How to price a bricklaying job on an old house with defects

How to price a bricklaying job on an old house with defects

The right way to price bricklaying on an old house is to split the quote into two parts: a fixed price for the work you can actually see and verify, and a separately priced allowance (a provisional sum) for the defects you can reasonably expect to find but can't confirm until the wall is opened up. This keeps your fixed price honest instead of inflated with guesswork, and it gives the customer a clear, written basis for any extra cost if the brickwork turns out worse than expected. Done properly, it also protects your margin without you having to pad every quote "just in case."

Old masonry is a different animal to new build. Lime mortar hides movement, rendering hides cracking, and a wall that looks sound from the street can be crumbling behind the pointing. If you price it like a new-build job - one number, fixed, done - you're either going to lose money on the jobs that go wrong, or overcharge the jobs that don't. Neither is good for repeat business.

Start with a proper visual survey, not a quick look

A five-minute walk-around is not enough to price old brickwork responsibly. Before you write a number down, you need to have actually checked:

• Mortar condition - is it lime or cement, and how much has already washed or crumbled out of the joints?
• Cracking patterns - stepped cracks near openings often point to settlement, not just weathering.
• Damp staining and efflorescence - salts on the surface usually mean moisture is moving through the wall, which affects more than just the brick face.
• Bulging or leaning sections - even a slight bulge can mean the wall has lost its bond to the inner leaf.
• Previous repairs - a patch of mismatched pointing or brick is a strong sign something has already gone wrong there once.

Photograph everything, and date-stamp it. Those photos become evidence later if a dispute comes up about what was visible before you started, and what only showed up once the first course came off.

Price the known work as a firm, itemised quote

Everything you can directly verify - brick-for-brick replacement where damage is visible, repointing a specific run of wall, rebuilding a known section - goes into your firm price. Break it down by:

• Area or linear metre of repointing, with mortar type specified (this matters more on old lime-based walls than people expect)
• Number of bricks to be cut out and replaced, and where you're sourcing matching brick or reclaimed stock
• Scaffolding or access costs, priced separately so they're not buried in the m² rate
• Labour days, stated as days not just a lump sum, so the customer can see where the cost comes from

This section should read like a quote the customer can check against the finished job. Vague line items like "general repair work - £X" are exactly what causes disputes later, because neither side can point to what was actually agreed.

Build in a provisional sum for what you can't yet see

This is the part most bricklayers skip, and it's the part that saves the relationship when the job goes sideways. A provisional sum (PS) is a stated allowance for work that's likely but not confirmed - for example, "allowance of up to [X] bricks for frost-damaged masonry behind the render, to be confirmed once render is removed, charged at £[rate] per brick if used."

Three things make a provisional sum work:

1. Name the trigger. State exactly what condition would activate the extra cost (e.g. "if mortar behind the pointing has lost more than 50% of its bond").
2. Cap it. Give a maximum figure, even if it's an estimate, so the customer isn't facing an open-ended number.
3. Confirm before you proceed. Once the wall is open and you can see the real extent, send a short written confirmation (even a text or photo with a price) before carrying on. This is the single biggest thing that prevents payment arguments.

Customers generally accept a provisional sum far more easily than they accept a surprise invoice, because they've already agreed to the possibility in writing.

Decide your rate for uncovering unknowns, and state it upfront

When you open up a wall and find more rot, more rust in the lintels, or a full re-bed is needed, that work has to be priced somehow - and "we'll sort it out after" is how jobs end in arguments. Set a day rate or per-course rate for additional masonry work before the job starts, and put it in the quote itself, not just in conversation. If your day rate is already written into the document the customer signed, there's no negotiation needed mid-job - you're just applying a number they already agreed to.

This also protects you from the opposite problem: underquoting out of nerves about looking too expensive, then eating the cost of extra days yourself because you never agreed a rate for them.

Communicate the risk before you start, not after

A lot of disputes on old houses come down to expectation, not price. If you tell a customer at the quoting stage that "there's a reasonable chance we'll find deteriorated mortar once we take the render off, and here's what that would cost," they go into the job prepared. If that same news arrives halfway through as a surprise, it feels like you're asking for more money - even if the price itself is identical.

A short paragraph in the quote covering the general risk on older properties, written in plain language rather than small print, does more to protect the job than any clause buried at the bottom of a contract. If you want a structure for writing quotes that customers read properly and don't argue over, our guide on how to quote a construction job covers the wider principles that apply here too.

Frequently asked questions

How do I price brickwork I can't fully inspect before quoting?

Price the visible, confirmed work as a firm quote, and add a provisional sum with a stated cap and clear trigger condition for the work you can only confirm once the wall is opened up.

What's a fair day rate to charge for unforeseen masonry repairs?

There's no universal figure, since it depends on region and specialism, but it should match your standard labour rate and be written into the original quote so it isn't negotiated mid-job.

Should I charge extra for a detailed survey on an old house?

Many bricklayers build survey time into the quote price rather than charging separately, but for larger or clearly complex properties it's reasonable to charge a small fee for a proper written survey, often deductible if you win the job.

How do I avoid disputes when the price changes mid-job?

Get written confirmation - even a text with a photo and a price - before continuing any work beyond what was in the original firm quote, so there's a clear record both sides agreed to.

Does a provisional sum protect me legally?

A provisional sum written into a signed quote gives you a documented basis for the extra charge, which is far stronger ground than an undocumented verbal agreement, though local contract norms vary.

Ready to quote old brickwork with confidence?

A pricing structure only helps if it's quick to apply on site, not something you have to rebuild from scratch every time. Håndværker AI's quoting tools help you turn a site visit - firm items and provisional sums included - into a clear, professional quote in minutes. Visit Håndværker AI to see how it works, or get in touch at cs@tilbudsgenerator.dk.

This article was written with AI assistance and quality-checked by Carl & Martin.