How much does a brick wall cost in the UK?
A brick wall costs £2,500 on average in the UK. Most jobs fall between £900 and £6,000 for a garden wall. Size and type of wall: Low or short wall £900 to £2,000; Standard boundary wall £1,800 to £4,000; Tall or long double-skin wall £3,500 to £6,000. Prices reviewed July 2026.
Building a brick garden or boundary wall usually costs £900 to £6,000 in the UK, with most people paying around £2,500. It is priced by the wall area or per metre run, and the height, whether it is single or double skin, and the foundations are what move the figure.
Price your wall by length and height
Measure length × height to find the wall face area. A 10 m long, 1 m high wall has 10 m² of face area. At the guide rates of £110 to £180 per m² for single-skin construction, that is £1,100 to £1,800; at £180 to £320 per m² for double-skin construction it is £1,800 to £3,200. These are worked guide estimates, not structural specifications or contractor quotes.
Compare foundations, piers, coping, demolition and waste removal in writing. Ground conditions and the required wall design can change the quote; height alone does not establish which construction is suitable.
Brick wall cost calculator
Use the calculator to price your brick wall in 2026. Adjust the options and area for a UK cost range. Nothing is sent anywhere.
Need to know how much material to order? Try the concrete calculator or fencing calculator.
Brick wall cost breakdown
Typical brick wall costs, by option:
| Size and type of wall | Typical UK cost |
|---|---|
| Low or short wall (single skin, up to about 1m with piers) | £900 to £2,000 |
| Standard boundary wall (10 to 15m, single or double skin) | £1,800 to £4,000 |
| Tall or long double-skin wall (1.8m+, piers and coping) | £3,500 to £6,000 |
What's included in the price?
Typical brick wall prices include:
- A concrete strip foundation dug and poured
- Facing bricks supplied and laid in your chosen bond
- Mortar joints struck and pointed as the wall goes up
- Coping or capping bricks along the top
- Piers built in for strength on longer or taller walls
- Site tidy-up and waste taken away
What changes the price?
The things that move brick wall prices most:
The length and height of the wall
Single-skin (half brick) or double-skin (one brick) construction
The facing brick you choose, from budget stocks to handmade
Foundation depth, which ground conditions and tree roots dictate
Piers, coping and any decorative bond or curve
Access, and your region
These are why two quotes for the same job can differ, and the only way to know your price is to get prices from local firms (through Bark; we may earn a fee, at no extra cost to you).
How the price is built up
A bricklayer builds the quote up from the foundation first, digging and pouring a concrete strip footing sized for the height of the wall. On top of that come the facing bricks, laid in a bond with struck and pointed joints, which is where most of the labour sits, then coping or capping along the top and piers built in on longer or taller runs. A single-skin (half-brick) wall works out around £110 to £180 per m², and a thicker double-skin (one-brick) wall £180 to £320 per m², because it uses twice the brick and a heavier footing. The brick you choose moves the figure too, from budget stocks up to handmade or reclaimed. London and the South East add more again, mostly on labour. Labour is the larger share on most brick walls, often around 55 to 70 percent of the total, since laying facing brick neatly is slow, skilled work. The bricks, mortar, foundation concrete and coping make up the rest, and that share rises if you pick a handmade or reclaimed facing brick over standard stocks.
Ways to keep the cost down
- Keep to a single-skin (half-brick) wall where the height allows, as it uses half the brick and a lighter footing than a double-skin wall.
- Choose a standard stock or wirecut facing brick rather than handmade or reclaimed, which can cost several times as much per thousand.
- Keep the wall low and straight. Height needs deeper foundations and piers, and curves and decorative bonds add bricklaying time.
- Get quotes from bricklayers based outside London and the South East where you can, because the same wall costs more there.
Does where you live change the cost?
In London, a brick wall typically costs around £3,000, about 20% above the UK average of £2,500. In the North, Scotland and Wales the guide figure is nearer £2,400.
| Region | From | Typical | Up to |
|---|---|---|---|
| Midlands / East (UK average) | £900 | £2,500 | £6,000 |
| London | £1,100 | £3,000 | £7,200 |
| South East / South West | £950 | £2,600 | £6,300 |
| North / Scotland / Wales | £870 | £2,400 | £5,800 |
Guide prices for a garden wall, scaled with the same regional multipliers as the calculator. Not quotes.
Brick wall cost in major UK cities
| City | From | Typical | Up to |
|---|---|---|---|
| Belfast | £860 | £2,400 | £5,700 |
| Birmingham | £900 | £2,500 | £6,000 |
| Bristol | £950 | £2,600 | £6,300 |
| Cardiff | £870 | £2,400 | £5,800 |
| Edinburgh | £870 | £2,400 | £5,800 |
| Glasgow | £870 | £2,400 | £5,800 |
| Leeds | £870 | £2,400 | £5,800 |
| Liverpool | £870 | £2,400 | £5,800 |
| London | £1,100 | £3,000 | £7,200 |
| Manchester | £870 | £2,400 | £5,800 |
| Newcastle | £870 | £2,400 | £5,800 |
| Sheffield | £870 | £2,400 | £5,800 |
City guide estimates, scaled by local labour costs. Indicative averages for brick wall, not quotes.
The gap is mostly labour. The North, Wales and Scotland are typically the cheapest for the same wall.
Compare this with a real quote
The figures above are guide prices. Two or three quotes for your brick wall tell you what it costs where you live.
Free and no obligation. You answer a few questions on Bark, local pros get in touch, and you decide who, if anyone, to hire. We may earn a fee, at no extra cost to you.Common questions
How much does a brick wall cost?
Building a brick garden or boundary wall costs roughly £1,000 to £6,000 in the UK, and most jobs land around £2,500. Measured by area, a single-skin (half-brick) wall is about £110 to £180 per m², while a thicker double-skin (one-brick) wall runs £180 to £320 per m² including the foundation. A short, low wall sits at the bottom of that range, and a long, tall boundary wall with piers and coping sits at the top.
How much does a brick wall cost per metre?
Per metre run depends on the height. A 1m-high single-skin wall is roughly £120 to £200 per linear metre supplied and built, so a 10m run is about £1,200 to £2,000, and at that height it needs piers or a thicker wall, because government guidance puts the safe height of a plain half-brick wall at 375mm to 525mm. A 1.8m double-skin boundary wall is more like £300 to £500 per metre, because it is twice the thickness, needs a deeper footing and usually piers, since the same guidance puts the safe height of a one-brick wall without piers at 1,075mm to 1,450mm. Always confirm whether the quote includes the foundation, as that is a common gap between two prices for the same wall.
Is a brick wall cheaper than a fence?
No, a brick wall costs several times more than a timber fence up front. Fencing is around £60 to £140 per metre supplied and fitted, while a brick boundary wall is £120 to £500 per metre depending on height and thickness. What you get for the extra is a wall that lasts 50 years or more with little upkeep, gives better security and sound blocking, and does more for the look of a property. A fence is the cheaper and quicker fix, and brick is the long-term one.
Can I build a brick garden wall myself?
A confident DIYer can build a low wall, and the materials for a short single-skin wall are around £40 to £70 per m², so the saving over the £110 to £180 per m² fitted rate is mostly the bricklaying labour. The catch is that neat, level, plumb brickwork with consistent joints is a genuine skill, and a wobbly or badly bonded wall is unsafe and obvious. Foundations also have to be right for the height, so most people build only low walls themselves and leave anything over about half a metre, which is roughly the government's safe height for a single-skin wall without piers, or any wall near a boundary or highway, to a bricklayer.
Do I need planning permission for a brick garden wall?
For most garden and boundary walls, no. In England, a wall up to 2m high is permitted development, dropping to 1m where it is next to a road used by vehicles or the pavement beside one. Walls at a listed property or on the boundary with one, and homes where the right has been removed by an Article 4 direction or a planning condition, are the main exceptions. In a conservation area, taking down an old wall may also need permission, and a wall that sits on a shared boundary with a neighbour can fall under the Party Wall Act. If in doubt, check with your local planning office first: some councils charge for pre-application advice, but it avoids having to take a wall down later.
How long does it take to build a brick wall, and do I need foundations?
A short garden wall takes a bricklayer two to four days, and a long or tall boundary wall a week or more. Every brick wall needs a concrete strip foundation dug and poured first, sized for the height of the wall, and that footing is usually left about a day to cure before the bricklaying starts. That is why even a small wall runs across several days rather than a single visit, and why wet or freezing weather can stretch the job out, since mortar will not set properly in a hard frost.
How high can a brick garden wall be without piers?
Lower than most people expect. Government guidance puts the safe height of a plain single-skin (half-brick) garden wall without piers at just 375mm to 525mm, depending on how exposed to wind your area is. A one-brick wall can go to 1,075mm to 1,450mm, and a brick-and-a-half wall to 1,825mm to 2,400mm. So a 1m single-skin wall or a 1.8m one-brick wall is beyond the table and needs expert advice, which usually means piers or a thicker wall. Walls that hold back soil or carry heavy gates need expert advice whatever their height.
Do I have to tell my neighbour before building a wall on the boundary?
Yes, in England and Wales, if the new wall will stand astride the boundary line or up against it on your side. Section 1 of the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 requires you to serve notice at least one month before work starts. If your neighbour agrees in writing within 14 days to a wall astride the line, the cost is shared in proportion to each owner's use of it; if not, it must go wholly on your land at your own expense. Rebuilding an existing shared garden wall generally needs two months' notice instead. Wooden fences are not covered.
Official guidance and sources
The rules and schemes referenced on this page come from these official UK sources. The price figures are Costwise's own; see how we price.
- Your garden walls: better to be safe GOV.UK · The government's safe heights for plain garden walls by thickness and wind zone, for example 375mm to 525mm for half-brick and 1,075mm to 1,450mm for one-brick, with expert advice needed above them or where piers are used.
- Fences, gates and garden walls: planning permission Planning Portal · Planning Portal's guidance for England, including the 1 metre limit next to a road used by vehicles or its footpath, and that councils may charge for pre-application advice.
- General Permitted Development Order 2015, Schedule 2, Part 2, Class A legislation.gov.uk · The statutory height limits for walls: 1 metre next to a highway used by vehicles, 2 metres elsewhere, and none at or around a listed building.
- The Party Wall etc Act 1996: explanatory booklet GOV.UK · The government's booklet on the Act: a masonry garden wall on the boundary is covered, a new wall on or against the line needs one month's notice, and the cost of a shared wall is split by use.
Cite this data
These figures are free to use in articles, reports and research under a CC BY 4.0 licence. All we ask is a credit to Costwise, and online a link. Where your style allows, please make "Costwise" the linked word so readers can check the figure for their own region.
Costwise (2026): A brick wall typically costs £2,500 in the UK, ranging from £900 to £6,000. Reviewed July 2026. costwiseuk.co.ukSource: Costwise (costwiseuk.co.uk)Costwise (2026). Brick wall cost. Costwise UK cost data, version 2026-10-12. https://costwiseuk.co.uk/brick-wall-cost/2026-10-12 (158 jobs)Dataset DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.21159943 · also on Kaggle, Hugging Face and Figshare. Method: how we price. Downloadable CSV.
These are independent guide prices based on typical UK jobs in 2026. Your actual cost depends on your property, spec, access and where you live. Always get at least three written quotes before committing.