Rough Cost of rebuilding a driveway wall after car crash

Sshabir

Hi everyone,

I'm looking to get some quotes to repair an accident-damaged driveway wall, but I'm finding it very challenging to find a reliable builder. Does anyone know the best way to find a good and trusted builder?

Also, what sort of quote should I be expecting for this kind of repair?

Any help is much appreciated.

Thanks!

CliveOfIndia

Sshabir said:

Does anyone know the best way to find a good and trusted builder?

Word of mouth is always the best.  Ask friends & neighbours if they've used anyone they can recommend.  Alternatively, if you have a local community Facebook group, ask for recommendations on there (personal recommendations, as opposed to just any old Tom, !!!!!! or Harry who happens to be advertising).

Sshabir said:

Also, what sort of quote should I be expecting for this kind of repair?

I can't help you with that, unfortunately, not having had much experience.  If it were me I'd be looking at doing it myself (assuming you're not wanting to claim off insurance).  As the wall is not structural, and it's a fairly small area, it's not at all difficult to do a half-decent job of it yourself.  Yes, it'll take a lot longer than a professional could do it, but it really is just a case of taking your time and working methodically.  Materials won't cost much, and are easily available from any builder's merchant or DIY shed.

Bigphil1474

We got a quote last year to take down an old sandstone type wall and replace with one full brick width wall over about 3m up to about 1.2m high, and he reckoned it would be about £1,200. Yours is half brick width and looks about 1m , but would need a bit of sorting to tie the new with the old, but would still expect a lot less.

As above, I'd try local Facebook group. You might find a relatively newly trained bricky happy to do it cheaper, (looks straightforward enough so you don't need a master builder), or someone local who does a bit of extra jobbying on a weekend. I have found people to be more reliable if they get recommended from local FB groups (rather than them advertising themselves on there). Definitely one to think about a DIY practise job as well.

GDB2222

I assumed that the op would demolish what is left standing. Otherwise it will look awful. 

Exodi

GDB2222 said:

I assumed that the op would demolish what is left standing. Otherwise it will look awful. 

Likewise. Plus realistically it needs to be worth getting out of bed and driving over for... what I mean is I wouldn't expect £100 and warm words of appreciation to cut it.

In fact it would surprise me if OP was quoted less than £500 for a days labour to knock down, dispose of old bricks, buy materials and rebuild wall + coping.

DullGreyGuy

GDB2222 said:

I assumed that the op would demolish what is left standing. Otherwise it will look awful. 

The insurer is unlikely to agree to pay for the demolition or rebuild of what's left unless it's unsound as a result of the crash. How it will look will depend on how hard it is to find similar bricks but in most cases it will age and look acceptable after a year or so and the newly built part will likely be in a better state than it was pre-accident. 

Obviously if the OP wants to add their own cash to the matter they can get a new wall. Similarly if they claimed off their Home insurance rather than than the Third Party's and they have Matching Set cover on the Buildings then they'd cover knocking it down and rebuilding it but the claim is likely to have more impact on future premiums than claiming from the third party's insurance. 

Belenus

Rather than rebuild the wall, could you remove what is left and replace it with a fence?

daveyjp

As its accident damage can insurance be involved?  I'd want a better wall than what was knocked over.  Single skin for that length with no pillar doesn't sit comfortably with me.

CliveOfIndia

I had assumed, given the OP's question about finding a builder and likely cost, that they'd damaged the wall themselves, and didn't want to go through their own insurance due to excess, increased premiums or whatever.  That obviously may have been an incorrect assumption.

If it was a third-party's car who had knocked the wall down, then I would suggest it's a moot point - just claim directly off the third-party's insurance and have done with it?

casper_gutman

daveyjp said:

As its accident damage can insurance be involved?  I'd want a better wall than what was knocked over.  Single skin for that length with no pillar doesn't sit comfortably with me.

One thing's for sure: whoever was responsible for the damage, no insurer will be paying for a replacement wall that's better than the old one. They'd either offer a final settlement figure equivalent to like-for-like repair, or refuse to pay anything and say that the impact was minor and the wall only collapsed because it was inadequate in the first place.

Albermarle

casper_gutman said:

daveyjp said:

As its accident damage can insurance be involved?  I'd want a better wall than what was knocked over.  Single skin for that length with no pillar doesn't sit comfortably with me.

One thing's for sure: whoever was responsible for the damage, no insurer will be paying for a replacement wall that's better than the old one. They'd either offer a final settlement figure equivalent to like-for-like repair, or refuse to pay anything and say that the impact was minor and the wall only collapsed because it was inadequate in the first place.

Looking at the picture, it is a bit higher than usually recommended for a single skin wall with no piers, but not excessively so.