How much does a garden brick wall cost?

What changes the price

Length and height. Bricks and labour scale with the face area, and anything over about a metre high usually needs piers or a thicker wall

Single-skin or 9-inch. A two-brick-thick wall roughly doubles the bricks and mortar

Brick choice. Standard facings are the baseline; matching the house or using reclaimed bricks costs more

Foundations. A new concrete footing is dug and poured before any bricks go on. An existing sound footing saves money

Taking down what's there. An old wall, fence or hedge has to be removed and carted away

Finish. Piers, pier caps, brick-on-edge or concrete coping all add bricks and time

A garden wall is the classic bricklaying job. A few metres of brick, a metre or so high, along a boundary or across the front of a house. It’s also one of the jobs where quotes vary the most, because two walls that look the same in a photo can be very different jobs underground.

What drives the price

The biggest factors are size and thickness. A single-skin wall (one brick wide) is the cheapest way to build; a 9-inch wall, two bricks thick, uses roughly double the bricks and mortar and takes longer. Once a wall gets past about a metre, or if it’s holding anything back, it needs piers or the thicker build to stay standing, and that’s a cost, not a luxury.

Then there’s what’s below it. A new wall needs a concrete footing, which means digging a trench, barrowing the spoil out and pouring concrete before a single brick is laid. If there’s an old wall to take down first, that’s a day of labour and a skip.

Brick choice moves the price too. A standard facing brick is the baseline. Matching an older house brick or using reclaimed bricks can add a good chunk to the materials. Finishing details, piers, caps, a brick-on-edge top or a concrete coping, each add bricks and time.

Where you are matters. Bricklayer day rates in London and the South East run higher than the rest of the country, and access matters everywhere: a wall at the front with the van parked beside it is quicker than one at the back reached through the house.

What a good job includes

A concrete footing dug to firm ground, or an existing footing checked and confirmed sound
A damp-proof course near ground level
Bricks laid to a line, level along the length and plumb on both faces
A staggered bond with no straight joints running up the wall
Piers where the height needs them, built plumb and to the same height
Joints of an even thickness, pointed cleanly and the face brushed off
A top that sheds water: coping, caps or brick-on-edge, level along the run
Waste taken away and the ground left tidy

How to get an accurate quote

Measure the length and the height you want, decide whether you want it to match the house, and photograph the whole run from both ends, the ground along it and the access from the road. Say what’s there now and where the spoil can go. Bricklayers can give an honest starting price from that. The final price comes after a site visit, when they can check the ground and any existing footing.

Nobody can promise a price from a page like this. The figures above are a guide to what’s reasonable, so you can spot a quote that’s missing something. Post the job with photos and get real quotes from local bricklayers whose work is rated by other bricklayers.

Common questions

Does a garden wall need foundations?

Yes. Every brick wall needs a concrete footing below ground, typically a trench dug to firm ground and filled with concrete. A wall built on soil or an old path will crack and lean within a few winters. If there's an existing footing from an old wall, a bricklayer can check whether it's sound enough to reuse at the site visit.

Do I need planning permission for a garden wall?

Usually not. In most of the UK a wall up to 2 metres high, or up to 1 metre high if it's next to a highway, falls under permitted development. Listed buildings and conservation areas have their own rules, so check with your council if either applies.

How long does it take to build?

A 6 metre single-skin wall with a footing is typically two to three days for a bricklayer and a labourer, allowing a day for the footing to set before building on it. Longer walls, piers and taking down an old wall add time.