Repointing a wall

The wall surrounding one side of our garden needs repointing mainly on one side. It's about 8 foot high and 30 foot long. What sort of figure would I be looking at if I asked a builder for quotes (hoping for around £300)?

Also is this a job I could learn how to do myself, having next to no diy skills and bearing in mind the wall is already crumbling so may be safety issues? I know builders are rare in some areas and may not want the work anyway so this may be my only option.

Thanks

Comments

  • rubble2
    rubble2 Posts: 546
    Name Dropper First Post First Anniversary
    Forumite
    The wall at the bottom of our garden is about 4ft high with a 3 ft fence on top. Winter before last we had severe gales and the fence came down and took about three courses of bricks with it. I cleaned all the bricks up ready to be replaced and got quotes for replacing the fallen bricks and re pointing the test of the wall (approx 20ft x 4ft high).

    I had a rough idea in mind about how long it would take me mixing mortar by hand to do the job so had a figure in mind of about £250 - £300 for a brickie.

    The quotes I got back were all in excess of £750, I couldn't believe it. So I got a few bags of mortar mix and did it myself .

    It cost me about £50 for mortar and it took me a total of about 8 hours over a couple of weekends, so have a go yourself - it is only a garden wall so it doesn't need to be perfect but it is quite easy (and cheap) to get a fully acceptable finish yourself taking a bit of care.
  • Hi,
    There will be a number of factors that will affect the price such as the age of the bricks type of mortar and finish required. From what you say it sounds like brick replacements will also be required so this will need to be factored in too. There really isn't a substitute for getting a quote or two, particularly as they are likely to be provided for free and would confirm whether the price you would like to pay bears any relation to the costs to get it done professionally. You can then decide whether you want to pay the money or have a go yourself but a word of caution, repointing is a specialism that most brickies won't get involved in if given the choice and I would be hesitant in suggesting you would get a reasonable finish at your first attempt.
This discussion has been closed.
Meet your Ambassadors

Categories

  • All Categories
  • 342.5K Banking & Borrowing
  • 249.9K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
  • 449.4K Spending & Discounts
  • 234.6K Work, Benefits & Business
  • 607.1K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
  • 172.8K Life & Family
  • 247.4K Travel & Transport
  • 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
  • 15.8K Discuss & Feedback
  • 15.1K Coronavirus Support Boards