Repointing costs
How repointing is priced - and how to read a quote
We do not publish rates, because an honest figure only exists once somebody has stood in front of your wall. What we can do is explain exactly what moves the price, so you can compare quotes properly and spot the ones that are cheap for the wrong reasons.
What changes the price
Six things that move a repointing quote
Access
Often the biggest single line on a quote, and nothing to do with the brickwork. A garden wall needs none, a two-storey terrace front needs a scaffold, a detached house needs one on all four sides. Narrow side returns and shared access make it more involved again.
Mortar specification
Lime mortar is slower to work, applied in stages and protected while it cures, so it takes longer than a cement and sand mix. On a pre-1919 wall it is not an upsell, it is the correct material - cement traps moisture in soft brick and blows the faces off in frost.
How the joints are raked out
Hand raking to at least twice the joint width takes time but gives the new mortar something to key into. Angle grinding is far quicker, which is usually why a quote comes in dramatically low - and it permanently widens the joint and chips the brick edges.
Condition of the brickwork
Spalled faces, cracked bricks, old cement patches and rusted fixings all need addressing before pointing. Brick replacement and matching is quoted separately because it depends on how many bricks have gone and how rare the original stock is.
Size and detail of the elevation
Bay windows, arches, string courses, parapets and chimney stacks take far longer per square metre than a plain gable, because almost none of it can be worked in long runs.
Listed and conservation-area requirements
Period-correct joint profiles, an agreed sample panel and occasional consent paperwork add time. Around Richmond, Barnes and Chelsea this is routine for us rather than exceptional.
Comparing quotes
What a fair quote should itemise
A single lump-sum figure tells you nothing and cannot be compared with anybody else's. Every quote we send breaks the job down so you can see precisely what you are paying for.
Get a free quote
We survey, explain what the wall actually needs, and send an itemised written quote. No obligation, and no pressure afterwards.
Because a square-metre rate on a website is guesswork until somebody has seen the wall. Access, mortar type, brick condition and detailing change the job completely. We survey first and give you a free, itemised written quote you can actually rely on.
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Free survey, itemised written quote
Honest advice from a family-run brickwork specialist serving Richmond and South West London since 1946.