Mortar

• Mortar is a mixture of cement, sand, lime and water. For masonry foundation walls, the builder uses a type S mortar. This type of mortar has 4 1/2 cubic feet of cement, 2 1/4 cubic feet of lime and 20 1/4 cubic feet of sand. The water is mixed in until the mortar is a peanut butter thickness. The type S mortar is for building load-bearing walls such as those for a foundation of a building.
  
  

Level

• The level is used in all building and architecture.Jupiterimages/Comstock/Getty Images
  
  A level is the instrument used to determine if the wall is straight. A level comes in many shapes and sizes. A masonry foundation level tool is about 3 feet long and has several tubes filled with liquid on various ends. Each tube reads a different type of angle for a different wall section. If the beginning of the wall is not level, the rest of the wall will not stand correctly.
  
  

Trowel

• The trowel is used to carry, place and spread the mortar. When bricks are placed in a wall, they are connected with a cement mix called mortar. The mortar dries, holding the bricks to each other. The trowel is a triangularly shaped instrument that digs into the mortar, lifts it from the bucket to the brick wall and then spreads the mortar for adding another layer. A trowel is used to smooth out the mortar on the edges of the brick to give a professional and neat look.
  
  

Jointer

• The jointer is the tool that creates a curve in the mortar between the bricks. The masonry jointer has a long middle and two angled ends. The angled ends have different grooves. The grooves are run in between the bricks to create an indent to allow rain to run off the bricks and not build up to cause mold and deterioration. The masonry jointer then removes excess mortar at the end of the wall.