DrivewayWallsinBournemouth
A driveway wall has to survive being reversed into as well as look right. We build the piers and returns solid enough to take the knock, matched into what is already there.
- Piers and gate posts built to take a knock
- Brick matched to your existing wall or house
- Five-year workmanship guarantee
- NVQ Level 2Diploma in Bricklaying
- CSCSCarded tradesman
- Up to £1mPublic liability cover
- 5 yearsWorkmanship guarantee
What is a driveway wall?
Built for Everyday Use, Not Just Kerb Appeal
A driveway wall runs either side of your drive or entrance, usually finishing in a brick pier that carries a gate or marks the opening. Unlike a garden wall tucked away at the back of a property, it takes daily wear: car doors, wing mirrors, the odd clumsy reverse. It suits any property with an open-fronted drive that wants a defined, secure boundary rather than a run of fencing, and it is one of the jobs we are asked for most.
- Built for vehicle knocks, not just kerb appeal
- Piers and gate posts sized to the opening you have
- Matched to your existing wall or house
Piers & Gate PostsWhat Matters Most Before a Brick Goes Down
Three things we get right on every one of these we build.
01Piers built to take a knock
Piers and the base courses go in solid enough for routine contact from car doors, wing mirrors and the odd clumsy reverse, not just to look right in a photo.
02Sized to your gate or opening
Piers and gate posts are set out to suit the gate or opening you actually have, so hardware fits first time rather than being forced to.
- 03
A five-year guarantee on every wall
Every wall we build is covered by our five-year workmanship guarantee, whatever the size of the job.
Driveway Wall, Garden Wall or Retaining Wall?
Three of the boundary jobs we get asked for most, and it is worth knowing which one is actually right for your drive before committing to it.
| Driveway Wall | Garden Wall | Retaining Wall | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it does | Frames a drive or entrance and usually carries a gate | Marks a boundary or divides a garden | Holds back a bank of soil or a level change |
| Built to withstand | Vehicle contact, wing mirrors and everyday knocks | Weather and general garden wear | Real load from the ground behind it |
| Footings | Sized to carry the piers and gate posts | Standard depth for the wall's own height | Sized to the height and slope of the ground |
| Upkeep | Low, beyond the odd repointed joint | Low, beyond the odd repointed joint | Needs drainage kept clear, or damp builds up behind it |
| Guarantee | 5 years | 5 years | 5 years |
Swipe to see every column
What's Included as Standard
The detail that decides whether it takes the knocks.
Footings sized to the drive
Dug and sized for the piers and the loading a driveway sees, not a standard depth.
Piers built to carry a gate
Built wide and deep enough to take a gate, ironmongery and the leaning it puts on them.
Brick matched to what's there
Chosen to match your existing wall, fence line or house wherever a match is needed.
Damp proof course
Built in where it's needed, so moisture doesn't track up into the brickwork.
Coping to shed water
A capping course so rainwater runs off the wall instead of sitting on it.
Clean pointing throughout
Every joint struck and finished properly, not just the courses at eye level.
Pricing
What It Costs
Every Wall Is Priced After a Visit
The length and height of wall, how many piers and gate posts it involves, access for materials, and what is already there to tie into all change the price, sometimes a lot from one drive to the next. A number given without seeing the site would not survive contact with your drive.
- The length and height of wall, and the number of piers and gate posts
- Access for materials, and what is already there to tie into
- A free, written quotation, with no obligation to go ahead
We visit the drive, work out what the wall needs to carry, and send a detailed written quote. It costs nothing and commits you to nothing.
How the Build Runs
Every job runs the same four stages, start to finish.
Free site visit & quotation
Jack will personally visit, look at the opening, the ground and what the wall needs to tie into, then send a detailed written quote.
Preparation
We order the right brick and materials, agree a start date, and protect the drive and anything nearby before a brick is moved.
Construction
We dig and pour footings sized to the piers, build the wall and gate posts, and keep the site clean and tidy every day we are there.
Finishing
We clean down the finished wall, remove all the waste, and walk you through the completed job to make sure you are happy with it, gate posts included.
Recent Wall and Pier Work
What Customers Say About Our Wall Building
Taken word for word from our Google profile.
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.
James Hickman
Jack was excellent from first inquiry to the finished product. We needed an old set of French doors bricking up to match our existing window still height.
A Recent Wall-Building Project
Before You Commit
The worries every homeowner has about work next to where they park, answered plainly.
Will we lose use of the drive while you work?
We can usually work around a drive in use, and we agree access with you before a brick is moved. Materials and any waste are kept tidy and out of the way of your car.
Will the new wall block our visibility pulling out?
We build to the sightline the opening needs, keeping the wall low enough near the opening so you can see approaching traffic before you pull out.
What if it is ever knocked?
Piers and the base of the wall are built with the loading a driveway sees in mind, so ordinary contact from tyres or a wing mirror will not bring it down. If a fault in our own work causes a problem within five years, our workmanship guarantee covers it.
What Wall Damage Is Telling You
Common signs, and what they usually point to.
A crack running up from a gate post
What it actually isThe pier has moved, usually because the footing beneath it was never deep enough for the weight and leaning a gate puts on it.
What it needsThe pier is rebuilt on a proper footing rather than patched over the crack.
Bricks crumbling low down near the drive
What it actually isRoad salt and spray thrown up off the drive over a few winters, which attacks the face of the brick.
What it needsThe affected courses are cut out and rebuilt in a brick that can take it, rather than repointed over the top.
The wall leaning away from the drive
What it actually isGround movement, or footings that were never adequate for the ground in the first place.
What it needsWe rebuild with footings sized to the ground, not just the wall sitting on top of it.
What Affects the Job
Most driveway walls are built from the ground up: footings sized to the piers, brick chosen to suit what is already there, and a coped top to throw water off the brickwork instead of letting it sit and soak in. Where it replaces an old boundary or a run of fencing, part of the job is taking out what is there before anything new goes in.
A dropped kerb changes the job. If your drive already has one, or you are having one put in, the wall either side needs setting back far enough to keep the sightline the highway authority expects, both for you pulling out and for anyone walking past on the pavement. It is worth checking with your local authority before the wall is designed, not after it is built.
Height matters too. A boundary wall next to a highway is generally treated differently to one further back on the plot. As a rule of thumb, it can usually go ahead without planning permission up to around a metre facing a road, and higher elsewhere on the plot, but the rule varies by council and by whether the property is listed or in a conservation area. Checking before work starts avoids having to take a finished wall back down.
Matching brick is where a lot of driveway wall jobs are won or lost. A new wall built in a brick that does not sit with the house or the wall it joins onto is the first thing anyone notices about a driveway. We take a sample of what is already there before we order anything, and would rather delay a start by a few days than build in the wrong brick.
A front garden wall and a driveway wall are often the same job by a different name, and the same rules on height, sightlines and footings apply to both.
Common Questions, Answered
What homeowners across Dorset and Hampshire ask us before booking.
Do I need planning permission for a driveway wall?
Most stay under permitted development if they are under about a metre where they face a road, or two metres elsewhere on the plot. Listed buildings and conservation areas can have tighter limits, so it is worth a quick check with your local planning department. We will flag it during the site visit if your job needs checking with the council.
Will the wall block my visibility pulling out?
We build to keep the sightline the opening needs, setting the wall back or keeping it lower near the opening so you can see approaching traffic before you pull out.
Can a brick driveway wall be matched to our house?
In most cases, yes. We take a sample of your existing brick before we order anything and match it as closely as the brick allows. On older brick an exact match may no longer be made, and we will tell you honestly how close we can get before we start.
Do you build the gate posts as well as the wall?
Yes. Piers and gate posts are built and sized as part of the same job, so any gate or ironmongery you fit afterwards sits square and true.
How much does a driveway wall cost?
It depends on the length and height of wall, the number of piers and gate posts, access for materials and what is already there to tie into. We price every wall after a free site visit rather than guessing a figure that would not survive contact with your drive. See the pricing section above for what goes into it, or get a free, written quote.
Do you cover Bournemouth and Poole?
Yes, both. We work across Dorset and into Hampshire, up to about an hour from our base in Ferndown.
Not Quite What You're After?
Other brick wall work we build across Dorset and Hampshire.
01Garden & Boundary Walls
A wall that marks the boundary or divides the garden, built to the same standard as this one, without the vehicle traffic.
Learn more
02Retaining Walls
For a sloping garden or a bank that needs holding back, rather than a drive that needs framing.
Learn more
03Brick Piers & Gate Posts
Just the piers or posts, without a full run of wall either side.
Learn more
Where We Build These
We travel up to around an hour from Ferndown for the right job.
Bournemouth
Where we built the semi-bespoke bond wall we are proudest of.
View work in BournemouthPoole
We advertise in the post office here, and plenty of driveway and boundary work comes from around it.
View work in PooleWimborne
The address JFE Brickwork is registered to, and another post office we advertise in.
View work in WimborneBroadstone
The third post office board, and a short run from the Wimborne side.
View work in BroadstoneChristchurch
Gate posts and boundary walls, quoted the same week.
View work in ChristchurchFordingbridge
Over the border in Hampshire, up the Avon from Ringwood.
View work in FordingbridgeGet 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