Brick arch repairs in Yeadon

Postcodes: LS18, LS19, LS20
Population: about 37,000
Area: West Yorkshire
Pricing region: Yorkshire and the Humber

What should you know about the ground under Yeadon?

Postcode districts LS18, LS19, LS20 cover Yeadon, a West Yorkshire town of about 37,000 people. Neighbouring towns we cover: Horsforth (3 miles), Shipley (4 miles) and Pudsey (5 miles).

West Yorkshire has a mix of ground, with clay in some places and firmer rock in others. Historic coal workings are recorded beneath parts of West Yorkshire, and a coal mining search is worth checking where movement is unexplained. Housing stock in West Yorkshire: Stone back-to-backs and terraces, mill housing, Victorian villas and post-war estates.

Brick arch repairs prices in Yeadon

Guide prices below are for homes in Yeadon, on Yorkshire and the Humber rates and including VAT. A survey or good photos let us turn them into a fixed written price.

Guide prices inc VAT on Yorkshire and the Humber rates. Items marked est. are our estimates.
Item	Guide price	Per
Stitching and reinforcing a sound archest.	£380 – £1,150	per arch
Rebuilding an arch (one side)	£855 – £1,250	per opening
Rebuilding an arch (both sides)	£1,700 – £2,450	per opening

How we usually approach brick arch repairs

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

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 happens during brick arch repairs, step by step?

Support the opening
Props carry the brickwork above, and for a rebuild a former is made to the exact profile of the arch. The window or door frame is protected so it is not asked to carry any load.
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.

What to look for before calling about brick arch repairs

The centre bricks of an arch sitting lower than the rest
Cracks stepping out from the arch ends into the wall
A vertical crack running up from the middle of the arch

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.

Questions about brick arch repairs in Yeadon

How much should I budget for brick arch repairs in Yeadon?

Guide prices for brick arch repairs in Yeadon start from about £380 per arch, including VAT, on Yorkshire and the Humber 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 Yeadon?

Yes. We take enquiries from across Yeadon, including LS18, LS19, LS20, and from nearby places such as Horsforth and Shipley. Send photos for a free initial view and we will tell you what happens next.

Why do houses in West Yorkshire crack?

West Yorkshire lies largely on the Coal Measures, with shallow historic workings around Leeds, Wakefield and Kirklees, and gritstone hills to the west. Steep sites mean retaining walls are common. Only an investigation can say why a particular building has moved.

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.

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 Yeadon

Brick arch repairs near Yeadon

If bricks in an arch at your Yeadon property are loose, photograph them from a safe distance and send them over for advice.