Brickwork
New walls, garden walls, piers, arches and repointing — laid by people who care what the joint looks like.
What it involves
Brickwork is the trade the whole business started on and it is the one we are judged on. Matching an existing brick is a real skill: the colour, the size, the bond and the mortar mix all have to line up, and the wrong mortar on an old wall does damage that outlasts the person who specified it.
Where we do this work
Brickwork in Basingstoke is mostly a matching exercise. The estates were built in large phases with bricks bought in bulk, which means a whole street can share one facing brick — good news, because the type is usually identifiable and still obtainable. The bad news is that a poor match on that kind of uniform terrace is glaringly obvious. We sample against the wall in daylight before we order.
Basingstoke pageHook gives us both ends of the trade. On the newer estates it is modern facing brick and cement mortar, and a matched extension is a straightforward job. In the old village there are solid walls in soft handmade brick with lime mortar, and repointing those with a hard cement mix — which has been done, and you can see where — takes the face off the brick within a few winters. Those two jobs need different materials and different hands.
Hook pageWinchester is the most demanding brickwork we do, and that is not a sales line. The city has soft red brick, flint, brick-and-flint chequerwork and a great deal of lime mortar, much of it on buildings that are listed or in a conservation area, where what you point it with is a matter of consent and not preference. Repointing a Winchester property in the wrong mortar is expensive to put right and, on a listed building, is not simply your own business.
Winchester pageBrickwork in Tadley is mostly a matching exercise and it is one we know well. The estates went up in large phases with brick bought in bulk, so a whole road often shares one facing type — good news, because it is usually identifiable and still made. It also means a poor match is glaring on a uniform terrace rather than lost in the variety. We sample against your wall in daylight before anything is ordered.
Tadley pageWe will come out, look at the property and put a written quote together. No charge for the visit.
Usually, yes. There are reclaim yards and specialist suppliers for most common types, and where an exact match is not available we will show you the closest options before we buy anything.
It is harder than the brick. Any moisture in the wall then escapes through the brick face instead of the joint, and the face spalls off. On a solid-walled period property the mortar should be lime.
If you can rake the joint out with a screwdriver, or the mortar is crumbling and dropping, it needs doing. Patches of it are normal on an older house and do not mean the whole elevation is due.
Regularly. Anything over about 600mm wants a proper footing and, if it is retaining, a design — a garden wall that falls over is a serious thing.
More of what we do
Get in touch
Tell us what you are planning and we will come out, look at the house and put a written quote together with the costs set out.
Six quick fields. We answer every enquiry ourselves.
