Hackney · Greater London
Brick arch repairs in Hackney
Older Hackney houses often carry their window and door heads on brick arches built without any steel at all. When the centre bricks slip, the arch either needs reinforcing in place or rebuilding over a timber former.
Guide price from£500per arch inc VAT
- Postcodes
- E2, E5, E8, E9, N16
- Population
- about 260,000
- Area
- Greater London
- Pricing region
- London
How do local ground conditions affect brick arch repairs in Hackney?
Hackney takes in postcode districts including E2, E5, E8, E9, N16, with about 260,000 residents. If you are just outside Hackney, we also cover Tower Hamlets (2 miles), Islington (2 miles) and Waltham Forest (4 miles).
Greater London is one of the parts of the UK where clay soils are most likely to move with the seasons. Ground movement here is more often linked to soils, drains and trees than to mining. Typical buildings in Greater London: Victorian and Edwardian terraces with shallow footings, inter-war semis in the outer boroughs, and converted flats and mansion blocks.
What happens when we carry out brick arch repairs in Hackney?
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.
Strike the former and point
Once the mortar has cured enough, the former and props are removed. Joints are finished to match the surrounding wall, and any cracks running from the arch into the wall are repaired at the same visit.
Signs you may need brick arch repairs
- Mortar falling out of the arch joints after frosty weather
- A vertical crack running up from the middle of the arch
- Cracks stepping out from the arch ends into the wall
How much will brick arch repairs cost in Hackney?
Guide prices below are for homes in Hackney, on London rates and including VAT. A survey or good photos let us turn them into a fixed written price.
| Item | Guide price | Per |
|---|---|---|
| Stitching and reinforcing a sound archest. | £500 – £1,500 | per arch |
| Rebuilding an arch (one side) | £1,100 – £1,600 | per opening |
| Rebuilding an arch (both sides) | £2,250 – £3,250 | per opening |
Which repair method suits a home in Hackney?
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
Lime mortar repairs
On older houses built in soft brick and lime, the arch is rebuilt or repointed in a lime mortar matched to the original. Lime lets moisture escape and moves slightly with the wall, so it protects the bricks rather than forcing damage into them, as hard cement mortar can.
Best for: Pre-1919 houses and soft historic brick
Rules for brick arch 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.
Brick arch repairs in Hackney: questions and answers
How much will brick arch repairs cost in Hackney?
Guide prices for brick arch repairs in Hackney start from about £500 per arch, including VAT, on London rates. Your fixed written price follows photos or a survey and depends on the extent of the work and access.
Do you cover Hackney?
Yes, Hackney is covered, along with postcode districts E2, E5, E8, E9. We also cover nearby Tower Hamlets and Islington.
Is the ground in Greater London prone to subsidence?
Most of Greater London sits on London Clay, among the most shrinkage-prone ground in the UK, with river gravels along the Thames. Subsidence claims here are among the most frequent in the country, especially after dry summers and near street and garden trees. 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.
Can you match the original bricks?
Usually, because most arches are rebuilt with their own cleaned bricks, which is the best match of all. Damaged bricks are replaced with reclaimed or new bricks chosen for size, colour and texture, and the mortar is matched to the surrounding joints.
Other structural repairs in Hackney
- Bay window subsidence repairs
- Resin injection ground stabilisation
- Subsidence repairs
- Concrete repairs
- Gable end wall repairs
Brick arch repairs near Hackney
Once the brick and mortar match is agreed for your Hackney arch, we put a fixed price in writing before any work is booked.