Hiring the wrong contractor is the single most common reason a clay brick project in Ghana goes wrong. Not the wrong brick. Not a bad design. The wrong contractor — one who doesn't understand the material, lacks relevant experience, or works without a proper written agreement — can turn what should be a 50-year building into a five-year maintenance burden.
Research into building construction projects in Ghana identifies poor contractor management and poor technical performance as among the leading causes of both cost overruns and delays. And unlike many other building materials, clay brick is unforgiving of poor workmanship: the joints, the bond pattern, the mortar specification, the damp-proof course — get any of these wrong and the consequences are visible on the face of the wall for decades.
The questions below are your due diligence checklist. Ask them before you commit. A competent contractor will welcome them. Any hesitation to answer is itself useful information.
Are you registered with the relevant regulatory bodies in Ghana?
Ghana's construction sector is governed by a framework that includes the Ghana Standards Authority (GSA), the Building and Road Research Institute (BRRI) of the CSIR, and Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs). Legitimate contractors operating in this space should be able to demonstrate legal business registration and, for larger projects, registration with a professional body such as the Ghana Institution of Engineers or the Ghana Institute of Architects depending on the scope.
This is not a bureaucratic formality. Registration means accountability. An unregistered contractor who disappears mid-project leaves you with very limited legal recourse.
Can you show me completed clay brick projects I can visit or contact clients about?
Clay brick masonry is a specialist skill. A contractor who builds excellent concrete block structures may have limited understanding of how burnt clay behaves differently — in terms of moisture absorption, thermal movement, mortar compatibility and the visual standards expected. Experience with the specific material matters.
The Masonry Advisory Council's guidelines on masonry quality stress that aesthetic and workmanship standards must be established through reference — ideally by inspecting real completed work. A portfolio of photographs is useful; standing inside a three-year-old finished clay brick building and running your hand along the jointing is more useful still.
What mortar mix will you use, and why?
Mortar is the component of brickwork that most often fails — not the brick itself. In clay brick construction, the mortar must be weaker than the brick units it bonds, so that any differential movement causes the joint to crack (which is repairable) rather than the brick face to spall (which is not). This is a counterintuitive principle that many inexperienced contractors get wrong, overspecifying cement-rich mixes that are harder than the brick.
"The mortar must be compatible with the brick unit. A mortar that is too strong will not accommodate movement and can cause brick faces to spall or crack."
— Clay Brick Association of Southern Africa, Mortar: What Materials Do I Need? (claybricksa.co.za)For standard burnt clay brick construction in Ghana's climate, a 1:1:6 mix (one part cement, one part lime, six parts sand) or a 1:5 or 1:6 cement-to-sand ratio produces mortar of appropriate strength. Lime improves workability and water retention — both valuable in Ghana's heat, where mortar sets fast. Pure cement-only mixes at rich ratios (1:2 or 1:3) should be avoided on clay brickwork.
How will you install the damp-proof course (DPC)?
Rising damp is one of the most common and most costly defects in Ghanaian masonry construction. In a country with annual rainfall between 780 mm and 2,160 mm and high ambient humidity, capillary moisture migrating upward from the ground into brickwork is not a theoretical risk — it is a near-certainty on any structure without an effective DPC.
A correctly installed DPC — typically a layer of polythene sheet or bituminous felt, laid horizontally across the full width of the wall at least 150 mm above finished ground level — breaks the capillary pathway. Ask your contractor where the DPC will be installed, what material will be used, and how the wall ties and cavity (if applicable) will be managed to prevent moisture bridging.
Will you build a sample panel before work starts?
A sample panel — a small section of brickwork, typically 1 m² — built before full construction begins serves as the agreed visual and workmanship benchmark for the entire project. It establishes the correct joint thickness, the bond pattern, the mortar colour, and the pointing style. Once approved, the sample panel is retained on site and used as a reference throughout construction.
Industry guidance from the Brick Industry Association and the Masonry Advisory Council is consistent on this point: sample panels are not optional extras for demanding clients — they are a fundamental quality assurance mechanism. They prevent the most common dispute in brick construction: "This is not what I expected."
What are your workmanship tolerances for plumb, level and joint thickness?
Masonry is a precision trade. Industry standards specify that bed joints should be between 8 mm and 12 mm thick, that walls must be plumb to within 6 mm over any 3-metre height, and that courses must run level across their full length. These are not suggestions — they are the thresholds below which brickwork begins to look unprofessional and, at the extremes, carries structural implications.
A contractor who can articulate these tolerances — without prompting — has been trained to think in these terms. One who cannot name a joint thickness target is unlikely to be managing it on site.
Who will supervise the work on site daily — and what is your foreman's experience?
Many disputes in Ghanaian construction arise not from the principal contractor's incompetence but from the delegation of skilled work to inadequately supervised labourers. The person who wins the contract and presents references to the client may be entirely different from the people who lay the bricks.
Research on construction project delays in Ghana consistently flags poor site management and lack of adequate supervision as primary causes of quality failures. Ask directly: who opens the site each morning? Who checks the mortar mix? Who signs off each course before the next begins? If the answer is a foreman you have not met and whose credentials you cannot verify, that is worth investigating before work starts.
What is your policy on variations and change orders — and how are they priced?
Every construction project produces surprises: ground conditions that were not anticipated, a design change the owner decides on mid-build, materials that arrive in a different specification than planned. How a contractor handles these moments — and critically, how they are charged — is one of the most important things to establish before work begins.
An honest contractor will tell you upfront that variations will be priced at agreed day rates or at a transparent schedule of rates, and that no variation will proceed without your written approval. A less scrupulous one will treat any change as an opportunity for uncontrolled additional billing. Research into construction cost overruns in Ghana identifies variations in design and inadequate initial project analysis as among the leading drivers of budget exceedance.
What is the payment schedule — and what work is completed before each payment is released?
The payment structure of a building contract is not a financial formality — it is the primary mechanism through which you as the client retain leverage over quality and progress. A contractor who receives more than 30–40% of the contract value before work is substantially underway has limited financial incentive to return promptly if problems arise. Conversely, a contractor who is asked to mobilise and procure materials with no upfront payment is being set up to fail.
A well-structured payment schedule ties each payment to a specific, verifiable milestone: foundation complete, wall plate reached, roof structure complete, and so on. This also protects the contractor, who should not be expected to finance your project from their own working capital.
Will all of this be set out in a written contract — and does it include a defects liability period?
This is the question that separates the professionals from the informal operators. In Ghana, construction contracts may be oral or written — but oral contracts are extraordinarily difficult to enforce. Research published on construction and engineering law in Ghana confirms that enforceability of any contract term depends on being able to prove its existence. An oral agreement on specification, timeline, payment and quality standard is essentially unenforceable the moment either party chooses to dispute it.
A proper written contract for a clay brick build should include: scope of works; material specifications (brick type, mortar spec, DPC); programme with start and completion dates; payment schedule tied to milestones; variation order procedure; and a defects liability period — typically six to twelve months after practical completion — during which the contractor is obliged to return and remedy any defects at their own cost.
"Contracts should clearly set out the obligations and responsibilities of all parties to reduce the potential for disagreements or conflicts that could stall the project or degenerate into disputes."
— International Comparative Legal Guides, Construction & Engineering Laws and Regulations: Ghana 2025–2026 (iclg.com)One question beneath all the questions
Every question above is really asking the same thing in a different form: does this person understand clay brick as a material, and do they understand how to run a professional construction project? The two are not always found together, even in experienced contractors.
A mason with twenty years of sandcrete block work may be an excellent tradesman who has never had cause to think carefully about mortar compatibility with clay, the correct treatment of brick before laying, or the thermal movement characteristics that affect how joints should be detailed. Brick is different. Its tolerances are tighter, its rewards higher, and its penalties for poor workmanship more visible and more lasting.
Take the time to find the right contractor. The material will do the rest.
Bricmates can help. We supply premium burnt clay bricks and terracotta tiles from our depots in Accra (Kwabenya) and Kumasi (Fumesua), and our installation teams are experienced specifically in clay brick and tile work. If you are at the contractor selection stage of your project, speak to us — we can advise on what to look for, what to specify, and what questions any competent mason should be able to answer without hesitation.
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