BricklayerandBrickworkSpecialistinChristchurch
Old Christchurch sits on a gravel ridge between the Avon and the Stour, and the ground gets softer the closer you go to the harbour. We look at what is under your wall before we quote it.
- Free, no-obligation quotation on every job
- NVQ Level 2 qualified, CSCS carded
- 5-year workmanship guarantee
- NVQ Level 2Diploma in Bricklaying
- CSCSCarded tradesman
- Up to £1mPublic liability cover
- 5 yearsWorkmanship guarantee
What the ground does here
Gravel in the middle of town, soft ground by the water
The old part of Christchurch was built on a ridge of river gravel between the Avon and the Stour, and that gravel, dropped by the two rivers, runs under a good deal of the town. It drains well, so footings on it are usually straightforward. That is not the whole town though. Towards the harbour the ground turns to alluvium and tidal silt, the water table sits high, and a footing that would have been plenty on the ridge is not enough. Garden topsoil is often imported and tells you nothing about what is underneath, so we dig and look first. Jack holds an NVQ Level 2 Diploma in Bricklaying and a current CSCS card, and it is his call on the ground that decides how deep a footing goes.
- River terrace gravel across much of the town, soft alluvial ground nearer the harbour and the two river mouths
- Salt in the wind off Christchurch Bay, which finds tired mortar joints on the exposed face of a wall first
- A lot of pre-1919 red brick in the older streets, bedded in lime, which is the one sort of wall we turn down
JFE Brickwork
3 New Merrifield, Wimborne, Dorset, BH21 7AL
Brickwork Services in Christchurch
Wall building is the bulk of it, and repointing and brick repairs keep us busy on the older streets. Find the job nearest yours and the note below it says what that job means on this ground.
Brick and garden walls
Garden wall buildingNew walls and rebuilds. On the terrace gravel the digging out is usually kind.
Driveway wallsEntrance walls built to sit with the red brick this town is mostly made of.
Retaining wallsFor a garden that steps down towards the Avon, the Stour or the harbour shore.
Decorative brickworkFlemish bond and the older patterns, which suit brickwork of the age you get here.
Brick piers and gate postsPiers on a narrow old street, which is where a passing wing mirror usually lands.
Brick stepsSteps down to a lower garden, and rebuilds where damp ground has softened the treads.
Brick plantersRaised beds, which earn their keep on the wetter ground near the water.
EV charger wallsA short brick wall to hang a charger on where there is no garage wall to fix it to.
Repointing and brickwork repairs
Brickwork repointingCement-mortar walls, raked out and repointed. Salt air opens the joints early here.
Brickwork repairsSpalling and frost damage, worst on brick that sits wet all winter.
Brick matchingMatching the red brick and clay tile that give the old streets their colour.
Chimney repointing and repairsA stack takes the weather coming in off the bay before the rest of the house does.
Blocking up doorways and windowsOld openings bricked up so the patch does not read as a patch.
Wall tie replacementCorroded ties in a cavity wall, which is the interwar and post-war stock rather than the old core.
How a job runs in Christchurch
The same four stages on a patch of repointing as on a garden wall.
Jack comes and looks at the job
Message us and Jack is usually out to see it that week. He gets a hole open and looks at what is under you, because gravel and wet alluvium can be a few streets apart in this town. The quotation is free, in writing, and there is no obligation.
We agree a start date
We get the brick ordered and matched to what is already on your wall, book you in, and protect what is around the work. If your wall falls inside one of the town conservation areas we will say so before anything comes down.
We build it
The work goes up to a high standard and the site is left clean and tidy at the end of every day. New mortar gets covered against the weather blowing in off the bay, which matters more on this side than it does inland.
We walk you through it
Everything gets cleaned down, all the waste leaves with us, and we walk you round the finished job so you can tell us you are happy with it before we go.
What customers say
Word for word from the Google profile, spelling and all.
5.0
Rosemary Collins
Jack did an excellent job rebuilding a section of our garden wall and repairing cracks in other sections despite having to work through challenging weather conditions and unexpected complications in relation to the groundwork.
Dane Gardner
Jack is a real craftsman who repaired my steps and repointed my patio to a very high standard. From the start he was good at communicating, replying to messages quickly and providing a prompt quote.
The bits people want settled first
Three things that come up on the doorstep before anyone says yes.
Will my garden be left in a state?
The site gets tidied at the end of every day, and every bit of waste leaves with us when the job is done.
Will I actually hear back from you?
Message us on a Monday and we will normally have looked at the job by the end of that week, with the quote to you by the weekend.
What happens if it fails later?
There is a five-year workmanship guarantee on it. If something we built goes wrong inside that, we come back and put it right.
Questions from around Christchurch
If yours is not here, message us and you will get a proper answer.
Do you cover Christchurch?
Yes. We work out of Ferndown, a short run up the A338 and across, and we are over this side regularly. That takes in the town itself along with Highcliffe, Mudeford, Stanpit, Burton, Somerford, Purewell and Hurn. Send us a postcode and you will get a straight yes or no rather than a hedge.
Can you repoint an old lime mortar wall in the town centre?
No, and we would rather tell you now than take your money. Lime mortar and heritage repointing are not work we take on. Plenty of brickwork in the older parts of Christchurch went up before 1919 and is bedded in lime, and pointing that sort of wall in cement traps water in the brick and does more damage than the open joints ever did. If that is what you have, you want a specialist. Call us anyway and we will tell you which sort of wall you have got.
Do I need planning permission for a garden wall in Christchurch?
The usual rule is that a new wall over 2 metres needs permission, or over 1 metre where it runs along a road or the footpath beside one. Christchurch has eleven conservation areas though, from Christchurch Central and Purewell to Mudeford Quay, Burton, Hurn and Stanpit and Fisherman's Bank, and inside one of those, taking an existing wall down can need permission even when putting it back up would not. BCP Council is the planning authority, so check with them before anything is knocked over. We will tell you what we think applies, but the decision is theirs.
Does being near the harbour make a difference to the work?
Two differences, and both cost money if they are ignored. The wind comes in off Christchurch Bay carrying salt, and salt-laden air finds worn mortar on the exposed face of a wall long before it finds anything else. And the ground near the harbour and the lower Avon and Stour is alluvial and often wet, so footings have to go deeper than they would on the gravel. Both are cheaper to sort out at the quoting stage than after a wall has started to move.
Towns either side of Christchurch
The nearest places we cover, working out from the harbour.
Bournemouth
The next town west, where the building stock starts getting newer.
Bricklayer in BournemouthNew Milton
The far side of Christchurch Bay, on the New Forest edge.
Bricklayer in New MiltonRingwood
Upstream on the Avon, the same river valley as this town.
Bricklayer in RingwoodFerndown
North west, sitting on sand rather than river gravel.
Bricklayer in FerndownPoole
Past Bournemouth and round the other harbour.
Bricklayer in PooleGet a free quote
Tell us what you need and we'll come back with a price. No pressure, no hard sell.
Prefer to talk? Call JFE Brickwork on 01202 028 343