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Brickwork
Facing brick on new work, brick piers and arches, and repointing on old solid walls in a mortar that suits the brick rather than one that destroys it.
in short
AltHome lays facing brick on new work and repoints old brick walls across Kerry, Cork and Limerick. New work is kept to a consistent 10 mm joint with bricks mixed from several packs to avoid banding. Old solid walls are repointed in a mortar matched to the brick, usually lime, because hard cement traps moisture and makes old brick crumble. Jobs take one to three weeks.
what decides it
The mortar matters more than the brick
On new work brick is a face, not a structure. It is the outer leaf of a cavity wall, or a pier, or an arch over an opening, and what makes it look right is repetition: a consistent ten millimetre joint, level courses set out so you do not end up with a sliver of brick under a sill, the same bond carried around every corner, and one pointing profile from top to bottom. Bricks vary from pallet to pallet, so we mix from three or four packs at a time rather than working one pack out, otherwise you get banding across the wall that no amount of cleaning will hide. Weep holes, cavity trays over openings and stainless ties are the same discipline as any cavity wall, and they matter more behind brick because brick itself soaks up a lot of driving rain and hands the water to the cavity. On old solid brick walls the job is usually repointing, and this is where most damage in Ireland is done with the best intentions. Old bricks are soft and were built in lime mortar, which is deliberately weaker than the brick: it lets the wall breathe and it takes the movement. Repoint that wall in a hard cement mortar and the water can no longer leave through the joints, so it leaves through the face of the brick instead, and the face spalls off in frost. We match the mortar to the wall, lime for soft old brick, cement based where the brick is modern and dense, and we rake out to a proper depth rather than smearing a skim of new mortar across the face of the old joint.
Matching brick on a repair or an extension
New brick beside forty year old brick never matches on day one, because the old wall has weathered. We source the closest match we can find, sometimes reclaimed, and we take the new brick from the least visible elevation of your own house where a repair allows it, so the new material goes where nobody looks. The joint colour does as much work as the brick colour, so we make sample panels and let you look at them in daylight before the wall goes up.
the work
What is included in brickwork and repointing?
- Set out the courses so openings, sills and corners land on whole bricks.
- Build sample panels for brick and joint colour before the main wall starts.
- Lay the facing skin with clean ties, trays and weeps, mixing from several packs at once.
- Turn piers, arches and reveals, and cut on a saw rather than with a hammer.
- Rake out old joints to depth and repoint in lime or cement to suit the brick.
- Clean the finished face down without acid washing soft brick, and protect it while it cures.
4 steps
How long does it take to build or repoint a brick wall?
You get in touch
Send a photo of the wall, close up and from across the road. We answer the same day.
We come and look
We scratch a joint to see what mortar is in it, check the brick for spalling and measure up. Then a written price.
We build or repoint
Samples first, then the wall. New work is covered every evening and nothing is laid in frost.
You sign it off
We walk it with you in daylight, clean down, and leave the mortar mix on record for any future repair.
next door
What goes around it
Brick is the face of the wall. These are the parts of it nobody sees once the job is finished.
asked
Brickwork: common questions
My brick is crumbling at the face. Why?
Nearly always frost getting into brick that cannot dry out, and the usual cause is hard cement pointing on an old soft wall, or a sealant painted over the brick. We cut out the failed bricks, turn or replace them, and repoint in a mortar the wall can breathe through.
Can you match the brick on my house?
Usually close, rarely perfect on day one. We bring samples out to the house and look at them against your wall in daylight, and we can use reclaimed brick where the match matters. After a couple of winters new brick weathers in.
Should brick be sealed or painted?
Sealing is normally a bad idea, because it traps moisture in a material designed to let it out. Painting brick is a one way decision: once painted, it has to stay painted. If the wall looks tired we would rather clean and repoint it than coat it.
When does a brick wall need repointing?
When the mortar is recessed more than a few millimetres, crumbles when scratched, or has cracked away from the brick. Left alone, rain gets into the joints and the brick faces start to spall in frost.
How much does repointing cost?
It depends on the area, the height and access, the joint profile and whether lime mortar is needed. Raking out by hand to protect soft brick takes longer than modern walls. We price it after looking at the wall and a small test panel where the mortar colour matters.
quote
Get a fixed quote for brickwork
Tell us the address and roughly how many square metres of wall. We work across Kerry, Cork and Limerick. We ring you back within one working day.
085 220 1422 · info@althome.ie
Written by the AltHome crew. Last reviewed September 2026.