A Guide to Repointing Costs

Bricks are held together by mortar – on modern homes this will be a mixture of sand and cement while on period properties this might be sand and hydraulic lime.

Mortar also blocks out rain and moisture, helping to keep what’s on the other side of the wall dry. 

There are many reasons why the mortar may fail; often it’s due to poor quality workmanship during the construction stage. Exposure to excess rain can also weaken it, as can age.

Many walls will last for well over 100 years without needing a repoint; others may need the work done every 50 years or so.

Patios, driveways and other surfaces that experience foot or vehicle traffic will likely need to be repointed more frequently due to movement and water pooling.

Roofs and chimneys experience much more windswept rain that other parts of the home that are protected by the roof overhang, surrounding buildings and trees etc. Mortar on roofs and chimneys may need to be repointed more frequently than a typical wall.

An Important Note About Scaffold and “Raking Out”

Scaffold

To meet Health and Safety regulations, any sustained work at height like repointing upper walls and chimneys etc. should be done from scaffolding or access platforms rather than ladders.

The scaffold can add considerable cost to many repointing projects. For example; it may take only a few hours to repoint a small chimney, but the cost of the scaffold could reach hundreds of pounds.

The prices on this page do not include the cost of scaffolding.

Raking Out

Any mortar that’s soft or crumbling is easy to remove, but on some parts of the wall, harder mortar may need to be cut out with mechanical tools. Raking out can be a quick process, or it can be painfully slow. For large, complex projects, you should get a custom quote.

Building contractor fined and sentenced to 180 hours of community service for unsafe working at height practices and exposing workers to harmful dust during wall repointing.

Cost to Repoint a House

It’s quite rare for an entire house to need repointing, in most cases just one wall (usually the rainswept one) needs repointing.

Below is our guide to house repointing costs, the figures exclude the cost of scaffolding which you’ll almost certainly need.

The price includes raking out and mechanically cutting out the old mortar where needed.

Repoint just one wall, a day’s work for two workers – £500 – £750.

Repoint a semi-detached house, three walls, two to four days work – £1250 – £2250

Cost to repoint a detached house, up 8 days work – £2500 – £4000

Cost to Repoint a Chimney

Chimneys come in many different sizes, from small 1m x 0.5m stacks that can be repointed in a couple of hours to huge tall chimneys that take a couple of days.

As with many other repointing projects, the cost of the scaffold can be more than the cost of the repointing.

The figures below exclude the cost of the scaffolding:

Small chimney 1m x 0.5m  – £200 – £400

Medium-sized chimney – £500 – £750

Larger domestic chimney – £750 – £1000

Garden Walls

Garden walls are the easiest type of wall to repoint as no scaffold is required and working at ground level is easier than high up around a roof or chimney.

The figures below include raking out and mechanically raking out where needed:

For smaller walls – £35 -£45 per square metre.

For long garden walls £25 – £40 per square metre.

Is your wall beyond repair? See how much it costs to build a garden wall.

Stone Wall Repointing Cost

Stone walls can be very difficult to repoint (see photo below) and are best left to specialists.

The figures below include raking out which can take considerable time on some projects.

Stone walls – £50 -£70 per square metre.

Stone wall repointing is more complex and “raking out” can take much longer too.

Patio Repointing Price Guide

Patio repointing improves the appearance of the patio but doesn’t improve its strength.

If the patio slabs are uneven, have moved or are unstable and rock when walked on, you’ll need to lay a new patio. Repointing the mortar joints is never enough to secure the slabs in place.

Expect to pay £12 – £18 per square metre.

Roof Repointing

Roof tiles are often secured to the roof by a large bed of mortar. This prevents them from coming loose and falling off during windy weather.

If the mortar has failed, it should be replaced rather than be repointed.

15-20mm of surface mortar will not be enough to secure the tile in place, so we suggest you have the tiles lifted and bedded down onto fresh mortar as per the images below. A mechanical fix, such as a screwed system, should also be used to guarantee the tiles won’t lift in the wind.

It’s difficult to suggest a price for roof tile re-bedding but somewhere around £15 – £25 per large tile for larger runs. Smaller projects such as re-bedding just one tile will need to priced according to how long the work takes and the access equipment needed.

Bedded onto mortar.

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These Factors Will Affect The Price of Repointing

No two projects are ever the same, but these will affect the price you pay:

Full scaffold – Expensive and erected by a separate company, this can cost more than the repointing in some cases.

Access platform – these platforms can be hired and are much cheaper than scaffolding. Perfect for working on walls and smaller houses but they won’t be suitable for reporting a large detached house.

Pointing style – there are several different styles of pointing, and some take longer than others, it may seem trivial, but over hundreds of metres, the difference can add much time to the project.

Mortar pointing styles. Image from Job Prices.

Wall condition – if the wall is in a bad condition and bricks need to be cut out and replaced, as is often the case, this will add time and cost to the project.

The location – the cost of labour is less in northern parts of the UK compared to London and the Home Counties where prices are often inflated.

Workmanship quality – everyone from labourers to roofers, landscape gardeners and even handymen will quote for wall repointing. For some projects, such as those on period properties, specialists should be used even if they charge more.

Get Custom Repointing Price Online

Our prices are based on figures given to us by bricklayers and other tradespeople. For a truly accurate price, we suggest sourcing up to three quotes from local tradespeople.

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