Lisnaskea · County Fermanagh
Brick arch repairs in Lisnaskea
If you live in a period home in Lisnaskea, the arches over your windows were probably laid in lime mortar. Rebuilding them in lime, with the original bricks cleaned and reused, keeps the wall breathing and the repair hard to spot.
Guide price from£350per arch inc VAT
- Postcodes
- BT92
- Population
- about 3,000
- Area
- County Fermanagh
- Pricing region
- Northern Ireland
What should you know about the ground under Lisnaskea?
Postcode districts BT92 cover Lisnaskea, a County Fermanagh town of about 3,000 people. If you are just outside Lisnaskea, we also cover Enniskillen (10 miles) and Omagh (25 miles).
Clay shrinkage is less of a concern in County Fermanagh, so other causes such as drains, poor footings or older walls are checked first. Ground movement here is more often linked to soils, drains and trees than to mining. What you mostly find across County Fermanagh: town houses in Enniskillen, rural cottages and post-war estates.
Guide prices for brick arch repairs in Lisnaskea
These are guide prices for Lisnaskea, using Northern Ireland rates and including VAT. Your written quote follows photos or a survey, and is fixed once the repair is specified.
| Item | Guide price | Per |
|---|---|---|
| Stitching and reinforcing a sound archest. | £350 – £1,050 | per arch |
| Rebuilding an arch (one side) | £790 – £1,150 | per opening |
| Rebuilding an arch (both sides) | £1,600 – £2,300 | per opening |
Methods for brick arch repairs
Reinforcing a sound arch
Where the arch has only dropped slightly and the bricks are sound, stainless helical bars are bonded into the bed joints just above it, extending well into the wall on each side. The bars turn the courses above into a reinforced band of masonry, so the arch no longer has to carry the full load. Joints are repointed to match.
Best for: Slightly dropped or cracked arches with sound bricks
Rebuilding over a former
A timber former is cut to the arch profile and propped under the opening. The old arch is carefully taken down, bricks cleaned for reuse, and the arch rebuilt over the former with tight joints and a properly set keystone. The former stays until the mortar is strong enough to carry the load.
Best for: Badly dropped arches or ones with loose voussoirs
From first photo to finished repair
Look at the arch closely
Straight-on photos of the arch and the wall either side show us how far it has dropped, whether the bricks are sound and whether the cause seems to be the arch itself or the wall around it.
Choose reinforce or rebuild
We recommend reinforcement where the arch is sound and only slightly displaced, and a rebuild where it has dropped badly or bricks are loose. If the wall beside the opening is moving, that is dealt with first.
Repair the arch
Bars are bonded into the joints above a sound arch, or the arch is taken down and relaid over the former using the original bricks where possible, with matched replacements for any that are damaged.
Symptoms that point to brick arch repairs
- Cracks stepping out from the arch ends into the wall
- Gaps opening between arch bricks at the top or bottom edge
- A flat arch that has started to sag into a shallow curve
Rules for brick arch repairs in Northern Ireland
In Northern Ireland, minor repairs usually need no approval, but structural work comes under the Building Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2012 and council building control. There is no Party Wall Act in Northern Ireland.
Frequently asked questions
How much will brick arch repairs cost in Lisnaskea?
Guide prices for brick arch repairs in Lisnaskea start from about £350 per arch, including VAT, on Northern Ireland rates. Your fixed written price follows photos or a survey and depends on the extent of the work and access.
Do you cover Lisnaskea?
Survey visits to Lisnaskea are by arrangement because of travel and access. We can still give a free initial view from photos, and we tell you any travel cost before a visit is booked.
Is the ground in County Fermanagh prone to subsidence?
Fermanagh has limestone, sandstone and glacial till around the lakes, with soft lakeshore ground in places. Only an investigation can say why a particular building has moved.
Should a brick arch be repaired with lime mortar?
On older houses built with soft bricks and lime, yes, in most cases. Lime mortar lets the wall breathe and is weaker than the brick, so any movement or frost damage happens in the joints rather than the bricks. Modern hard brickwork can take a cement-based mortar.
What is a former in arch building?
A former, sometimes called a centre, is a temporary timber frame cut to the exact shape of the arch. It supports the bricks while the arch is laid and the mortar cures, and is removed once the arch can carry itself.
Other structural repairs in Lisnaskea
- Bowing wall repairs
- Retaining wall repairs
- Lintel replacement
- Extension pulling away repairs
- Subsidence repairs
Brick arch repairs near Lisnaskea
Our guide-price tool covers arch reinforcement and rebuilds in Lisnaskea; add a photo and we can say which applies to yours.