Bricklayers in the UK
A garden wall to replace the fence that blew down, the shell of an extension ready for the roofer, a porch, a pier that has leaned since the lorry hit it, a chimney rebuilt above the roofline, a house repointed in lime, or brickwork matched so the new bit does not shout: find the bricklayers near you.
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Finding a good bricklayer in the UK
A bricklayer builds and repairs anything in brick, block and stone: the walls of extensions and new houses, garden and boundary walls, piers and gateposts, porches, chimneys, retaining walls, steps, barbecues and outbuildings, arches and decorative work, and the repointing, crack stitching and replacement of brickwork that has weathered, cracked or been hit. Good bricklaying is about line, level, plumb and consistent joints, and it shows for a hundred years; bad bricklaying shows in a week, in bowed courses, smeared faces and joints that let the water in.
Bricklayers usually work in a gang with a labourer mixing and carrying, and price either by the day or per thousand bricks laid, with blockwork by the square metre; on an extension they work from the builder's or architect's drawings and to Building Regulations, with wall ties, cavity trays, insulation and lintels all inspected, so ask who is doing the design and the inspections. Look for photos of finished work, ask to see a wall they built a few years ago, and for period houses look for someone who understands lime mortar and can match bricks, bonds and joint profiles, because a cement repoint on a soft old brick does real damage.
The listings here show each bricklayer's services, the kinds of work they take on, day rates, areas covered, photos of past jobs and contact details, so you can see who is nearby, who does the job you need, and where people in your town go for brickwork that stands.
What bricklayers do
New build and extensions: cavity and solid walls, blockwork inner leaves, foundations and footings with a groundworker, lintels, cavity trays, wall ties and insulation to Building Regulations.
Garden and boundary walls: single- and double-skin brick and block walls, piers, gateposts, copings, retaining walls, steps, raised beds and barbecues, with the footings to suit the ground.
Repairs: repointing in cement or lime, crack stitching with helical bars, replacing spalled and frost-damaged bricks, rebuilding leaning piers and bowed walls, and chimney rebuilds and repointing.
Period and decorative work: brick matching, lime mortar, tuck pointing, arches, corbelling, herringbone panels, stone and flint, and restoration on listed buildings.
Related work: blockwork for garages and outbuildings, rendering, chimney breast removal with a structural engineer's design, and knock-throughs with the steel fitted.
Before you hire a bricklayer
- Ask to see recent work in person, not just photos; look at the joints, the line of the courses and the corners.
- Agree whether the price is per day, per thousand bricks or for the job, and who supplies bricks, sand, cement and a mixer.
- For an extension, check who is responsible for Building Control inspections and the structural design.
- Match the bricks before ordering; take a sample to the merchant, and order a few hundred spare for the future.
- For an old house, ask whether they work in lime; cement pointing on soft brick traps water and blows the faces off.
- Get a written quote with the scope, start date and payment stages, and pay for materials as they arrive rather than everything up front.
What bricklaying costs in the UK
As a rough guide, a bricklayer charges £200 to £300 a day, more in London, plus £120 to £180 for a labourer, or £400 to £700 per thousand bricks laid on price work; a single-skin garden wall costs £150 to £250 a square metre and a double-skin wall £250 to £400 built, including bricks at £400 to £1,200 a thousand depending on the brick; blockwork is £40 to £70 a square metre laid; repointing £30 to £60 a square metre in cement and £50 to £90 in lime, with scaffold on top; a chimney stack rebuild £1,500 to £3,500 with scaffold; and the brickwork of a single-storey extension £6,000 to £15,000 depending on size. A gang lays 400 to 800 bricks a day on a straightforward wall, fewer on fiddly work.
A 10-metre, 1.8-metre-high garden wall in a decent brick comes to roughly £4,000 to £7,000 built with footings, and lasts a lifetime against a fence's fifteen years.
How do I find a bricklayer near me?+
Look at the bricklayers listed for your town, which show the work they do, day rates, areas covered, photos of past jobs and reviews; ask to see a finished wall, get two written quotes with the scope and payment stages, and for period houses choose someone who works in lime and matches brick.
How much does a bricklayer charge per day?+
Typically £200 to £300 a day, more in London, with a labourer at £120 to £180 on top, or £400 to £700 per thousand bricks on price work. A gang lays 400 to 800 bricks a day on a plain wall, so a day rate and a price-per-thousand usually come to a similar figure on straightforward work.
How much does a garden wall cost?+
About £150 to £250 a square metre for a single-skin wall and £250 to £400 for a double-skin wall, built and including bricks, footings and copings, so a 10-metre wall at 1.8 metres high is roughly £4,000 to £7,000 depending on the brick and the ground. Walls over a metre next to a road or two metres elsewhere may need planning permission.
How do I match new brick to old?+
Take a whole brick and a lump of the old mortar to a builders' merchant or a brick-matching service; they identify the size, colour, texture and bond and find the nearest current brick or a reclaimed one, and the joint colour and profile matter as much as the brick. Reclaimed bricks cost more but blend at once; a new match weathers in over a few years.
Should an old house be repointed in lime?+
If it was built in lime, which nearly all pre-1920 houses were, yes: lime mortar is softer than the brick and lets moisture out, while cement mortar is harder, traps water and makes the brick faces spall off in frost. Lime repointing costs more and takes longer to cure, and it needs a bricklayer who knows the mix, so ask what they use before they start raking out.
Does brickwork need Building Regulations approval?+
Structural brickwork such as an extension, a knock-through, a chimney breast removal or a retaining wall holding up a drive does, with inspections of the footings, damp-proof course, wall ties and lintels. A freestanding garden wall does not, though it may need planning permission if it is tall or on a boundary with the road, and it still needs proper footings to stay up.
How do I get my business listed?+
It is free. Add your business in about two minutes to appear on this page and your local town directory. Upgrade to Featured for £2.49 a month to sit above the free listings.