Repointing a house - cost?

Ok, here go's when it comes to pointing you need to take account of a few things, the brick, its condition, the current type of pointing all of these thing will effect the final out come of the job, example, if the building is victorian it will probably have a lime based mortar which in most cases will rake out of the joints easily however and this is common if it has been re-pointed before and someone has re-pointed with a cementitious (cement based) mortar and again all too often made the mortar too strong (more cement than needed) it can be a nightmare to remove (as the mortar should always be weaker than the masonry) because when it had been originally raked out and the wall then dampened (to assist in the new mortar bonding to the old) if the joint dries out before the new mortar is applied this can cause the mortar to fall out in patches in the future leaving you with a wall that needs patch pointing with the problems mentioned earlier, as far as raking the joints out go's as a brickie i spent many years using the old cold steel and hammer but if the bricks are of a soft type either originally or through age this can cause a whole load of chipping making the job look unsightly i personally use what i think will be the best tool for the job each job being different, when it comes to angle grinders i do use these on the older property however it's a small easy to handle 18v 115mm cordless grinder by Dewalt which just so happens to have a distance from the motor housing to the edge of the disc of around 12-15mm which as mention earlier is about spot on for re-pointing this with a 6mm mortar joint raking disc is ideal, as far as cost go's all the previous points plus many others are taken in to account when pricing ie, bond of the existing brickwork (Englist and Dutch bond having more joint work than stretcher bond) final pointing type Flush, Struck weathered and rounded to mention a few, I usually charge between £15 and £27 /m2 subject to access etc, i hope this helps.

I am a Coventry based roofer and have been working in the industry for 30 years. There is quite a lot more involved in repointing than many people think. If you repoint the late victorian/Edwardian red brick houses with a strong cementious mix (sand/cement) you can cause damage to the brickwork in a very short period of time. This is because the mortar can actually prevent the wall from 'breathing', (or the release of vapour through the joints). In turn, the moisture releases through the bricks instead, and can result in severe frost damage during the colder weather. You need to make sure that the mortar used is not stronger than 1:3 mix, or that lime is used to help breathing and flexibility properties of the mortar. (6:1:1) Also. if the mortar is stronger than the bricks, (as can be common in the edwardian soft brick construction), then any movement in the structure (again not unknown in these properties) can cause the bricks to crack, rather than the mortar joint. (far easier and cheaper to repoint than replace cracked brickwork).
In short, get someone that knows what they are doing and get them to use the correct mortar. 6mm is insufficient depth for repointing, it should be between 10 and 25 mm depending on the type of brickwork..in these houses, I opt for 25mm depth. Angle grinders are fine to use, but make sure all dust is washed out of the joints otherwise it will impede bonding; just be careful not to cut into the bricks, as this is unsightly. Cost wise, expect to pay around £150-£200 per day for labour, plus your scaffold charges and materials. Do not skimp on the pennies; get it done right or you will pay later.