How much does a garden wall cost per metre?

As a rough guide, £180–£350 per linear metre for a standard half-brick garden wall on concrete footings, more for retaining walls, natural stone, or engineered structures. You'll get a fixed written quote after the site visit.

Do I need Building Regs for a garden wall?

For most standalone garden walls, no. For walls over 1m adjacent to a highway, or retaining walls, Building Regs may apply, we flag it during the site visit and coordinate with your local authority where required.

Can you match existing brickwork?

In most cases yes, we source matching or sympathetic bricks and use the right mortar mix. Older lime-mortar walls need lime-based repointing to avoid cracking. We handle both.

How long will a properly built wall last?

Concrete-footed walls with proper coping and DPC routinely last 50+ years with only occasional repointing. Walls built without footings or coping typically fail within 10.

What about a leaning existing wall?

We inspect and give you an honest verdict, sometimes repointing and a new coping is enough, sometimes the wall needs rebuilding from the footings up. We don't sell rebuilds where a repair will do.

How long does building a wall take?

A 10m half-brick garden wall on new footings typically takes 4–6 working days. Retaining walls and larger structures take longer, timeline is written into every quote.

Do you build sleeper walls too?

Yes, railway sleeper retaining walls are a great cost-effective option for gardens up to 900mm level change. Set into concrete, tied to steel posts or concrete anchors depending on height.

Will the wall damage my planting when built?

Not when planned properly. We protect adjacent planting during works, phase excavation to minimise root damage, and rework beds after completion where needed.

What guarantee do you provide?

Up to 10-year workmanship guarantee in writing, plus the manufacturer's product warranty on brick and mortar. £1M public liability insurance in place.

Which areas do you cover?

Basingstoke, Hook, Fleet, Farnborough, Camberley, Frimley, Andover, Reading, Winchester and surrounding Hampshire.

Service · Hampshire

Brickwork & Garden WallsRetaining, Boundary & Feature Builds

Name: Direct Paving Group UK
Address: Hook, Hampshire, GB
Telephone: 07554 952489
Price range: ££
Rating: 4.8

Retaining walls, boundary walls, sleeper walls, brick piers, planters and garden features, designed and built to hold back what needs holding, and to frame what needs framing. Every wall footed on concrete, tied to Building Regs where required, backed by a 10-year workmanship guarantee.

Get My Free Quote 07554 952489

Rated 4.8★ on Google · £1M insured · Up to 10-year workmanship guarantee

Solid red brick front garden wall with piers and sandstone copings

4.8★

Google Rating

10 Yrs

Guarantee

£1M

Public Liability

24–48h

Quote Turnaround

Charlie

Owner-Led

Overview

Everything you need to know before you commit

What it is

Brickwork covers everything from a knee-high garden wall to a full engineered retaining wall holding back a raised patio or driveway. We build in facing brick, engineering brick, natural stone, blockwork with a rendered finish, and railway sleepers where the look and budget suit.

Who it's for

Homeowners raising, dividing or terracing a sloping garden, anyone building a boundary wall in brick or stone, and property owners with a leaning or bulging existing wall that needs rebuilding before it fails.

When you need it

Level changes across the garden, new patios that sit above lawn level, boundary walls fronting the property, brick piers for gates and driveways, and existing walls with cracks, movement or frost damage.

Why get it done properly

A retaining wall that fails is not a small problem, it takes soil, planting, patio slabs and often part of the drive with it. We foot every wall on concrete, tie masonry to code where the height demands it, and design drainage behind the wall so hydrostatic pressure doesn't build up.

The cost of leaving it

What happens if you delay, or hire the wrong crew

Retaining walls built off soil (not concrete), without ties, without weep holes, are ticking clocks. The first wet winter builds pressure behind the wall, the ground shifts, cracks appear, and by spring the wall is bulging outwards.

Risks of putting it off

Bulging or collapsing retaining walls under hydrostatic pressure
Frost damage on soft handmade bricks used in the wrong position
Cracked mortar joints where lime content wasn't matched to brick type
Leaning boundary walls with no ties, footings or movement joints
Water penetration causing efflorescence and staining down the face

Common mistakes homeowners make

Building a retaining wall directly on soil without a concrete strip footing
Skipping weep holes and back-of-wall drainage on retaining structures
Using standard facing brick where engineering brick is required
Mixing modern cement mortar with soft old bricks (they'll crumble first)
Ignoring Building Regs for walls over 1m in shared boundary positions

Our process

Owner-led, from first visit to final sweep

01
Site visit and design
Charlie visits, measures, checks ground conditions, and designs the wall to purpose, height, load, drainage requirements and finished aesthetic all considered together.
02
Written quote in 24–48 hours
You get a fixed written quote covering footings, brick or block spec, ties, drainage, coping, cleanup and any required Building Regs coordination.
03
Excavation and footings
Trenches dug to correct depth (typically 300–500mm below finished ground level), reinforced concrete footings poured and cured before a brick is laid.
04
Wall build and ties
Walls built in the specified bond pattern, with wall ties, movement joints and expansion allowances as needed. Retaining walls include weep holes and drainage aggregate behind the face.
05
Coping, finishing and pointing
Coping stones, brick-on-edge or sloped concrete caps fitted to shed water. Joints struck and pointed neatly. Adjacent surfaces protected and cleaned as we go.
06
Sign-off and guarantee
We walk the wall with you, hand over any as-built drawings for retaining structures, and issue your written 10-year workmanship guarantee.

Why homeowners choose us

The measurable benefits you get

Concrete-footed, always

Every wall, even a knee-high garden wall, sits on a poured concrete strip footing. No wall built off soil. Ever.

Engineered where it matters

Retaining walls over 900mm are designed with proper ties, weep holes, drainage aggregate and coping. Not bodged from photos on Pinterest.

Matched to existing masonry

For extensions and repairs, we source matching or sympathetic brick and use the right mortar mix, soft lime for older properties, cement-based for modern.

Coping that sheds water

Every wall finished with a proper coping, natural stone, concrete or brick-on-edge, that keeps rainwater off the face and out of the wall.

Coordinated with hard landscaping

Walls, piers and planters designed as part of the wider driveway/patio scheme, not tacked on afterwards by a separate trade.

10-year workmanship guarantee

In writing, on completion. £1M public liability insurance in place.

In detail

Materials, methods and specification

Brickwork is one of the oldest trades and the easiest to get wrong. Here's what a properly built wall looks like on paper before it goes on the ground.

Brick and block options

Facing bricks in a full range of colours and textures (Ibstock, Hanson, Wienerberger). Engineering bricks (Class A or B) where compressive strength and low water absorption matter, retaining walls, damp locations. Natural stone (Cotswold, Yorkstone) for character properties. Rendered blockwork where cost or contemporary finish is the driver.

Footings

Reinforced concrete strip footings, typically 450mm wide and 300–500mm deep depending on wall height, ground conditions and load. Steel reinforcement bar where the wall or ground requires it.

Retaining wall design

Walls up to 900mm typically single-leaf brick or 200mm block. Above 900mm we specify twin-leaf construction with wall ties, or reinforced blockwork with a facing skin. Drainage aggregate and geotextile behind the wall, weep holes at every third course above ground.

Mortar and pointing

Cement-based mortar for modern brick, lime-based for pre-1930s properties and traditional stone. Joints struck neatly, flush, bucket-handle or weather-struck depending on the property style.

Coping and DPC

Every wall gets a proper coping, natural stone, concrete or brick-on-edge, plus a damp-proof course at the appropriate level. This is what stops water penetration and frost damage.

Piers, features and planters

Brick piers for gates and driveway entrances, feature curved planters, retaining planters against a boundary wall, and BBQ/kitchen structures where the garden design calls for it, all built to the same footing and coping standards.

We cover Hook, Basingstoke, Camberley, Fleet, Farnborough, Frimley, Andover, Reading, Winchester and surrounding Hampshire.

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Recent work