Brickwork & Pointing
Mortar crumbling out of the joints, a garden wall leaning over the path, spalled bricks under a downpipe, a patch of damp inside that lines up with a gap outside. EDDI Construction Ltd carries out brickwork, repointing and external masonry repairs across North West London, from a few square metres of pointing to a rebuilt garden wall. Fully insured, clear on price and straightforward to deal with.
Call +44 7492 350404Most of the Victorian and Edwardian terraces across Willesden, Cricklewood, Kilburn and Harrow were built with soft lime mortar, and a lot of them have since been repointed in hard cement. That matters because a solid brick wall needs to let moisture out as well as keep weather off. Lime mortar is softer and more breathable than the brick, so moisture and movement are taken up by the joint, which can be renewed. Hard cement pointing reverses that: water gets trapped behind it and escapes through the brick face instead, and in a frost the face of the brick blows off. When we repoint an older wall we rake the joints out to a proper depth, match the mortar to the wall rather than to whatever is quickest, and finish the joint to suit the house. On later houses built with cement mortar, a matching cement-based mix is the right choice. We explain which applies to your wall before we start.
Bricks fail in predictable places: under a leaking gutter or downpipe, at the base of a wall where rain splashes back, along a garden wall with no coping, and wherever hard pointing has been trapping water. We cut out spalled or cracked bricks and replace them with bricks that match the originals in size, colour and texture as closely as we can source, so the repair does not stand out as a patch. We also look at why the brick failed in the first place. Replacing a brick under a dripping overflow without fixing the overflow means doing the job again in a few winters, so we point out the cause and put it right as part of the same visit where we can.
Garden and front boundary walls take more weather than the house does, because both sides and the top are exposed. The common problems are a missing or cracked coping letting water straight into the wall, roots from a nearby tree pushing the foundations, and a wall that was built a single brick thick and too tall for it. We repair and repoint walls where they are sound, reset or replace copings, rebuild sections that have cracked or started to lean, and build new garden walls, piers and planters. Where a wall is leaning because of the ground or a tree, we will tell you plainly whether a repair is worthwhile or whether rebuilding that length is the better use of your money.
A surprising amount of the damp we are asked to look at inside older houses starts at the outside wall. Ground levels raised by a patio or a flower bed can sit above the damp-proof course and bridge it. Air bricks that ventilate a suspended timber floor get blocked by paving, render or soil, and the floor void starts to hold moisture. Cracked render, failed pointing and a leaking gutter all let water into the wall from above. We check the outside of the wall before anything else, clear or replace blocked air bricks, lower or cut back ground levels where they bridge the damp-proof course, and repoint or repair the masonry that is letting water in. Where damp needs specialist diagnosis beyond that, we say so rather than guess.
On extensions and alterations, the brickwork is the part everyone sees from the street, so matching the existing house is what makes a new wall look as if it has always been there. We match brick, bond and mortar colour as closely as possible, tooth new work into the old where the design calls for it, and form openings, sills and lintels as part of the structural work. Brickwork is one part of the extension, refurbishment and loft conversion work we already handle in-house, so it runs on the same programme as the rest of the build rather than waiting on a separate bricklayer.
Not every crack is a problem, and not every crack is cosmetic. Fine cracks that follow the mortar joints, have not changed in years and do not reopen are often just old movement that has settled, and they can be raked out and repointed. Cracks that are widening, that run through the bricks themselves, that appear suddenly after dry weather or near a large tree, or that come with doors and windows starting to stick, can be a sign of movement in the structure or the ground. We will tell you honestly which kind we think you have. Where it looks like ongoing movement, the right first step is a structural engineer's assessment, and we would rather you get that than pay us to fill a crack that will open again.
Brickwork rarely arrives on its own. Repointing a wall often goes with a gutter repair, a patch of render, or redecorating inside once the damp has dried out. Because brickwork is done by our own team alongside our plasterers, carpenters and decorators, the whole job is handled by one team on one programme. We give you a clear written quote before we start, and if we find something different once the old pointing is out, we stop and explain it before carrying on. A few replaced bricks, a garden wall, a front elevation repointed: no job is too small.
Look for mortar that is recessed well back from the brick face, crumbles when you run a key along it, or has fallen out altogether. Damp patches inside that line up with worn joints outside are another sign. We can look at the wall and tell you whether it needs a full repoint or just the worst areas.
Most Victorian and Edwardian houses were built with lime mortar, and lime is usually the right choice for repointing them because it lets the wall breathe and protects the bricks. Later houses built with cement mortar are normally repointed with a matching cement-based mix. We check what your wall was built with before recommending anything.
That is called spalling. It usually happens when water gets into the brick and freezes, often because of a leaking gutter or downpipe, or because hard cement pointing is trapping moisture in the wall. We replace the damaged bricks and deal with the cause so it does not keep happening.
We match size, colour and texture as closely as we can source, and match the bond and mortar colour as well, so repairs and new work blend in with the existing wall.
Sometimes. If the lean is slight and the wall is otherwise sound, it may be possible to repair it. If it is leaning because of the ground, a tree or a poor original build, rebuilding that length is often the more sensible option. We tell you which we think it is before quoting.
Fine, old cracks along the mortar joints that have not changed are usually not a concern and can be repointed. Cracks that are widening, run through the bricks or come with sticking doors and windows can indicate movement, and we would recommend a structural engineer looks at those first.
Yes. Failed pointing, damaged bricks, blocked air bricks and ground levels built up above the damp-proof course can all let moisture into the wall. We check the outside of the wall first, because that is often where the fix is.
Yes. A few replaced bricks, a small section of repointing or a repair to a garden pier is just as welcome as a larger job. No job is too small.
North West London, including Wembley, Harrow, Brent, Edgware, Kingsbury, Willesden, Cricklewood, Hendon, Stanmore and Colindale.