Repointing is raking out old, crumbling mortar from between bricks and replacing it with fresh mortar, sealing the joints against rain and protecting the wall; brickwork repairs replace spalled or cracked bricks and rebuild damaged sections.
Cost is usually the first question about brickwork and repointing, so here is the guide for Northern Ireland: £2,200–£5,200 including VAT. We cover the whole of County Londonderry, with Derry/Londonderry, Coleraine, Limavady and Magherafelt among the main centres. Because each UK nation sets its own rules, we check the requirements in Northern Ireland for your property, then put a firm price on paper following a free survey.
- Guide price
- £2,200–£5,200 inc VAT
- Time on site
- 3–10 days for a typical house
- Planning rules
- Northern Ireland
- Price level
- About 14% below the national guide
- Towns listed
- 4
- Survey
- Free, with a written quote
Brickwork and repointing prices in County Londonderry
What should you budget for brickwork and repointing in County Londonderry? Use the figures below as a starting point. Prices in Northern Ireland sit about 14% below the national guide, so the range here is £2,200–£5,200 including VAT. Your fixed price comes in writing once we've surveyed the property, at no charge.
| Type of job | What it usually involves | Guide in County Londonderry |
|---|---|---|
| Chimney or small area | Repointing a chimney stack, gable or single wall, including access. | £500–£1,550 |
| Typical semi-detached | Repointing the main elevations of a 3-bed semi, including scaffolding. | £2,200–£5,200 |
| Detached or lime work | Larger houses, or period homes repointed in lime with brick repairs. | £4,300–£8,600 |
What moves the price up or down:
- Mortar type: cement or lime, and joint style
- Number of bricks to replace and how well they match
- Scaffolding and access, including chimneys
- Condition of the existing mortar and how hard it is to remove
What do you get?
- Survey of mortar, bricks, cracks and the cause of any damp
- Raking out old mortar to the correct depth
- Colour and joint style matched as closely as possible
- Replacement of spalled or cracked bricks
- Clean-down of brick faces after pointing
- Waste removal and a tidy site
Homes in County Londonderry
Derry has Georgian and Victorian terraces around its walled city, alongside large post-war estates and newer developments. Coleraine, Limavady and Magherafelt mix older town centres with semis and estates, Portstewart has seaside villas, and rural areas have many detached homes and bungalows, often roughcast.
Terraces suit loft conversions and rear extensions, while rural bungalows commonly take extensions, loft rooms and driveways. Roughcast homes often need re-rendering, and coastal houses need roofline and window renewal.
The north coast faces Atlantic wind, rain and salt, and the Sperrins inland are colder and wetter.
Do you need permission in County Londonderry?
Each UK nation sets its own consent rules, and County Londonderry is in Northern Ireland. What follows is a plain summary; we check the specifics for your property with the council before pricing anything.
In Northern Ireland, repointing and like-for-like brick repairs are maintenance; listed buildings may need consent for changes in materials.
Building control approval is not normally needed for repointing, but structural rebuilding can need it.
Rules change and every property is different, so we check the planning history and constraints for your address before we quote.
The four stages
Free site survey
A free survey comes first. It gives us what we need to price brickwork and repointing properly, including dimensions, existing materials and access for deliveries, and gives you the chance to ask anything you like.
Quote in writing
The quote arrives in writing, not over the phone. It covers the full scope, the finishes you've chosen, any exclusions and the payment schedule, with a fixed price tied to that specification.
Dates and permissions
We handle the paperwork side: checking whether planning permission or building control approval is needed, submitting applications where they are, and scheduling the trades and materials around your dates.
Build and hand over
The work is carried out to the agreed specification, with floors and furniture protected and the site kept tidy. At the end we clean up, walk through the finished job with you and hand over any certificates.
What you can expect from us
Frequently asked questions
Is the price fixed?
Yes, for the specification we agree. Your written quote sets out exactly what is included at a fixed price. It only changes if you ask for something different, or if a problem the survey could not reasonably reveal later needs extra work. In either case we explain the change and confirm it in writing before going ahead.
Will repointing cure damp?
Repointing can stop damp caused by rain getting through failed mortar joints, which is common on exposed walls. It will not fix damp from leaking gutters, a bridged damp-proof course, condensation or high ground levels against the wall. We look for the cause during the survey and recommend fixing that, so repointing is not done for the wrong reason.
When is the right time of year to repoint?
Repointing should be done in mild, dry weather, usually spring to early autumn. Fresh mortar must be kept from frost while it cures, and lime mortar in particular needs protection from frost, rain and strong sun for several days. We cover fresh work with hessian or sheeting where needed and plan the job around the forecast.
Should my house be repointed with lime or cement?
Houses built before about the 1920s were usually built with soft bricks and lime mortar, and should normally be repointed in lime. Hard cement mortar in these walls traps moisture and can cause the brick faces to crumble. Newer homes built with cement mortar are usually repointed in a similar mix. We check your wall construction before recommending a mortar.
Do I need planning permission in County Londonderry?
It depends on the work, the size of the project, your property type and whether the building is listed or in a conservation area. County Londonderry is in Northern Ireland, so Northern Ireland's rules apply. Many smaller jobs need no planning application, but some still need building control approval. We check what applies to your address before quoting.
Towns in County Londonderry
Homes in all of the following County Londonderry towns can get a written quote for brickwork and repointing. Open a town page to see prices and the postcodes we cover.