Flaking, cracked and crumbling bricks cut out and replaced with bricks that match the rest of your wall. We also find out what damaged them, so the new bricks do not go the same way.
Send us the details on WhatsApp, or by email if you prefer. We reply with a price or a time to visit.
Prefer to talk? Call 07487 625926
Brick is tough, but it is not indestructible. Once water gets into the face of a brick and freezes, the outer layer can pop off and leave a soft, crumbling surface, which is known as spalling. Bricks also crack where a wall has moved, or break down slowly where they have stayed wet for years. Left alone, a damaged brick lets more water in and the problem spreads to its neighbours.
The repair is to cut out each damaged brick, clean out the hole and bed in a replacement that matches in size, colour and texture. Sometimes the original brick is sound on its back face and can be turned round and refitted. Where a whole section has deteriorated, taking it down and rebuilding can make more sense, which is where our bricklaying work comes in.
We always look for the cause. A dripping gutter, a cracked downpipe or old hard cement pointing are the usual culprits, and the last of those is common on older houses. If your wall was laid in lime, our lime and mortar pointing service deals with the joints, and on modern brickwork the same job falls under brick repointing.
If damaged bricks sit above a window or door alongside a crack, the lintel guide explains what to look for. Otherwise, a photo of the wall on WhatsApp is the quickest way to find out what is going on.
Removing the damage cleanly, then fitting bricks you will struggle to pick out.
Each failed brick is cut out without disturbing the sound brickwork around it.
Replacement bricks are chosen to blend in, then bedded and pointed to suit the wall.
Send a photo of the wall and a close-up of the worst bricks so we can see the type and the cause.
We look for reclaimed or new bricks close to yours in size, colour and texture.
Damaged bricks are cut out, the holes cleaned and the new bricks bedded in tight.
The new joints are pointed to match, the faces cleaned and all debris taken away.
We compare size, colour and texture so replacement bricks sit quietly in the wall.
A new brick under a leaking gutter will fail again, so we point out what caused the damage.
Replacement bricks are bedded in lime or cement to suit the rest of the wall.
Cracked joints and bricks along a crack line are cut out and rebuilt, not just filled.
A wide photo and a close-up of the damage is usually enough to price a small repair.
Blending new bricks into an old wall is a skill built over 18 years in the trade.
Bricks vary far more than most people expect. Older bricks were often made to imperial sizes, slightly different from modern metric bricks, and colour changes from one clay, kiln and batch to the next. We start by measuring a sound brick and looking closely at its colour, texture and the way it has weathered, then track down a reclaimed brick of the same type or a new one close enough to blend in.
Reclaimed bricks are often the best match for a period wall, because they have already weathered and come from houses of a similar age. For newer houses, a brick from the same range or a close equivalent is usually still available. Where nothing suitable can be found, turning the original brick round to show its unweathered back face can be the neatest answer.
Cracks need reading before they are repaired. A crack that steps up through the joints may come from a failing lintel or movement in the ground, while a crack straight through the bricks points to stronger forces or hard mortar that would not give. We repair what is in front of us, and if a crack suggests a structural problem we will tell you so it can be looked into properly.
Failing joints raked out and refilled in mortar matched to your brick.
Find out moreBreathable lime or matched mortar for Victorian, Edwardian and older homes.
Find out moreCracked or sagging window and door heads propped, replaced and rebuilt.
Find out moreGarden walls, boundary walls, piers and small brickwork builds.
Find out moreSpalling is when the face of a brick flakes, crumbles or falls away. It usually happens when water soaks into the brick and freezes, and it is far more likely where hard cement pointing stops the wall drying through its joints.
We get as close as we can by matching size, colour and texture with reclaimed or new bricks. A new brick may look a little fresh at first but should tone in as it weathers.
Often, yes. If the back of the brick is sound, it can be cut out, turned so the clean face shows and bedded back in. That gives a near perfect match, because it is the same brick.
Damage tends to cluster where the wall stays wettest, such as below a leaking gutter, beside a downpipe or near the base of the wall. Softer bricks in a mixed batch also tend to fail first.
Yes. We cut out the cracked bricks and joints along the crack and rebuild them. Where the crack comes from a failed lintel, the lintel is replaced as part of the same job.
A slight difference is normal at first, especially in colour. Matching the brick and the mortar carefully keeps it small, and most repairs blend in further as they weather.
Send a photo on WhatsApp or ring us for a free quote on replacing damaged brickwork.
