Concrete/Brick work....

A bit confused, your replacing the concrete you removed with brick ? If so the rebar will be a pain. Use mortar not concrete for the brickwork. You basically "butter" up the bricks, putting them in place and tap them down extruding the excess. If you're going to replace the concrete you removed I'd wash off the dust and mix in a bonding agent.

 

Ok, I'd cut the rebar out then. Probably best to still use bonding agent but get the concrete damp so it doesn't suck the water out of the mortar.

 

Calling our resident mason jo191145

 

I’d leave the rebar in if it’s not too much trouble. Give it a couple good whacks with a sledge near the concrete to bend it in for your 3 5/8” clearance. Then pull it back out on the other end for the same.
If your using cored brick (with holes) you can always split a course to clear. For the back of the wall you can stand them on edge to pass the bar. Parge in the holes.
You’ll want to clean that concrete edge a bit. Make it straight(er) Don’t get crazy just dress it a little on the outside. Same applies here. Chip the back of the brick a little to get the faces looking straight. Easier to chip a little brick than cut Or chisel that concrete. They’re like eggs, you may break a few before the omelet is done order extra.

Imagine you’ll be using box store premixed mortar. Type N is fine. Type S would be technically specified for below ground and you can certainly use it if you like. N is a little easier to work with and some softer bricks it’s better.
I would suggest you also buy a small bag of straight Portland Cement (no sand). Box store premix is generally some nasty stuff. It’s made as cheap as possible to hit the specs. They don’t care what the mason might like as long as it hits compressive strength. Most folks add a little extra Portland just to make it workable. I hear one shovel per bag. May be a bit much depending on your shovel.
You don’t have to but you’ll never know how much easier it is to work if you don’t.

Heights will probably be an issue. What’s the chance that crete was poured to a brick height? Not good. Maybe go a course or two higher to transition to the pole? You’ll need some solids for the top of wall. Or a capstone of some type.

I’ve used bonding agents when the architect demands it. Water is the old school bonding agent and probably works better than any chemical. Problem with water is using the correct amount . That something that’s a variable that cannot be translated online. Wash and wet that concrete, no dust left. If it’s hot and the bricks are dry and soft you can douse them with a little water too. Not too much though. Better less than too much. Good luck.

 

The master has spoken.

 

Well it helps determine it’s a harder job than I originally thought
That curb looks like a real modular concrete Precast. I’m seeing an angle in the face where it pitches back. Generally these precast transition from 7” thick to 6” thick at the top in a span of 6-7” of height. I only know this because I’ve looked at the Profile prints for these because I was thinking of using them myself at home for a project
Here’s the problem, assuming I’m right. How will you lay brick plumb against a face that’s not plumb? It’s going to look hacked.
You have a picky owner, I get it. He doesn’t want a concrete patch because the chance of making it match perfectly is slim.
Personally I would attempt to persuade the owner to abandon the original Pier footing. Maybe make the pier right on top of that curb with new footing behind it. Perpendicular, get rid of the angled pier. Just spitballin here.
The new pier would have the same issue of being plumb while the curb isnt. A little fudge is what we call it in the masonry field Aesthetically the eye would be drawn away from that small flaw by the pier itself. Whereas just three corses of brick ina spot they don’t belong will draw the eye in.

 

Nah, there are still some masters out there. I’m just a boot who learned to fake it

 

Yep, jo191145 has all the answers!!

 

Any pictures of the finished job ?

 

Flashback to 1978, subtitute my '70 Chevelle and a fire hyrant for that brick light stand... Me at 2:00 in the morning... Looking for another car the next day... Back then, fire hydrants cost $1,300. It broke off at the underground "T". The bottom of the car was very clean...

 

Around here?
Hydrants in places that freeze hard in the winter are generally "dry hydrants"...meaning the barrel has no water in it normally, as the valve is at the bottom...like a frostless hydrant.
That and they have a sacrificial flange at the ground that is "supposed" to break off instead of breaking more expensive things....Mueller hydrants are more like $3k now...

 

As they always sang on Hee Haw, If it weren't for bad luck, I'd have no luck at all...

It was the 'spensive parts... When the officer writing the ticket said 55+ causing an accident I felt lucky... there were over 600' of skid marks before the hydrant was damaged... Years later I was describing the accident to my first wife. Turned out it was her in the car that I avoided causing me to lose control... She said she had often wondered who that moron was... Omens of things to come I guess.

 

Did you ever get this project sorted out ? Any pics ?