How to Quote a Bricklaying Job: A UK Guide for Bricklayers

Bricklaying is one of the more measurable trades to quote, because output is fairly predictable, but that does not make it easy. The bond pattern, the brick type, the amount of cutting and features, and whether you need scaffold all change the price of an identical-sized wall. Quote from a rough guess at bricks and you will be caught out. Price it from a proper take-off and present it clearly, and you protect your margin and win the work.

This guide covers how to quote a bricklaying job in the UK: surveying the site, working out the quantities, understanding what drives your labour and materials, and building a quote a client trusts. It applies to garden walls, extensions, boundary walls and the outer skin of new work.

Step 1: Survey the Site

Bricklaying quotes depend heavily on what is around the wall as much as the wall itself. On a site visit, check the following.

• Foundations. Are they in and ready, or is groundwork and concreting part of your job? A wall is only as good as what it sits on.
• Access and scaffold. Anything above working height needs a scaffold or tower, which is a real cost. Confirm who supplies it.
• Materials handling. Where do the bricks, blocks and mortar go, and how far is the carry? Poor access adds labour.
• Specification. Brick type, bond pattern, pointing style, cavity or solid, and any features such as piers, arches or soldier courses all change the price.

Step 2: Work Out the Quantities

Bricklaying is usually priced per thousand bricks laid or per square metre of walling. A standard brick wall works out at roughly sixty bricks per square metre for a single skin, so measure the wall area, deduct large openings, and convert to a brick count. Add around five per cent for wastage and breakages, more if there is a lot of cutting. Do the same for blocks on the inner leaf, and note the linear metres for wall ties, damp-proof course and any lintels.

Step 3: Understand the Cost Drivers

Two walls of the same size can take very different times, so weigh up the factors that change the pace.

• Brick type. Standard facing bricks lay quickly. Handmade, imperial and reclaimed bricks are slower and more variable, and engineering bricks are harder to cut.
• Bond pattern. Stretcher bond is fastest. Flemish, English and decorative bonds take longer and waste more brick, so they carry a higher rate.
• Pointing and finish. A struck or weathered joint as you go is quicker than raking out for a specialist pointing finish later.
• Features and cutting. Piers, arches, soldier courses, corbelling and lots of openings all slow the work compared with a plain run.

Step 4: Set Your Labour Rate

Bricklayers commonly price per thousand bricks laid or on a day rate, then check one against the other. A bricklayer will typically lay in the region of five to six hundred standard facing bricks in a day on a straightforward job, less on features, cutting or awkward access. Day rates for an experienced bricklayer commonly fall around a hundred and fifty to two hundred and fifty pounds, often quoted as a gang rate with a labourer. Treat any figure as a starting point: the brick, the bond, the features and your local market decide the real number, and rates exclude VAT.

Step 5: Price the Materials with a Markup

Materials are a significant part of a bricklaying quote and your cash upfront, so price every element and add a sensible markup for sourcing, collection and handling.

• Bricks, including the wastage allowance and the right type.
• Blocks for the inner leaf where applicable.
• Sand and cement, or ready-mixed mortar, in the right mix and colour.
• Wall ties, damp-proof course, insulation and lintels.
• Consumables, and muck-away or disposal.

State clearly whether you or the client is supplying the bricks. Client-supplied or reclaimed bricks are common, but note that you cannot be responsible for shortfalls, colour variation or defects in materials you did not order.

Step 6: Add Scaffold, Groundwork and Extras

Price the extras as separate line items so the client sees the value and you are paid for the work: scaffold or tower hire, foundations and concreting if part of your job, cutting and features, specialist pointing, and muck-away. Where the groundwork is an unknown until you dig, quote a provisional figure rather than absorbing the risk.

Sample Quote Breakdown: A Garden Wall

Here is a simplified structure for a facing-brick garden wall in stretcher bond. Your real figures will differ, but the layout protects you.

• Lay facing brick wall, single skin, including piers: labour by brick count or day rate
• Materials: bricks, mortar, wall ties, damp-proof course, coping, with markup
• Foundations and concreting: fixed price, or excluded and noted if by others
• Muck-away and site tidy: fixed price
• Total, with VAT shown separately if you are registered

Common Bricklaying Quoting Mistakes

• Guessing the brick count instead of doing a proper take-off.
• Forgetting wastage on bricks, cutting and mortar.
• Absorbing scaffold, groundwork or muck-away instead of pricing them.
• Underpricing decorative bonds, features and cutting versus a plain run.
• Sending a single figure with no breakdown, so the client only compares on number.

Present a Quote That Wins the Job

When two bricklayers quote a similar price, the one with the clear, itemised proposal usually wins. A tidy breakdown of quantities, materials, scaffold and terms shows the customer you have measured the job properly and reduces disputes over what was included. It is often the difference between a signed job and a missed one.