII, must be in place for residential work that needs a permit and is worth more than $20,000. Building and Energy says it can cover the loss of a deposit up to $40,000 and incomplete or defective work up to $200,000. Get the certificate of insurance before paying any money, since Building and Energy advises owners not to pay until the cover is in place. Check that the certificate names your address, the builder and the work described in the contract.

For brickwork, the written contract should list the brick range and colour, the mortar colour and joint finish, and the number and position of any piers. It should also say who supplies the bricks, who arranges scaffolding and who removes the waste. Start and finish dates, payment stages and the defects period belong in the same document. The Act also requires a prescribed notice explaining your rights, which Building and Energy calls the Notice for the homeowner, to be given to you before you sign. Keep a signed copy of everything, including drawings and variations, until well after the defects period has ended.

Brick Front Fences and the 0.75 Metre Permit Line

Under Schedule 4 of the Building Regulations 2012, a masonry fence up to 0.75 metres high needs no building permit if the site is outside cyclone wind regions C and D and no local law says otherwise. Fences of other materials, such as timber or steel, are exempt up to 1.8 metres, so a brick fence reaches the permit stage much earlier. The City of Bayswater states that any brick, stone or concrete fence over 0.75 metres needs a building permit before construction. Permit applications for a brick fence can need a site plan, elevations and footing details, and a taller fence may need an engineer's design. Where the fence sits on top of retained ground, the retaining wall approval and engineering steps apply to the wall below it as well.

Planning rules sit on top of the permit, and the Residential Design Codes, known as the R-Codes, set the usual pattern for front fences. Bayswater can approve a front fence whose solid part is no more than 1.2 metres high, measured from street level. Above 1.2 metres, the R-Codes expect a front fence to be visually permeable, which the City of Joondalup explains as gaps of at least 50 mm covering a third of the surface, or smaller gaps covering at least half. One way to meet that rule is solid brick piers and a low brick base wall with open steel or aluminium panels between them, although Bayswater needs approval for brick piers taller than 1.8 metres. In the front setback, the strip between house and street, a solid wall over 1.2 metres generally needs planning approval, which can add weeks to the job. Corner blocks and streets covered by a local planning policy can have tighter rules, so read your council's policy before settling on a design.

Brick piers and base walls can be rendered, and Dulux AcraTex and Rockcote both make render and texture coating systems for masonry. Rendering adds cost, but it allows cheaper common bricks to be used under the finish. Gates, steel infill panels and gate motors are separate work, often handled by a business that does fence and gate installation rather than by the bricklayer. One quote covering brickwork, render and infill panels is easier to manage than three trades working to the same height.

Building in Brick Along the Neighbour's Side

Dividing fences between neighbours fall under the Dividing Fences Act 1961, and the cost of a sufficient fence is generally shared between the two owners. Building in brick costs much more than a standard steel or timber fence, and a neighbour is not required to pay for a better fence than a sufficient one unless they agree. Put any agreement on design, height, cost split and access in writing before a bricklayer is booked. Bayswater's guidance gives a usual maximum of 1.8 metres for dividing fences behind the front setback, or 2.1 metres where both owners agree. In that council, a dividing fence over 2.1 metres needs planning approval.

With a brick wall on the boundary, the crew needs access to the neighbour's side to lay and point the far face. That access should be agreed with the neighbour in writing, including dates, where materials will sit and how their garden or paving will be protected. Dated pictures of their side, taken on the first morning, give both owners a record if a paver cracks or a plant is crushed. Footings for a boundary wall cannot cross into the neighbour's land without their consent, so the footing design and the boundary line need to agree. Boundary surveys cost about $400 to $1,200 and make sense when an old fence line looks out of place. Walls that also hold back soil are a different job, with their own rules for boundary and shared retaining walls.

Old fences between Perth homes are sometimes made of fibro, a cement sheet that can contain asbestos if it was installed before 1990. Your bricklayer should not cut, break or pull out that fencing to make way for a brick wall. Removal belongs to a licensed asbestos removalist, and asbestos removal is priced and booked as a separate job. Plan the removal before the brick contract starts, because the wall cannot go up until the old fence is gone. Agreeing with the neighbour on who pays for the removal belongs in the same written agreement as the wall. Neighbours who cannot agree on brick may settle on another material, such as the steel or timber options used in WA fencing.

Cutting Bricks Under WA's 2024 Silica Rules

Clay bricks contain crystalline silica, and a factsheet from Think Brick Australia, the clay brick industry body, puts the content anywhere from 0.1 per cent to 60 per cent. The risk comes from cutting, grinding and drilling, which turn that silica into a fine dust that can scar the lungs. WA banned engineered stone from 1 July 2024, and from 1 September 2024 new rules began applying to the processing of all crystalline silica substances, not just engineered stone. Those rules require controlled processing, a risk assessment for any processing of silica materials, and extra duties for work assessed as high risk. The regulator for these rules is WorkSafe WA, part of LGIRS, which publishes guidance for contractors.

In practice, a compliant bricklayer cuts bricks with a saw fitted with a water feed or with an on-tool dust shroud connected to an extraction vacuum. Husqvarna, Stihl and Makita all make cut-off saws that can be fitted with a water supply for wet cutting. Hilti and Festool make dust extractors that connect to grinders and saws through a shroud at the blade. Respiratory protection, meaning a properly fitted mask rated for fine dust, is worn on top of those controls rather than instead of them.

Dry cutting with a handheld grinder and no extraction is described in the Think Brick factsheet as prohibited. Cutting outdoors, away from open windows, and wetting the cutting area before sweeping both reduce the dust that drifts off site. The dust lands on your property and can reach your family, so it is reasonable to find out how cutting will be done before the job starts. For the national rules on silica and engineered stone, check Safe Work Australia. Quotes that mention wet cutting or extraction give some confidence that the business has adjusted its methods to the 2024 rules.

Piers, Letterboxes and Repairs Under $7,500

Brick jobs can be small, such as a new letterbox, a pair of entry piers, a few replaced bricks or a short garden wall. Contracts below $7,500 sit outside the Home Building Contracts Act, so the deposit cap, the written contract rule and the four month defects term do not apply to them. You still have protection, because the Australian Consumer Law still requires services to be provided with due care and skill and to be fit for any purpose you made known. These consumer guarantees, described by the ACCC, apply alongside any warranty the business offers. Even on a small job, a written quote describing the work and the price is the clearest record if something goes wrong. An email accepting a detailed quote is a better record than a verbal agreement on the footpath.

Repairs to old brickwork deserve a careful look at the cause before anyone replaces bricks. Cracks that run through bricks and mortar in a stepped line can point to footing movement, which a bricklayer can patch but cannot fix. In that case an engineer or a building inspector should look at the wall first, and the repair may need trades from structural repairs before any repointing. Crumbling mortar and loose bricks near ground level can come from damp rising through the wall, and that problem needs rising damp assessment and repairs before any repointing. Good advice comes from a bricklayer who points out the likely cause and names the right specialist, not one who simply patches it.

Render on a brick pier or wall can crack and come away, and that repair is a job for a renderer, although some bricklayers do both. Where the brick underneath is damp or cracked, that needs fixing before any render repairs are carried out. Gaps between brickwork and window or door frames are closed with flexible sealant, and Sika and Bostik both make sealants made for masonry joints. Cracked or leaning sections of brick fence may be a case for fence repairs, or for a rebuild if the footing has failed.

The Four Month Window for Reporting Defects

Section 11 of the Home Building Contracts Act makes it a term of every covered contract that the builder must fix, at their own cost, defects notified in writing within four months of practical completion. Practical completion is the point when the work is finished apart from minor items, and the contract should say how it is recorded. Your contract can give you a longer defects period, and it is reasonable to request one on a large brick job. Four months is not long, so walk the work with the contract and plans soon after the bricklayer finishes. Look for mortar smears on face brick, uneven joints, chipped bricks and courses that are not level. Blocked weep holes, the small gaps left in the bottom course to let water out of the cavity, are also a defect to list.

Send your list to the builder or bricklayer in writing, by email or letter, with photos and the date each problem was noticed. Comments made on site do not meet the written notice the Act describes. If the defects period is about to run out and the business has not replied, send the notice anyway so the date is on record. Stepped cracks that appear during that window are a matter for a structural engineer as well as the bricklayer, because they can signal movement in the footings. An independent inspector who checks brickwork at handover can help you write a precise list, and a building inspection at that stage costs far less than arguing about faults later.

Working Around the Concreter, Plumber and Electrician

Brickwork sits on a slab or footing poured by a concreter, so the level and squareness of that concrete decide how easily the first course, the bottom row of bricks, goes down. If the slab is out of level, the bricklayer has to make up the difference in the mortar bed, which costs time and can show in the finished wall. For a garage, extension or fence with its own footing, check whether the concrete is in the bricklayer's price or comes from a separate Perth concreter. Agreeing who marks out the slab and who checks it before bricks arrive stops two trades arguing over whose work is wrong.

Plumbing pipes and drains that pass through or under a brick wall need to be in place, or have sleeves left for them, before the wall goes up. Downpipes from a new brick garage or extension also need to reach a soakwell, an underground pit that lets rainwater soak away, or a stormwater point, which is plumbing work rather than bricklaying. Plumbers who arrive after the wall is finished may have to drill through new brickwork, which costs more and can crack bricks near the hole. Booking the plumber for the rough-in, the stage where pipes are run before walls are closed, keeps the order of work simple. Stormwater pipes for a new garage are best planned before the slab is poured, so it helps to start hiring a plumber in Perth at the same time as the bricklayer. Bricklayers can leave openings for vents and pipe penetrations if they know the positions before they start laying.

Meter boxes and switchboards set into a brick wall need a recess built at the right size, and the electrician should confirm the dimensions before the wall reaches that height. Cables for outside lights or a gate motor are easier to run through conduit laid while the wall is being built. Booking a licensed electrician early through hiring an electrician in Perth avoids cutting chases, the channels cut into finished brick for cables, after the job is done. Before footings are dug, lodge an enquiry through Before You Dig Australia to see recorded underground cables and pipes in the area. Sharing a short written timeline with every trade keeps the job moving in the right order.

Council Rules That Change From One Suburb to the Next

Building permits for brick fences, garages and retaining walls are issued by the local council in WA, and each council applies its own local laws and planning policies on top of the state rules. The City of Fremantle, for example, asks for every retaining wall to be designed by a practising structural engineer, whatever its height, and needs a permit once a wall retains more than 0.5 metres. Even a low brick garden wall holding back soil in Fremantle therefore needs engineering that a wall elsewhere might not. Other councils have streetscape policies for heritage areas that can affect brick colour and fence height. The permit is your responsibility as the owner unless the contract gives that task to the builder or bricklayer.

Retaining walls in Perth are built from limestone as well as brick and block, and the choice changes both the look and the engineering. Limestone walls suit coastal gardens, while a rendered block wall gives a cleaner finish next to a brick house. If your bricklayer does not build in stone, a specialist in limestone retaining walls can quote that option and its footings. Brick paving around a new wall or garage can be a separate quote from a business that handles paving and driveway installation in clay or concrete pavers. Paving levels matter, because paving laid too high against a brick wall can rise above the damp course, the waterproof layer near the base of the wall. The bricklayer can mark the damp course height so the paver keeps the surface below it.

Homes on the state heritage register or a council heritage list need extra care, since changes to brickwork or fences may need planning approval before any permit. The state register is kept under the Heritage Act 2018, and councils keep their own local heritage surveys and lists. Repointing a heritage brick wall with hard modern cement mortar can damage soft old bricks, so the mortar for that work should match the original. Heritage brick matching and lime mortar are covered on the WA bricklaying page, so check your property's listing before choosing a bricklayer for older walls.

Complaints to LGIRS and the Building Commissioner

Start any complaint by writing to the bricklayer or builder, setting out the problem, the contract terms involved and what you want done. Give a reasonable deadline and keep copies of every message, photo and invoice. If that fails, a complaint about a contract under the Home Building Contracts Act can go to Building and Energy within three years of the contract date or the problem arising. Building and Energy has been part of the Department of Local Government, Industry Regulation and Safety since 1 July 2025, so older material may still refer to DMIRS. Complaints about defective or unfinished building work go to the Building Commissioner, who can order the builder to fix it. Both complaint routes and their time limits are published online by Building and Energy.

Disputes that cannot be settled through Building and Energy can go to the State Administrative Tribunal, which hears building matters, or to the Magistrates Court for some money claims. Small jobs outside the Act can be raised with Consumer Protection, which sits in the same department and deals with the consumer guarantees. If a brick wall is leaning, cracked right through or pulling away from a building, keep people away from it and have a structural engineer look at it before the dispute is settled. Work to make a wall safe can go ahead without waiting for the complaint, but photograph the wall first. Where a damaged wall has to come down, removal and disposal can be quoted through demolition services.

Checks to Make Before Signing a Perth Brick Quote

Every brick quote should name the brick range and colour, the mortar colour, the joint finish and whether bricks are included in the price. It should show the wall area or brick count it is based on, so you can check the figures against the plans. Footings, scaffolding, engineering, the council permit and waste removal should each appear as a line or be clearly excluded. On covered contracts, the deposit should be no more than 6.5 per cent. The insurance certificate should also reach you before any payment is made.

Some warning signs are specific to the current Perth market. Paying a large sum to secure bricks that have not been delivered puts your money at risk if supply falls through. Pricing a brick fence over 0.75 metres or a garage with no mention of a building permit skips a legal step. Check any claim that permit work of $20,000 or more needs no registered builder, unless the job is a Class 10a building under $50,000. Dry cutting bricks with a bare grinder does not follow the WA silica rules. Quotes far below the others may be leaving out footings, scaffolding or the bricks themselves, and a wall built on a poor footing can later need underpinning services.

Collecting Perth Brick Prices That Can Be Compared

Every bricklayer needs the same information to give you prices that can be compared line by line. Send the plans or a sketch with dimensions, the brick range you want or a photo of the bricks to match, and any engineer's design or permit. State whether you will buy the bricks or want them in the price, because that choice can move the total by thousands of dollars on a garage or extension. Mention access for a truck and how far the bricks will need to be carried from the drop point. If the brickwork is one part of a larger build, it may make more sense to find a Perth builder to run the whole project.

Three quotes give a fair spread for a brick job, and a garage or extension deserves a site visit from each bricklayer, not a price from photos. Find out from each one how long the price holds, when they can start and what they will do if the bricks are delayed. Check that the quote refers to the Australian Standards that apply, such as AS 3700 for masonry structures and AS 4773 for masonry in small buildings, both published by Standards Australia. Footings for walls attached to a house follow AS 2870 for residential slabs and footings, and an engineer's design should state which standard was used. Quotes that name the standard, the brick and the stages are much easier to hold the bricklayer to at handover.

Keep the contract, plans, permit, engineering, insurance certificate and delivery dockets together in one place. The brick range and batch details on the dockets will help a future bricklayer match the wall if it is extended or repaired. A buyer's building inspector may also ask for the permit and engineering for a brick garage or tall fence when you sell. Spare bricks from the job, stored flat and dry, are worth keeping for the same reason. Where the new walls are to be rendered, book the rendering and texture coating for after the mortar has cured. Posting the job once with the same details for every bricklayer is the simplest way to get prices that line up.