Brickwork and General Building Works
Matched brick, matched mortar, matched joint. Otherwise it is just a patch.
Bricklaying is the trade the whole company is built on, and it is the one where the difference between good and average is visible from the pavement for the next hundred years.
Typical works can include
Every project is different. Depending on the agreed scope, works may include:
- Facing brickwork and cavity blockwork
- Brick and mortar matching, including lime mortar on older property
- Repointing and joint repair
- Structural crack repair and helical tie stitching
- Lintel replacement and arch repair
- Garden, boundary and retaining walls
- Chimney repairs and rebuilds
- Forming and closing openings in existing walls
- Piers, steps and hard landscaping masonry
Elements such as decoration, flooring, structural engineer fees, Building Control fees and any professional or design costs are dealt with according to the individual project, and are included only where the quotation says so.
Repairs and matching
Cracked masonry, dropped lintels, blown render, failed arches, subsidence cracking. The repair itself is usually straightforward. Making it disappear is the harder part. Brick colour, brick texture, mortar colour and joint profile all have to be right, and mortar is where most repairs fall down visually, because modern cement tends to be far lighter and harder than the original.
On older and listed property a soft lime mortar is often more appropriate than cement, because the wall needs to breathe and the brick should be harder than the joint. Getting that relationship the wrong way round can cause real damage to a Victorian wall over time.
From one of our Google reviews
Peter Tribble asked us to repair a house wall with subsidence cracking. The line that mattered to him, and to us, was that the mortar and the replaced bricks were all matched well. That is the job.
New work
Garden and boundary walls, retaining walls with the drainage and weep holes they actually need, piers, new openings, chimney rebuilds, cavity blockwork for extensions, and forming and closing openings in existing walls. All of it laid to line and gauge, with the perpends kept plumb, because that is what you notice from across the road.
I can very happily recommend CB Builders and Sons having had work completed today by them. Turned up on time, tidied up well after themselves. Did a multi task interior job very professionally, and didn’t over charge. Wood work, electric, plaster, all to a high standard. Also, being a lone female I can say I felt safe and totally comfortable having them in my home. I would 100% hire them again. Thank you.
Examples of this work
Some of these are mid build rather than finished, because that is where you can see how something was put together.
Worth knowing
Our brickwork service is focused on substantial building, structural and renovation projects rather than isolated pointing or single-brick repairs. This allows us to concentrate our team and resources on the type of work we are set up to deliver.
Common questions
Do you do small jobs?
No. We do not take on handyman work, single repairs or odd jobs, and it is better to say so up front than leave you waiting for a quote that never comes.
We are set up for substantial building and renovation work: extensions, structural alterations, whole house projects, conversions and significant external works. For smaller repairs or handyman-type work, we would recommend using a tradesperson who specialises in that type of service, as our team is structured around larger building and renovation projects.
How long will the work take?
It depends on the job, and anyone who gives you a number without seeing the house is guessing. As a rough guide: a bathroom is two to three weeks, a kitchen refit two to four, a single storey rear extension is usually ten to fourteen weeks from breaking ground, and a full house renovation runs three to six months depending on scale.
Weather, Building Control inspections and lead times on windows, doors and kitchens all move those numbers. We build realistic float into the programme rather than promising a date we cannot hold.
Related work
Talk it through before you commit
The site visit and the written quotation are free. If you want to know what we are like to work with first, check out our five star Google reviews.