DIY Concrete Block Garage Walls

Concrete blocks can be used to build a garage that provides shelter for your car.

Many older homes were constructed without a garage, in some cases because the home predated automobiles. If you have room on your property, you can construct a garage to protect your vehicles. Building the garage with concrete blocks provides you with a durable structure that is fairly economical to build. You can build the walls directly on top of the concrete slab that forms the foundation for the garage.

Things You'll Need

• Wooden stakes
• Hammer
• Tape measure
• Two-by-four boards
• Nails
• String
• Corner blocks
• Concrete blocks
• Marker
• Mortar
• Trowel
• Level
• Chisel
• Masonry hammer

Instructions

1. Install wooden stakes into the ground around each corner. Use one wooden stake directly behind the corner point of the slab, with another stake on each side of the corner stakes, placed two feet toward the center of the wall. (If viewed from above, it would form the points of a right triangle.) Place the stakes next to the edge of the slab.

2. Nail two-by-four boards that run from the corner stakes to the end stakes in each corner.

3. Mark the corners of the walls by tying a string to the center of each two-by-four board and running it to the two-by-four on the opposite corner of the slab. (See Reference section, first reference, Step 4.) The point where the strings intersect is the corner of the wall.

4. Lay the corner blocks on the slab in each corner, lining them up with the point where the strings intersect.

5. Lay blocks onto the slab between the corner blocks, keeping a 3/8-inch gap between the blocks. Do not add mortar yet, as this is just to determine how many blocks you need for each wall. Trace the outer edge of the blocks onto the concrete, then remove the blocks.

6. Mix a batch of mortar, following the manufacturer's instructions.

7. Place mortar on the first corner. Extend the mortar the length of three to four blocks out from the corner, in a strip that is 8 inches wide and 1 inch deep.

8. Lay the first corner block into the mortar directly underneath the intersecting strings. Check that the block is level.

9. Apply mortar to one side of the corner block, and set a concrete block into the mortar next to the corner block. Keep about 3/8 inch between the two blocks, and push the concrete block down until the top is level with the top of the corner block.

10. Finish laying the blocks in the first corner, then set the blocks in the other three corners.

11. Lay the blocks into the spaces between the corners, keeping them level and maintaining the 3/8-inch space between them. Cut blocks to fit the space with a chisel and masonry hammer, if you need to.

12. Build the walls until you reach the correct height. Add more blocks in the corners first, then fill the in walls between them. The blocks in the corners should be two or three rows higher than the walls until they reach the final height. Allow the mortar to set for the time specified by the manufacturer.

Tips & Warnings

• Contact your local zoning board to acquire any permits you need to build the garage and to learn the building codes you must follow.

References

• Ace Hardware; Laying Concrete Blocks
• Quikrete; Concrete Block Construction
• Masonry for Life.com; Block Walls