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Original poster

Quote for garden wall £12,500???

34 replies

elenid123 · 28/03/2019 21:37

I have just had a quote to build a brick wall and steps in my back garden approx 1m high by 15m. Is it just me or is this quote ridiculously high? What are the going prices?

OP posts:

OhTheRoses · 28/03/2019 21:40

I don't think it's the height. It's the prep for the length. 15m is between 45 and 50 feet. In that cintext not so unreasonable.

BubblesBuddy · 28/03/2019 22:03

It also has to be structurally sound at that height with adequate foundations and width. It sounds about right. It’s not much different to building an extension. It’s also all brick - no blockwork!

DonaldTramp · 28/03/2019 23:10

That quote doesn't surprise me. Walls just are really expensive.

Boysey45 · 31/03/2019 19:24

Get some more quotes in that's very high to me.
I'd do a course at building college myself before I paid that. Just get a fence if they are all coming in similar.

Bluntness100 · 31/03/2019 19:27

That sounds about right to me too, as they need to build the foundations for it, ie dig it out, lay the concrete, then build the wall on top of that, and then also do the same for the steps.

SailorJerry13 · 31/03/2019 19:32

My fella is a qualified builder, he said the materials would be about £3k and labour on top for around £2k - that sounds to him very very steep!

That said - it depends what’s is there now, is it level? Is it clear ? Would they have to remove something and build foundations etc....

Bluntness100 · 31/03/2019 19:43

It also depends on the size of the steps being added.

OhTheRoses · 31/03/2019 20:06

I'm SW London/Surrey borders. It sounds reasonable to me. When we had our London house a 25' x 18' patio, step, side return, bricked lawn edges, lawn, trellis and fence was £12.5k - in 2002

BubblesBuddy · 31/03/2019 20:59

If it’s built from scratch with foundations it cannot possibly be £5000. Just not possible for that length.

RuffleCrow · 31/03/2019 21:03

It's just bricks and mortar. They're cheap materials. You could probably do a building course and save yourself £10,000

QuilliamCakespeare · 31/03/2019 21:07

We looked at moving our garden wall and the price was outrageous. I can't remember quite how much but we very quickly decided it wasn't worth it for an extra 1m width of garden. I wouldn't be shocked if £12k was a genuine quote. Put up a fence instead?

RuffleCrow · 31/03/2019 21:09

It's only a metre high, Bubbles. What is the £12,000 actually being spent on?

Bluntness100 · 01/04/2019 06:51

Generally it's the cost of digging out and laying foundations, as well as building the wall, and as said, much depends here on the size of the steps, which will also need foundations to be dug out and filled.

Namechangeforthiscancershit · 01/04/2019 07:11

15m is a long way! But presumably it's the foundations and all that.

madeyemoodysmum · 01/04/2019 07:13

I second a fence or do it yourself

Bluntness100 · 01/04/2019 07:14

Also is that price inc vat? And what's there currently, what sort of state is the ground, is it flat or sloped, ie do they need to step the foundations etc, what size are the steps?

Depending on the answers, it could be a very reasonable price.

elled123 · 01/04/2019 07:55

Hi all, thank you for your replies. The site is pretty clear following a rear house extension and existing patio slabs have pretty much already been removed.
The ground is level and very little clearing needed. The centre steps will be around 2 meters wide cutting into the grass.
Part of the wall is a retaining wall for the grass- this stands retained on its own already. After doing some research online it suggests walls should have 15-20cm foundations if a regaining wall. The builder however wants to dig out 50-60cm foundations?

Bluntness100 · 01/04/2019 08:00

I think it depends, and I'm no expert, simply I've had one done, but wouldn't the depth of the foundations depend on the finish of the wall? So for example if it is finished with brick on edge, which is normal, they need to effectively build two walls, as it's two lines of brick side by side, to give the platform at the top for the brick on edge.

Then for the steps, they are six foot wide, but how deep does the base need to be, and then how high.

I'd suggest getting two or three quotes though. You need it all built properly or it's just going to fall down at some point.

DameDiazepamTheDramaQueen · 01/04/2019 08:09

Get more quotes in, then you can compare properly and decide.

BernardsarenotalwaysSaints · 01/04/2019 09:34

As Dame suggests get 2 or 3 more quotes but it doesn’t sound far wrong. Do you want a particular brick colour? That can add to the cost.

Notyetthere · 01/04/2019 13:01

If the wall is retaining the ground above it then yes, your builder might be right about the 50-60cm deep foundations. Whilst the ground is currently retaining itself, to build the wall, I'm assuming it is a straight up wall, then they would need to dig the ground to install the wall which will destabilise the retained ground. Check that they put some granular materials behind the wall to assist with drainage.

But yes, do get other quotes and compare.

RuffleCrow · 01/04/2019 17:27

Blimey - how much does the average builder earn per hour? I assumed it was about £40-50? Seems it's actually a lot more unless he'll be working on it 24 hours a day for over a week.

Knittedfairies · 01/04/2019 17:36

We had three quotations for a 5m long by 1m high wall a few years ago; they all cam in at £5000, so yours is not over the top. (We put in a laurel hedge instead)

KnitterOfSocks · 01/04/2019 17:53

Depth of foundations should be minimum 400-450mm to protect against frost heave, so the depth sounds OK

BanginHeadache · 01/04/2019 17:57

My dad is a bricklayer and said that would cost about £3.5k. We in NW if that makes a difference to price but gosh it sounds very steep.

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