Gillingham · Kent
Boundary and garden wall repairs in Gillingham
If a wall along your Gillingham pavement or drive has started to lean, it is worth dealing with before a winter storm finds it. Most walls can be repointed and stiffened with piers, with only the worst sections taken down and rebuilt.
Guide price from£335per wall inc VAT
- Postcodes
- ME7, ME8
- Population
- about 100,000
- Area
- Kent
- Pricing region
- South East
What should you know about the ground under Gillingham?
Postcode districts ME7, ME8 cover Gillingham, a Kent town of about 100,000 people. Nearby, we also cover Strood (3 miles), Gravesend (8 miles) and Maidstone (9 miles).
Shrinkable clay is widespread in Kent. Parts of Kent lie on a former coalfield, so a coal mining search is worth checking if movement has no obvious cause. Across Kent, most homes are Victorian terraces in the Medway towns, weatherboarded and Wealden houses, 1930s semis and seaside bungalows.
What should you budget for boundary and garden wall repairs in Gillingham?
Guide prices below are for homes in Gillingham, on South East rates and including VAT. A survey or good photos let us turn them into a fixed written price.
| Item | Guide price | Per |
|---|---|---|
| Repointing and minor repairsest. | £335 – £1,350 | per wall |
| Rebuilding a leaning sectionest. | £170 – £390 | per m² of wall face |
| New brick piersest. | £280 – £670 | per pier |
Repair options we may recommend
Repointing and minor repairs
Weak mortar is raked out and the wall repointed in a mortar that suits the bricks, and damaged bricks are replaced with matching ones. Loose copings are rebedded or replaced with a design that throws water clear of both faces. This is often enough for an upright wall.
Best for: Upright walls with weathered joints, loose copings or spalled bricks
New piers and movement joints
Brick piers are built at intervals along the wall, bonded in or tied with stainless fixings, to stiffen it against wind and lean. Vertical movement joints are cut where a long run keeps cracking. Gate piers are rebuilt larger and on deeper footings where they carry heavy gates.
Best for: Long walls with regular cracks, or weak gate piers
What to expect when we carry out boundary and garden wall repairs
Photos and ownership
Send photos of the whole wall and close-ups of cracks, the lean and the coping, plus any nearby trees. Tell us whether the wall is yours, shared or your neighbour’s, as that affects who can instruct the work.
Neighbour and notices
Where the wall is shared or on the line of junction in England and Wales, the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 may require notice before work starts. We can explain what is likely to be needed, and work is agreed with neighbours first.
Repair and rebuild
Sections are taken down, footings dug, and the wall rebuilt or repointed with a damp-proof course and coping. Reclaimed or matched bricks keep the wall consistent, and spoil and old materials are removed at the end.
Is it time for boundary and garden wall repairs? Common signs
- Coping stones or brick-on-edge tops loose, cracked or missing
- Vertical cracks at regular intervals along a long run of wall
- Wall rocking or moving slightly when pushed at the top
Rules for boundary and garden wall repairs in England
Like-for-like repairs such as crack stitching and repointing do not usually need building control approval in England, but anything that changes or strengthens the structure, such as underpinning or rebuilding a wall, does. If the work touches a party wall, the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 may apply.
Your boundary and garden wall repairs questions
How much should I budget for boundary and garden wall repairs in Gillingham?
Guide prices for boundary and garden wall repairs in Gillingham start from about £335 per wall, including VAT, on South East rates. Your fixed written price follows photos or a survey and depends on the extent of the work and access.
Can you survey a property in Gillingham?
Yes. We take enquiries from across Gillingham, including ME7, ME8, and from nearby places such as Strood and Gravesend. Send photos for a free initial view and we will tell you what happens next.
Why do houses in Kent crack?
North Kent sits on London Clay, central Kent on Gault and Weald Clays and the Downs on chalk, so shrinkable clay is widespread. East Kent around Deal and Dover had a small deep coalfield, worked until the late 1980s. Only an investigation can say why a particular building has moved.
Can a leaning wall be pushed back upright?
Usually not in a way that lasts. Masonry does not bend back, and forcing a wall upright tends to crack it further. The normal repair is to rebuild the leaning section on a proper footing, reusing sound bricks, and add piers to stop it happening again.
Is a leaning garden wall dangerous?
It can be, particularly a tall wall, a front wall by a pavement or one that moves when pushed. A slight lean that has not changed for years may be stable, but a wall leaning more each year should be kept clear and repaired before a storm finds it.
Related work in Gillingham
- Floor joist repairs
- Bay window subsidence repairs
- Roof structure repairs
- Subsidence repairs
- Gable end wall repairs
Boundary and garden wall repairs near Gillingham
Sharing a leaning wall with a neighbour in Gillingham? Send photos and we will provide a quote you can both read, section by section.