A Guide to Garden Wall Costs
Garden Wall Construction Prices For 2021
Prices Based on Data From Dozens of Firms
Get Your Own Custom Quote Online
Part of Our Gardening Series
How Much Does it Cost to Build a Garden Wall?
Garden walls have lots of advantages over other types of barriers; they’re more secure, last longer and require far less maintenance.
In this guide, we’ll answer common questions such as:
- How much does it cost to build a typical garden wall?
- How long does it take?
- Do I need a single thick wall or a wall that’s two bricks wide?
- Where is the best place to get a custom quote online?
- + more in the FAQs section.
We’ve also published a price breakdown for a typical garden wall, where we look at the cost of the bricks, sand, cement, capstones, waste disposal, labour, profit and VAT.
The most effective way to get an idea of how much a new garden wall costs is to gather plenty of prices from local firms and compare them.
Here at Quotation Check, we called 30 landscape gardeners and requested prices for two garden walls.
Most of the chosen firms visited our properties to inspect the gardens while some, due to COVID-19, were more than happy to quote us after seeing photos and dimensions of the area we sent them via email.
You can use our published figures as a guide price but do note the following:
- All the figures displayed are an average and are inclusive of VAT.
- Removal and disposal of the old fence, posts and earth as required is included.
- The price includes the supply of all materials, including the bricks, sand, cement etc.
- We’ve also calculated a cost per square metre, handy for those of you wanting to calculate a garden wall price quickly.
We’ve published price for two walls, one a single skin one that’s two bricks wide.
2021 Prices
The garden wall prices shown below were published in 2021.
Please remember that the prices came from both small and large firms from various locations around the UK.
Project 1 – A 4m x 0.45m Single Skinned Garden Wall
The prices shown below are for a garden single-skinned wall, 4m long, 0.45m high and 100mm wide.
This is a narrow, low-level wall. Any wall constructed to a height above 450mm (approx) should be double-skinned for stability.
The work involves:
- Remove existing grass/shrubs etc
- Excavate ground for the foundation.
- Lay concrete foundation.
- Construct wall by laying bricks on a bed of mortar.
- Finish off with coping stone caps.
- Remove all waste material.
| Location: | From: | To: |
|---|---|---|
| London Area | £1100 | £1300 |
| South, SW and Midlands | £1000 | £1100 |
| Outer Region and North | £850 | £950 |
| Need a Custom Price? | Get a Quote |
Project 2 – A 4m x 1.2m Garden Boundary Wall
At 1.2 metres high, this larger wall will need to be double skinned (width 225mm) for stability but it’s not so high that a structural engineer needs to check the ground conditions and prevailing winds etc.
This wall is located at a boundary but is not load-bearing or retaining any earth.
- Remove the existing boundary fence.
- Excavate the ground to the required depth.
- Lay footings/foundation of concrete.
- Construct walls with bricks, double-skinned, bedded onto the mortar.
- Finish with coping stone caps.
- Dispose of all waste.
| Location: | From: | To: |
|---|---|---|
| London Area | £2100 | £2400 |
| South, SW and Midlands | £2000 | £2200 |
| Outer Region and North | £1800 | £2000 |
| Need a Custom Price? | Get a Quote |
Price Breakdown
Several of the chosen firms provided us with a price breakdown for project 2.
This is from one of the firms based in Surrey:
Bricks and coping stones: £700
Sand, cement, concrete £100
Waste disposal £100
Labour (two ppl x 2.5 days, presumably includes employer NI contributions) £750
Profit margin and VAT at 20% £750
Total: £2400
Price Per Square Metre
Per square metre pricing is a quick, if not the most accurate way, to price a project.
The figures below are an average of the prices given to us for a simple SMALL garden wall.
As the size of the wall increases, the cost per square metre decreases as most of the cost is in the preparation work.
| Item: | Price Per Sq Mtr: |
|---|---|
| Cheapest bricks supply only | £48 per sq mtr, per skin |
| Decorative garden wall bricks supply only | £85 per sq mtr per skin |
| Garden wall construction cost per sq mtr for decorative bricks (double skin), inc preparation work, footings and VAT etc. | £235 per sq mtr per skin |
| Need a Custom Price? | Get a Quote |
Considerations
The prices shown on this page are for simple garden walls, not structural load-bearing or retaining walls.
The following will affect the price you pay for a garden wall:
Planning permission – If the planned garden wall is over 1 metre in height and located next to a highway you will need planning permission unless the original structure was a wall of that height and you’re replacing it on a like-for-like basis. See planning permission rules here.
Brick type – There are thousands of bricks to choose from, and the starting price is around £60 per square metre per skin. For more decorative bricks, the prices can rise to over £200 per square metre. These are supply-only prices.
Waste removal – Depending on what’s already in place where you want the new wall; an existing wall, fence, concrete etc. you could need an entire skip which would cost more.
Wall shape – The price displayed is for a straight wall with piers. If you want walls with curves, then the labour fee goes up as it takes longer to construct.
Access – Most gardens can be accessed via a side gate or something similar, but others are difficult to access. If you want an old wall torn down and the waste carted through a house and new bricks, sand, cement and all the other materials also taken through the house to the garden, then this will require extra man-hours and cost.
Your Custom Wall Quote Online
The cost of a garden wall varies from location to location due to the fluctuation in labour prices. The type of brick you want is also a big pricing factor.
As no two projects are the same, we recommend getting at least three quotations from reputable firms.
Hit the button below to see prices from reputable landscape gardeners and brickies.
- Quotes based entirely on the unique specifications of your garden wall and your choice of brick.
- This is service built for speed, you won’t be chasing up tradespeople. They’ll be contacting you with price offers.
- Compare prices from local landscape gardeners and bricklayers
- Read vetted reviews, both good and bad, from previous customers.
Garden Wall Cost
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Garden Wall Q&A
When Were These Garden Wall Prices Published?
We sourced garden wall prices and calculated an average figure in 2021
Which Firms Provided You With Prices?
We sourced prices from 30 landscape gardeners from all over the UK.
How Much Does a Retaining Wall Cost?
More than the figures we’ve published. Depending on what exactly the wall is retaining, you may (probably) need a structural engineer to provide you with a calculation for foundation depth, wall thickness, how far apart the piers should be etc.
How Long Does it Take to Construct a Garden Wall?
It depends on how much work needs completing. Most projects will require extra preparation such as demolishing old walls, fences, digging up roots etc.
Here is a very general guide for the construction of a 4m x 1.2metre garden wall:
Day 1 – Remove existing fence, posts and post concrete. Mark our area and excavate the ground to the required depth and lay the foundation concrete. Collect materials (bricks, coping capstones, sand/cement, etc.) for the next stage of the project while the concrete dries.
Day 2 – Lay bricks including to piers which adds time to the process.
Day 3 – Finish laying bricks and piers. Lay coping capstones. Tidy up garden and remove the waste material which needs to be disposed of.
We think it would take around three days to build a garden wall of this size.
While many bricklayers may boast of laying 800+ bricks per day, this is usually on straight sections. Piers, coping capstones and foundations take longer, as does the first few courses as the bricky needs to get the levels correct at the start of the wall.
How Thick Should a Garden Wall Be?
It depends on where in the UK the wall is located as prevailing winds should be considered.
As a general rule of thumb; a single skinned wall, that’s around 100mm thick, should be no higher than 450mm, slightly lower in northern areas of the UK.
A double-skinned wall, that’s around 215-225mm thick, can go to between 1075mm and 1450mm high, depending on location.
For garden walls over 1.2 metres, a structural engineer should provide a calculation which will be based on the ground conditions and prevailing winds etc. In most cases, this will results in extra piers for stability or the construction of a wider wall.
How Much Do Bricklayers Charge Per Day?
Bricklayers are in demand in the UK and frequently charge over £250 per day.
Labourers earn between £90 and £140 per day depending on experience and location.
Of course, most labourers and brickies don’t work directly for the general public; they work for builders, landscape gardeners and contractors who make a profit on each project and add VAT if applicable. Bear this in mind when trying to estimate the labour cost of a brick wall project.
Are There Any Trade Associations For Landscape Gardeners or Bricklayers?
The Association of Professional Landscapers (APL) and the British Association of Landscape Industries (BALI) are recognised trade associations in the UK. You can search their databases for landscape gardeners.
There are several bricklayer trade associations, easily found via Google search, but this might be overkill for a small project such as a garden wall that can be completed by a landscape gardener.
You can also use our network of tradespeople, and of course, there’s also Checkatrade, Which?, Trustmark and other associations.
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