How much does bricklaying cost in Melbourne?
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Melbourne bricklayers price their labour three ways: by the hour at $47–$125, by the thousand bricks laid at $1,050–$2,300, or by the square metre at $58–$125, and the bricks are bought separately whichever way the quote is written. The job Melburnians search for most is a brick fence, which falls in that per-square-metre band for a plain boundary wall; a garden feature wall supplied and built is $145–$470 and a brick retaining wall $260–$680. Melbourne has a bigger share of terraces and semi-detached homes than the country as a whole (ABS 2021 Census), so many brick jobs here are short party-wall repairs and front fences on narrow lots rather than a whole new house.
Comparing cities, or after the Australia-wide picture? See the national guide: Bricklaying cost in Australia.
Detailed Pricing — Bricklaying Cost in Melbourne 2026
| Service | Low | Typical | High |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bricklaying (hourly rate) | $47/hr | $79 | $125 |
| Bricklaying (per 1,000 bricks, labour) | $1,050/1000 bricks | $1,675 | $2,300 |
| Bricklaying (per sqm, standard) | $58/sqm | $84 | $125 |
| Garden feature wall, installed (per sqm) | $145/sqm | $275 | $470 |
| Brick retaining wall, installed (per sqm) | $260/sqm | $470 | $680 |
| Brick veneer (new home, per sqm) | $52/sqm | $74 | $105 |
| Brick pointing / repointing (per sqm) | $42/sqm | $74 | $160 |
| Brick repair (per brick) | $26per brick | $68 | $145 |
| Brick letterbox (supply & lay) | $420total | $840 | $1,575 |
| Brick BBQ or simple fireplace (built, installed) | $2,100total | $3,675 | $6,800 |
| Damp-proof course, whole-house retrofit | $1,050total | $3,675 | $6,300 |
| Full-day bricklaying | $470per day | $680 | $945 |
| Damp-proof course injection (per metre) | $74/m | $115 | $260 |
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Get Melbourne quotes →Prices include GST. Based on Melbourne metro area, October 2026. Outer suburbs may vary.
Melbourne brickwork: walls per square metre, brick fences and per-brick prices
Brick wall cost per m² in Melbourne
Standard bricklaying in Melbourne is $58–$125 a square metre, typically $84. A garden feature wall is $145–$470 a square metre and a brick retaining wall $260–$680.
Brick fence cost in Melbourne
We don't publish a brick fence row. The nearest is a garden feature wall at $145–$470 a square metre: 10 square metres at that rate is $1,450 to $4,700.
Bricklaying cost per brick and per 1,000 bricks
Labour to lay bricks in Melbourne is $1,050–$2,300 per 1,000 bricks, typically $1,675. Replacing damaged bricks is priced per brick, at $26–$145.
These answers use the prices in the table on this page.
What Affects Bricklaying Costs in Melbourne
Per hour, per thousand or per square metre
Three ways to write the same quote. The hourly rate of $47–$125 and the day rate of $470–$945 suit repairs and short runs; the thousand-brick rate of $1,050–$2,300 suits a garage or extension where the plans give a brick count; the per-square-metre rate of $58–$125 suits a fence. Semi-detached homes are 16.2% of Melbourne dwellings against 12.6% nationally (ABS 2021 Census), and on a shared wall the day rate is usually the fairer measure.
Front fences and the permit lines
Victoria's building regulations allow a fence without a building permit up to 2 m high, but a masonry fence within 3 m of a street is capped at 1.2 m, and within 9 m of a street corner anything over 1 m above the footpath needs a permit. A low brick front fence at $58–$125 a square metre usually sits inside those limits; a tall street-side privacy wall does not, so settle the height before the footing is poured.
Sharing the cost with next door
Under Victoria's Fences Act, neighbours share the cost of a sufficient dividing fence equally, and whoever wants a higher standard pays the difference. A brick boundary wall is nearly always that higher standard, so expect to carry the gap between it and a basic paling fence yourself. If the neighbour will not engage, serve a Fencing notice; after 30 days without agreement a magistrate at the Magistrates' Court can decide (Victoria Legal Aid).
Retaining walls and drainage
A brick retaining wall supplied and built is $260–$680, the dearest per-square-metre item in our Melbourne table because of the footing, drainage and engineering. In Victoria a retaining wall under 1 m high needs no building permit unless it is tied to other building work or protects a neighbouring property. Melbourne's rain is spread across the year, from 46.8 mm in January to 66.0 mm in October (BOM averages), so the weep holes behind the wall are never off duty.
Registration above $10,000
Consumer Affairs Victoria is explicit that a tradesperson doing work worth more than $10,000 must be registered with the Building and Plumbing Commission, and that this includes bricklayers. A job that size also needs a major domestic building contract, and above $20,000 the builder must hold Home Warranty insurance. Most single items in our table, even a whole-house damp course at $6,300, sit below the first line; a garage or extension generally does not.
Repairs, repointing and rising damp
Replacing a damaged brick is $26–$145 each and repointing worn mortar $42–$160, which is where many searches for the cost of rebuilding a brick wall end up: the wall rarely needs rebuilding, the joints do. Melbourne is NCC climate zone 6, mild temperate, with July averaging a low of 6.0 °C and a top of 13.5 °C (BOM averages), and that cool damp winter is when rising damp shows. Injecting a new damp-proof course is $74–$260.
Letterboxes, barbecues and veneer
The small set pieces are quoted as whole jobs: a brick letterbox supplied and laid is $420–$1,575 and a brick barbecue or simple fireplace $2,100–$6,800. On a new detached home, and 67.8% of Melbourne dwellings are separate houses (ABS 2021 Census), the brick veneer skin is $52–$105 a square metre in labour. Ask for the mortar colour and joint style in writing; they change the look of the wall and the time to lay it.
How to Save Money on Bricklaying Cost in Melbourne
Bricklaying Cost in Melbourne by Wall Area
Take the side wall of a semi-detached home at 18 square metres, the example's own assumption. At $58–$125 a square metre it comes to $1,044–$2,250. If, as a second assumption, the same wall were a repair scoped at three days, the full-day row at $470–$945 a day gives $1,410–$2,835, the figure to set beside the area price.
What moves a wall of that size in Melbourne is the sharing and the season. On a semi-detached home the wall is shared, so a day rate may suit better than an area price. Rain falls through the year rather than in one season, and cool winters mean lost days and slower mortar, so the quote should say how new work is covered.
Bricklaying Cost in Melbourne: What the Quote Should Include
A Melbourne bricklaying quote reads best when it says how the wall is measured and what sits on separate lines. Semi-detached homes with a shared wall, rain through every month and cool, damp winters all shape the work, from Richmond to Brunswick.
- How the quote is written: by the hour at $47–$125 an hour, by the day at $470–$945 a day, per 1,000 bricks or per square metre.
- A brick count from the plans next to any per-thousand rate, so $1,050–$2,300 per 1,000 bricks becomes a total that can be checked.
- For a wall shared with a semi-detached neighbour, whether the work is charged by the day or as a fixed scope.
- A brick retaining wall at $260–$680 a square metre, with the footing, drainage and any engineering named, since rain falls in every month.
- The mortar colour and the joint style named on the quote, since both show on the finished face.
- Replacement bricks at $26–$145 a brick and repointing at $42–$160 a square metre, with a check for rising damp, which shows in cool, damp winters.
- A letterbox at $420–$1,575 or a barbecue at $2,100–$6,800 quoted as a whole job, with the brick named by kind.
- Spare bricks from one batch ordered with the job and a box kept aside, so a later repair matches the wall.
- Start and finish dates, payment stages and GST in writing, and ask for their licence number and insurance.
Frequently Asked Questions — Bricklaying Cost in Melbourne
Our Methodology
These are independent estimates from public cost guides, marketplaces and industry rate data, and no tradesperson can influence them, so always get a few quotes. Last reviewed October 2026. Read our full methodology →