Tamworth · Staffordshire
Brick arch repairs in Tamworth
Flat soldier arches on Tamworth houses tend to sag once a hidden bar rusts or an old window frame is replaced. Reinforcing them with stainless bars in the joints above is often enough, without taking the arch down.
Guide price from£400per arch inc VAT
- Postcodes
- B77, B78
- Population
- about 82,000
- Area
- Staffordshire
- Pricing region
- West Midlands
How do local ground conditions affect brick arch repairs in Tamworth?
Tamworth (B77, B78) has around 82,000 residents and sits in Staffordshire. Nearby, we also cover Lichfield (6 miles), Sutton Coldfield (7 miles) and Aldridge (9 miles).
Parts of Staffordshire have clay that can shrink near trees in dry spells. Parts of Staffordshire lie on a former coalfield, so a coal mining search is worth checking if movement has no obvious cause. Housing stock in Staffordshire: Potteries terraces, brick villas, inter-war semis and post-war estates.
What should you budget for brick arch repairs in Tamworth?
These are guide prices for Tamworth, using West Midlands 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. | £400 – £1,200 | per arch |
| Rebuilding an arch (one side) | £900 – £1,300 | per opening |
| Rebuilding an arch (both sides) | £1,800 – £2,600 | per opening |
Repair options we may recommend
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
What to expect when we carry out brick arch repairs
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.
Is it time for brick arch repairs? Common signs
- A vertical crack running up from the middle of the arch
- A flat arch that has started to sag into a shallow curve
- The centre bricks of an arch sitting lower than the rest
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.
Your brick arch repairs questions
How much should I budget for brick arch repairs in Tamworth?
Guide prices for brick arch repairs in Tamworth start from about £400 per arch, including VAT, on West Midlands 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 Tamworth?
Yes, Tamworth is covered, along with postcode districts B77, B78. We also cover nearby Lichfield and Sutton Coldfield.
Why do houses in Staffordshire crack?
North Staffordshire around Stoke-on-Trent, Newcastle-under-Lyme and Kidsgrove, and the Cannock Chase area, lie on coalfields with recorded workings. Much of the rest of the county is Mercia Mudstone and glacial clay. Only an investigation can say why a particular building has moved.
Why has the middle of my brick arch dropped?
The centre of an arch usually drops because the bricks have lost their wedge, either because the wall at the sides has moved or the mortar has worn away. A rotting timber hidden behind the arch is another common cause. The keystone slipping is the visible result.
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.
Related work in Tamworth
- Floor joist repairs
- Bay window subsidence repairs
- Wall tie replacement
- Structural surveys and crack monitoring
- Bowing wall repairs
Brick arch repairs near Tamworth
Our guide-price tool covers arch reinforcement and rebuilds in Tamworth; add a photo and we can say which applies to yours.