Bricklaying Services
Bricklaying Across the North East
Andy’s Building and Bricklaying Services carries out bricklaying across Tyne and Wear, County Durham and south east Northumberland, working from a base in Blaydon-on-Tyne. Over 25 years of hands on building experience, a written quote before anything starts, and the regulations dealt with rather than dodged.
Call 07854 366464Get a Free QuoteWhat bricklaying involves
Most brickwork is a building regulations question rather than a planning one, but free standing walls have their own height rules at a boundary, and repointing a property in a conservation area can attract more scrutiny than the same job on the next street.
Bricklaying Services
Our bricklaying include
- Garden and boundary walls: foundations, brickwork, copings and piers built to last rather than to look right for a season
- Repointing: raking out and repointing in a mortar mix suited to the wall rather than the strongest available
- Structural brickwork: load bearing walls, piers and openings formed to the approved details
- Chimney building and repair: rebuilding, repointing and reflaunching where the stack has weathered
- Stonework and stone cladding: natural and reconstituted stone laid to match the surrounding work
- Steps and pathways: brick and block steps, thresholds and paths finished to fall correctly
- Brick matching: sourcing the closest available brick and proving the match before ordering the load
- Making good: tidy joints, clean faces and a site left properly at the end of each day
Regulations
Planning and building control for bricklaying
The North East is not one authority. Our working area covers 7 building control bodies: Durham County Council, Gateshead Council, Newcastle City Council, North Tyneside Council, Northumberland County Council, South Tyneside Council, Sunderland City Council. Each has its own guidance, its own fee scale and its own inspectors, and which one applies is set by the address rather than by the postal town, which is why people in places like Washington, Houghton-le-Spring and Birtley are so often pointed at the wrong council.
Most brickwork is a building regulations question rather than a planning one, but free standing walls have their own height rules at a boundary, and repointing a property in a conservation area can attract more scrutiny than the same job on the next street. We establish which authority applies and what it will require before a design is finalised, rather than after it has been drawn twice.
Where the ground is part of the question, and across the old Durham and Northumberland coalfield it very often is, a coal mining risk assessment may be needed alongside the application. We flag that at quoting stage so it is a known cost rather than a surprise once the trench is open.
Recent work
Our Approach
How we work
Site visit first
The first step is a site visit. Nothing gets priced across the North East until we have seen what we are actually being asked to build.
A written quote
Everything goes in writing before work starts, including what is in the price and what is not.
Regulations handled
Most brickwork is a building regulations question rather than a planning one, but free standing walls have their own height rules at a boundary, and repointing a property in a conservation area can attract more scrutiny than the same job on the next street.
Kept informed
We keep you updated as the work goes on rather than disappearing for a week. It is the least complicated part of building work and the part most often done badly.
Frequently Asked Questions
Bricklaying: your questions
What time of year is best for brickwork?
Brickwork can be laid for most of the year, but not in frost, and mortar needs protection in cold weather. We plan around the forecast rather than pushing on and producing weak joints.
How high can I build a garden wall without planning permission?
As a general rule a wall up to two metres is permitted, dropping to one metre where it adjoins a highway used by vehicles or a footpath beside one. Different limits apply to listed buildings and some conservation areas, so it is worth confirming before the foundation goes in.
Do garden walls need foundations?
Yes. A wall without an adequate foundation will move, and on clay ground it will move noticeably within a couple of winters. The foundation depth depends on the wall height and the ground it is sitting on.
Can you match the existing brick on my house?
We take a sample and source the closest available match before ordering. On Victorian and Edwardian property an exact match is rarely available, so the joint profile and mortar colour do a lot of the work in making the new blend with the old.
Do you build brick piers for gates and driveways?
Yes, including the foundation, the pier itself, any built in ducting for gate motors and the capping on top.
Is your brickwork guaranteed?
Yes. Workmanship is guaranteed for an agreed period which we confirm in writing before starting.
Do you clean the brickwork down afterwards?
Yes. Faces are cleaned as the work goes up rather than left to set, which produces a far better result than trying to remove hardened mortar at the end.
Can you repair a chimney rather than rebuild it?
Often yes. If the brickwork below the roofline is sound, a rebuild above the roofline plus new flaunching and flashings is the usual and much less disruptive option.
Which councils do you work under for bricklaying?
We work across seven building control authorities: Durham County Council, Gateshead Council, Newcastle City Council, North Tyneside Council, Northumberland County Council, South Tyneside Council, Sunderland City Council. Each publishes its own guidance and fee scale, and the one that applies is decided by the address rather than the postal town.
Which areas do you cover for bricklaying?
We cover 32 towns and villages across Tyne and Wear, County Durham and south east Northumberland, from our base in Blaydon-on-Tyne. Every one of them has its own page setting out the local planning and ground picture.
Bricklaying in your area
Every town below has its own page covering the local authority, the ground and the housing stock.
Our other building services
We are a general building firm, so most projects touch more than one of these.
Thinking about bricklaying?
Send over the details or give us a ring. We will visit the property, talk through the options for bricklaying across Tyne and Wear, County Durham and Northumberland and put a written quote in front of you with nothing hidden in the small print.
Call 07854 366464Request a Quote