Best Bricklayers Tools
Best Bricklayers Tools
Welcome to the Wonkee Donkee Tools guide for the best bricklaying tools.
Bricklaying jobs constantly change in terms of size and task difficulty. But one thing for certain, the appropriate bricklayers’ tools are required to ensure you maintain your own high standards of work.
A bricklayer’s tool kit must be used with great care and properly maintained – not only for safety but because bricklaying tools can be expensive. When purchasing tools, you must consider how often the tools will be used to make sure they can withstand the work.
Here at Wonkee Donkee Tools, we offer a comprehensive selection of bricklayer tools, ranging from trowels to spirit levels, corner blocks and bolsters. You name it, we supply it.
As local builders merchants, we understand that selecting the best tools for bricklaying isn’t easy – especially when there are so many to choose from. However, we know tools like the back of our hand, after all, we have been selling them for more than 100 years! Anything we don’t know about bricklaying tools isn’t worth knowing.
To make sure you’re fully prepared for any job that comes your way, we’ve compiled a list of the very best bricklayer tools on the market today – and strive to provide the most competitive prices.
Pointing Trowel
A pointing trowel is the smallest trowel used by bricklayers. It is typically used for pointing work and any other small jobs that may be required. Blades are usually between 5-6 inches (12-15cm) in length.
Brick Trowel
The brick trowel is larger than the pointing trowel though similar in shape. Used for picking up and spreading the mortar. Their blades are typically between 10-12 inches (25-30) in length.
Finishing Trowel
The finishing trowel’s large, flat face allows you to smooth, level or texture the surface coat of mortar, plaster or concrete. This is vital to achieving smooth and high quality finishes to jobs. A finishing trowel is a must-have tool for any bricklayer or plasterer who takes pride in high-quality work.
Flooring Trowel
The flooring trowel has a flat face which is squared at one end and pointed at the other. The flooring trowel is so important in making sure that you create an even surface. This design allows it to fit neatly into corners ensuring you can achieve a completely flat finish to a surface.
Edging Trowel
The edging trowel is essentially a finishing trowel that has a rounded edge, this allows you to make smooth finishes to the corners of your walls.
The edging trowel is similar to the finishing trowel in that it helps you achieve the perfect finishes on all edges of your work area whether you are working with mortar, concrete or plaster.
Brick Bolster
The brick bolster is essentially a cold chisel that has a broad cutting blade used for splitting bricks. Typically struck with a lump hammer.
A brick bolster allows you to concentrate the force of your hammer blows on one area to maximise the impact. This makes it a great tool for a demolition stage when you are removing bricks or tiles for example.
Lump Hammer
A heavy hammer typically weighing 1.2kg (42oz) used with a brick bolster for splitting and cutting bricks.
A lump hammer can also be used in demolition work to help take down walls or existing structures before you begin your work.
Claw Hammer
A claw hammer is a standard piece of equipment for any worker. Used for driving in and prying out nails.
This can also be a great piece of equipment during a demolition stage or to remove nails and dismantle structures quickly and efficiently.
Brick Hammer
The brick hammer is purposely designed for dressing masonry and bricks. The hammer is “T” shaped with one end chisel-shaped and the other end blunt. The chisel end is used for chipping away at masonry and the blunt end is used for driving. Great for cutting bricks to the correct size.
Spirit Level (Small, Medium and Large)
Another essential tool for any bricklayer. The spirit level is a straight edge used to check the alignment of the wall. It typically has two small windows or vials each containing liquid and an air bubble. When the air bubble lines up with the lines on the vial then your wall is perfectly horizontal or vertical.
Some people take a look at digital calipers too.
Cold Chisel
A cold chisel is a simple steel rod with a sharp, shaped cutting end used to chip away mortar and to loosen old brickwork. This is a great tool to aid in breaking down existing structures before you start building.
Laser Levels
A laser level is a device that typically contains an internal spirit level or pendulum level which it self-balances before projecting a beam of light on to a surface. The laser signal is sent out to a detector and will signal with a bleep when it is level with the laser. Laser levels can be accurate over 300 metres allowing them to be used for small and large bricklaying jobs. The laser level device allows bricklayers to do high quality work with accuracy easily without the need repeatedly use a spirit level bar.
String Line
Sometimes known as a bricklayer’s line, a string line is used to mark out the course of brickwork so as to keep your walls straight. String line has been used for years and is the traditional way for bricklayers to ensure the structures they build are perfectly straight.
Shovel
The humble shovel is easily overlooked as an essential piece of equipment but you cannot get by without one. The wider blade of the shovel is ideal for scooping debris and the rough measuring of materials.
The back of the blade can be used to pat down or smooth off. You can also use it to pry plasterboard from walls if demolishing is necessary. Strong and durable, if well looked after, will last a lifetime.
Digging Spade
The digging spade is designed for cutting down into the ground and is an all-round versatile tool. This is the perfect tool for preparing trenches ready for walls and structures to be built. It is important you get a high quality digging spade to make this part of the job as easy as possible.
Rabbiting Shovel
The rabbiting shovel is designed specifically for digging post holes and deep narrow trenches. Its thin blade makes digging in the hard ground much easier. Rabbiting shovels create neatly dug holes without disturbing the ground below. This makes them useful for ground possibly containing wiring or pipes.
SDS Drill
You will need a heavy-duty, mains supplied power drill for larger projects. It is possible to burn out your standard cordless drill’s motor if it is not sufficiently powerful especially on tasks such as drilling numerous holes in concrete or masonry.
Brick Jointer
Jointers are simple metal tools designed for use in finishing your mortar joints. There are several types of jointer all of which give different finishes. The brick jointer is a key tool to provide neat and professional finishes to brickwork and keeping the customer happy.
Brick Hod
A brick hod is used to carry bricks and sometimes mortar. Brick hods can help speed up jobs by moving bricks to places where you need them for bricklaying faster. The brick hod is easier to carry around than a wheelbarrow and can be carried up floors and scaffolding.
Long Nosed Pliers
Long nosed pliers are an essential tool for both cutting and holding jobs. They can be used to bend, twist, strip, cut, and reposition wire. They provide excellent control and are ideal for reaching into tight spaces and holes where fingers cannot reach.
Brick Tongs
Brick tongs are a simple tool that uses lever pressure to keep a number of bricks in place so that they can be easily transported from one place to another by hand. This is especially handy when you are working at different levels or you need to get bricks to hard to reach places.
Broom
Show your customers your level of professionalism by keeping a clean and tidy site. The humble broom can do wonders for your reputation as a diligent worker.
Corner Blocks
Corner blocks are used in combination with your string line. They keep the line in place so that your walls don’t wander off-course.
Rubber Mallet
The rubber mallet is often used in bricklaying to knock masonry, slabs, bricks and blocks into position. The weight of the rubber means that little effort is needed to use it and the rubber leaves no mark on your workpieces.
Tape Measure
Every bricklayer needs one of these on their toolbelt. Used to measure distances. Most tape measures extend up to 5 meters but you can get longer tapes. Retracts back into a handy pocket-sized case.
Mortar Board / Hawk
You will want a mortarboard with a minimum diameter of 12 inches. They are usually made from plastic, metal or wood and have a handle centred on its underside. Used for holding and carrying mortar when bricklaying or filling holes in walls.
Bucket
A thoroughly handy tool with multiple uses. You can carry pretty much anything you want in a bucket as well as being able to mix in it and roughly measure your mortar materials.
Builders Square
A builder’s square is used for marking out brick and block corners to ensure they are perfect right-angles. The builders square is a traditional tool to make sure that the work completed is high quality and professional. Some newer builders square incorporate spirit levels to help with accuracy.
Cordless Combi Drill
A combi drill has multiple functions and can be used to drive screws and drill holes. It really is a must have for anyone who works with tools. Sometimes an angle grinder can be useful too. For bricklayers it can help in building structures and general jobs. Being battery powered also makes the cordless combi drill a dream to use as you can use it anywhere as long as it’s charged. This gets rid of the hassle of finding a plug socket as well as the cord getting in the way.
