How much does bricklaying cost in Sydney?
A Sydney bricklayer quotes labour by the hour at $52–$140, by the square metre at $63–$140, or per thousand bricks at $1,150–$2,525. Divide that thousand-brick figure by a thousand and you have the labour to lay one brick, which is what many people searching from Sydney want to know; the bricks, sand and cement are normally paid for separately. Rebuilding a damaged stretch of wall is usually priced by the square metre or by the day at $520–$1,025, and a brick retaining wall built complete runs $290–$745. Because flats make up a far larger share of homes here than nationally, plenty of Sydney brickwork is repair and repointing on existing walls rather than new houses.
Comparing cities, or after the Australia-wide picture? See the national guide: Bricklaying cost in Australia.
Detailed Pricing — Bricklaying Cost in Sydney 2026
| Service | Low | Typical | High |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bricklaying (hourly rate) | $52/hr | $86 | $140 |
| Bricklaying (per 1,000 bricks, labour) | $1,150/1000 bricks | $1,850 | $2,525 |
| Bricklaying (per sqm, standard) | $63/sqm | $92 | $140 |
| Garden feature wall, installed (per sqm) | $160/sqm | $300 | $520 |
| Brick retaining wall, installed (per sqm) | $290/sqm | $520 | $745 |
| Brick veneer (new home, per sqm) | $57/sqm | $80 | $115 |
| Brick pointing / repointing (per sqm) | $46/sqm | $80 | $170 |
| Brick repair (per brick) | $29per brick | $75 | $160 |
| Brick letterbox (supply & lay) | $460total | $920 | $1,725 |
| Brick BBQ or simple fireplace (built, installed) | $2,300total | $4,025 | $7,450 |
| Damp-proof course, whole-house retrofit | $1,150total | $4,025 | $6,900 |
| Full-day bricklaying | $520per day | $745 | $1,025 |
| Damp-proof course injection (per metre) | $80/m | $125 | $290 |
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Get Sydney quotes →Prices include GST. Based on Sydney metro area, October 2026. Outer suburbs may vary.
Sydney bricklaying prices: per brick, per square metre and repairs
Bricklayer cost per brick in Sydney
Our Sydney table prices laying labour per 1,000 bricks: $1,150–$2,525, typically $1,850. That is roughly $1 to $3 a brick for labour; the row is labour only, so the bricks are bought on top.
Brick wall cost per square metre in Sydney
Standard bricklaying is $63–$140 a square metre in Sydney, typically $92. A garden feature wall is $160–$520 a square metre, and a brick retaining wall $290–$745.
Cost to repair or rebuild a brick wall in Sydney
Replacing damaged bricks is $29–$160 a brick in Sydney, and repointing worn mortar $46–$170 a square metre. Our table has no separate rebuild price: for a wall taken down and relaid, the rows to use are standard bricklaying at $63–$140 a square metre or a full day at $520–$1,025.
Block laying prices in Sydney
Our Sydney table has no separate price for concrete block laying. The nearest rows are the bricklaying hourly rate, $52–$140, and standard work at $63–$140 a square metre.
These answers use the prices in the table on this page.
What Affects Bricklaying Costs in Sydney
Per brick, per metre or per day
The thousand-brick rate suits a new wall where the plans give a brick count. The square-metre rate of $63–$140 suits fences and garden walls, and a feature wall built complete is $160–$520. For patch-ups where nobody can count bricks in advance, the day rate is fairer. Block laying is often quoted the same three ways, but blocks are larger and heavier, so ask for the rate per block.
Flats, terraces and tight lots
Flats are 30.7% of Sydney dwellings, more than double the 14.2% national share, and separate houses only 55.8% (ABS 2021 Census). Brickwork on an apartment block, a terrace party wall or a narrow inner lot often means pallets carried in by hand and nowhere to stack them, which slows the day and pulls a quote toward the top of the hourly band, $140.
Working above the ground
Work health and safety laws, enforced here by SafeWork NSW, require a fall prevention device such as scaffolding, barriers or an elevating work platform when work cannot be done from the ground or a solid surface. Above single-storey height that usually means scaffolding, which is hired on top of the brickwork, so ask for it as a separate line and check who is responsible for putting it up and taking it down.
Height limits before approval
In NSW a masonry fence on a side or rear boundary is exempt from planning approval only up to 1.2 metres, and any fence along a road boundary, front included, must stay at or below 1.2 metres. A retaining wall is exempt only to 600mm high, at least 1m from each boundary, 2m from any other retaining wall and drained to the site's stormwater. Anything taller needs approval, and a structural wall needs engineering as well.
Sharing a boundary wall
Under the Dividing Fences Act, NSW neighbours normally share equally the cost of a sufficient dividing fence. A brick wall usually goes beyond that standard, and whoever wants the higher standard pays the extra. If you cannot agree, either owner can serve a Fencing Notice, and after a month either can apply to the Local Court or NCAT for orders about the work.
Licence and insurance lines
Bricklaying is trade work in NSW, so a contractor licence is required once a job is worth more than $5,000 in labour and materials, GST included. Above $20,000 of home building work, check that the business holds home building compensation insurance before you pay anything, deposit included. A single repair at $29–$160 a brick sits well below those lines; a long retaining wall or a garage may not.
Damp, rain and repointing
June is the wettest month at Observatory Hill, averaging 133.1 mm, with March close behind at 131.6 mm (BOM averages), and that persistent wet is hard on old mortar. Repointing runs $46–$170 a square metre. Where damp is rising through a wall, injecting a new damp-proof course is $80–$290 a metre, or $1,150–$6,900 for the whole house.
How to Save Money on Bricklaying Cost in Sydney
Bricklaying Cost in Sydney by Wall Area
Take a rear garden wall of 8 square metres, the example's own assumption. At $63–$140 a square metre it comes to $504–$1,120. Say the bricklayer instead scopes a repair at one full day, a second assumption of the example. The row at $520–$1,025 a day is then the figure to read it against, and the two methods should be priced on the same scope.
What moves a wall of that size in Sydney is access. On a narrow lot, an apartment block or a terrace, pallets are carried in by hand and there is no space to stack them, so the day runs slower and a quote moves within the hourly range, and brickwork above single-storey height adds scaffold hire.
Bricklaying Cost in Sydney: What the Quote Should Include
Sydney brickwork runs from a terrace party wall to a garden wall, and the narrow lots and apartment blocks in between shape the labour. A quote that lists pallets, access and scaffold separately shows what each rate is covering.
- How the quote is priced, at $63–$140 a square metre, per 1,000 bricks, or by the day, with the quantity written beside it.
- Block laying quoted per block if it is on the job, since blocks are larger and heavier than bricks.
- For a terrace party wall, an apartment block or a narrow inner lot, how pallets reach the work and where they are stacked, charged as hours.
- Scaffold hire as its own line for work above single-storey height, with who puts it up and takes it down named.
- A day rate of $520–$1,025 a day for patch-ups where nobody can count the bricks in advance, with the tasks listed.
- A garden feature wall built complete at $160–$520 a square metre, or a retaining wall at $290–$745 a square metre, with the footing and drainage named.
- For a repair, a sample brick kept and a small trial patch of mortar approved before the whole section is laid.
- A rain-day allowance if the job runs into June, the wettest month at Observatory Hill, with September the driest.
- Start and finish dates, payment stages and GST in writing, and ask for their licence number and insurance.
Frequently Asked Questions — Bricklaying Cost in Sydney
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 →