Who ya gonna call - repointing

[FSVin]

I think repointing is the right term. I've had water ingress in multiple patches along the brick wall adjoining my neighbour's property, including a full on, dripping leak above my back door. The source of the problem appears to be a combination of my neighbour's gutter being out of alignment, meaning instead of diverting to a pipe it gushes water straight down my wall, and a few patches of brickwork where the mortar looks in dodgy condition.

Who should I be getting in touch with to patch up the mortar? A general builder? Handyman? Actual brickie? It's not a huge job - probably about half a dozen small patches, totalling no more than a metre squared, but it stretches right up to the roof so they'll need a long ladder in their arsenal.

I have a few more jobs a general handyman could do, so if this is something within their remit that would be ideal.

Any ideas on time and cost? It's one of the cheaper parts of the country

Thanks!

We had a similar problem and found a local bricklayer/pointing specialist who was great. I think it is worth getting someone who specialises in this kind of work- we were clueless and got a few quotes. One of these being the guy we used and another was a general handyman. The general handyman said he could do the work the next week, whereas the specialist said it was the wrong time of year and could risk failing (you shouldn’t do this kind of work when there’s a risk of frost apparently). He also told us some previous repairs had been done with cement (wrong for the age of the age of the house and could cause other problems), so it’s worth getting someone who knows what they’re talking about.

Ahh, that's really helpful, thanks @Crilly2

It looks like it’s been repointed before and someone has just gone over the old stuff. It looks about 3-5 mm deep.

The key to successful repointing is raking enough old stuff out so that the new will stick to the bricks ( both sides ) and the old mortar inside.
I always rake out a good inch when doing any.

Ghostbusters?

Interesting, and good to know. Thank you @Chumleymouse