How to Quote for a Brick Garden Wall in the UK

To quote for a brick garden wall, start with the agreed dimensions and construction specification. Measure the masonry, calculate materials and foundations, allow for labour and access, then add job-specific costs, business overheads, markup and any applicable VAT. The quotation you give the customer should explain what you will build, what is included and what it will cost.

Do not price only the bricks and the time spent laying them. Excavation, concrete, deliveries, waste removal, awkward access and making good can account for a substantial part of a small wall job.

1. Survey the Site and Agree the Wall Specification

You cannot reliably price a wall from its length alone. Before issuing a firm quotation, establish what the customer wants and whether the proposed construction is appropriate for the site.

Measure the work

Record:

• Length and finished height: measure each run, including steps and changes in ground level. State where height is measured from.
• Thickness and construction: record the intended wall thickness, bond and any piers or returns.
• Openings and fittings: allow for gates, fixing points, corners and connections to existing masonry.
• Finishes: specify brick type, mortar finish, coping or capping, and any required damp-protection details.
• Existing conditions: note demolition, paving, trees, drains, nearby structures and surfaces that must be protected or reinstated.

Photographs and a simple annotated sketch help avoid disagreements later. Record the proposed construction, rather than relying on descriptions such as “standard garden wall”.

Confirm what the wall needs to do

A freestanding boundary wall and a retaining wall are different jobs. If the wall retains soil, supports a gate or has unusual exposure, its design and drainage requirements must be assessed accordingly. Do not price a retaining structure using an ordinary boundary-wall specification.

Freestanding walls can also be unstable if their height, thickness, support or exposure is unsuitable. The government's garden wall safety guidance explains why wall proportions and location matter. Allow for competent design advice where needed, and make clear who is responsible for obtaining it.

Check access, permissions and boundaries

Check where you can unload materials, whether you can get a wheelbarrow or small machine to the work area, and how you will remove spoil. Steps, narrow side passages and long carrying distances change the labour allowance.

Check planning and boundary issues before committing to dates or methods. In England, the usual permitted-development height limits for new garden walls are generally 1m next to a highway used by vehicles (or its footpath) and 2m elsewhere, but exceptions and local restrictions apply. Other UK jurisdictions have their own rules. See the Planning Portal's guidance on garden walls.

In England and Wales, building on or at a boundary or excavating near a neighbouring structure can bring work within the Party Wall etc. Act 1996. Whether notice is required depends on the particular work and circumstances. See the government's Party Wall Act explanatory booklet. Agree who will arrange any notices, surveys or permissions and whether associated costs are included.

2. Calculate the Materials

Start with the measured masonry, then add components that are easily missed, including piers, copings and below-ground work.

Work out brick quantities

For a straight rectangular section:

Wall area (m²) = length (m) × height (m)

As an initial estimate for standard UK 65mm bricks with conventional joints, the Brick Development Association's brick calculator uses approximately:

These are estimating figures, not an ordering specification. Check the actual brick format, bond, joint dimensions and construction detail. Deduct openings, measure piers and returns separately, and avoid counting overlapping masonry twice.

Add a stated allowance for breakages, cuts and waste. Complex bonds and reclaimed bricks may need a different allowance from a straightforward wall. Check supplier pack quantities before ordering.

Price mortar, coping and other details

Include mortar materials to the specified mix or system, allowing for the actual amount of brickwork. Count coping units from the proposed layout, taking account of joint spacing, corners and cuts.

Also check whether the specification requires particular frost-resistant bricks, engineering bricks, movement joints, damp protection or specialist components. A freestanding wall needs detailing suitable for its exposure; don't select materials solely on appearance or the lowest quoted price.

Get current supplier quotations for materials and delivery. Confirm whether the figures include VAT and whether that VAT is recoverable by your business, so your costing uses a consistent basis.

3. Price Foundations, Groundworks and Waste

Foundations are often where an apparently simple wall becomes an expensive job. Price them from a suitable design and an assessment of the ground, not from an assumed universal trench size.

Separate excavation from concrete

Include clearing the working area, breaking out any existing wall or footing, digging the trench, dealing with spoil, placing concrete and preparing for brickwork.

For a rectangular strip footing, the basic calculation is:

Concrete volume (m³) = footing length × footing width × concrete thickness

For example, dimensions of 5m × 0.6m × 0.2m produce 0.6m³ of concrete. This demonstrates the calculation only: it is not a recommendation for foundation dimensions or excavation depth. Those must follow the assessed design and conditions on site.

Allow for concrete delivery, minimum-load charges, any pumping or handling requirements, and the time needed to place it. Allow for separate visits and the time needed before the next stage of work can proceed.

Allow for uncertainty and safe excavation

Consider soft ground, tree roots, buried obstructions, groundwater and existing services. The HSE's guidance on avoiding underground services sets out planning, locating services and safe excavation as core precautions.

If important ground conditions are unknown, don't hide that uncertainty inside a fixed price. Arrange an investigation or state a clearly defined provisional allowance, with a process for agreeing changes before additional work begins.

Include spoil loading and disposal, plant hire, protection to existing surfaces and any making good. Name the finish you will reinstate: “make good disturbed paving” is less clear than identifying the affected area and material.

If the job also includes a new patio, our guide to pricing a patio job covers the paving, preparation and labour allowances.

4. Estimate Labour, Overheads and Markup

Build the labour estimate from tasks, not just an overall number of days. Allow separately for setting out, groundworks, concrete placement, bricklaying, coping, pointing or finishing, clean-up and equipment returns.

A long carry from the delivery point can reduce bricklaying output significantly. Decorative brickwork, corners, piers, awkward cuts and restricted access also change the programme. Use your own results from comparable jobs wherever possible.

Include the time of the business owner if they work on site. Working for yourself does not make your labour free.

Move from cost to selling price

A useful pricing sequence is:

1. Direct costs: materials, labour, plant, deliveries, waste removal and other job-specific expenses.
2. Allocated overheads: a fair share of running costs such as insurance, vehicles, administration and software, without double-counting anything already included.
3. Markup: an addition to the resulting cost base to provide a commercial return and account for business risk.
4. VAT: added to the selling price where required, at the correct rate.

Markup is not the same as profit margin. A £100 cost with 20% markup produces a £120 selling price; the £20 difference is 16.7% of that selling price. Actual profit will depend on the costs incurred and whether all overheads have been covered.

For a broader costing method, see How to Price a Building Job.

5. Worked Example: Quoting for a 5m Brick Garden Wall

The following figures are illustrative, not current market rates or a build specification. They show how to move from an internal cost estimate to a customer-facing quotation.

Project assumptions

• A freestanding wall 5m long × 1.2m high, giving 6m² of wall face.
• Double skin construction with coping, no openings and no retained soil.
• A competent site-specific assessment is assumed to have confirmed the wall design, foundation and any need for piers. Do not copy these dimensions as a construction recommendation: wall stability requirements vary with location and exposure.
• Reasonably clear access, nearby storage and no demolition.
• For the arithmetic example only, a concrete footing measuring 5m × 0.6m × 0.2m, or 0.6m³.
• Brick order allowance: 5% above the initial brick take-off.

Using the approximate double skin brick rate:

6m² × 120 bricks = 720 bricks

720 × 1.05 = 756 bricks to allow for the illustrative 5% waste. The actual order would need to match the specified brickwork and supplier quantities.

Internal cost estimate

These are assumed net costs to your business. Your internal labour cost is not the same as the labour price shown on the customer quotation.

The example assumes groundworks labour is separate from the two days of bricklaying and labouring, with no overlap in the time charged. Real projects must also allow for the actual sequence of work, drying or curing time, access and return visits.

Add overheads and markup

For this example, allocate overheads at 10% of direct costs, then add 20% markup to the combined cost base.

The £616 is the planned uplift after allowing for the assumed direct costs and allocated overheads. It is not guaranteed take-home profit.

Turn it into customer-facing line items

The customer does not need to see your internal labour costs or markup. They need a clear description of the work and selling prices that add up to the final total.

For this example, the selling prices below are calculated by applying the combined overhead-and-markup factor of 1.10 × 1.20 = 1.32 to each group of direct costs.

This assumes a VAT-registered contractor supplying work subject to the standard 20% rate. A business that is not VAT-registered must not add VAT. VAT rules depend on the circumstances of the supply; HMRC provides guidance in VAT Notice 708: Buildings and construction and on charging VAT.

You could group the selling prices differently if it better reflects how you deliver the work. The important checks are that the scope matches the figures, costs aren't counted twice and the customer-facing totals add up.

6. What to Put in the Written Quotation

Pricing the job is only half the task. Your written quotation should make the finished work and the commercial terms clear.

Include:

• Customer and contractor details, the site address, quote reference and issue date.
• A precise scope: wall location, dimensions, intended construction, brick and coping specification, groundworks and finish.
• Itemised selling prices, with the VAT treatment and total clearly shown.
• Exclusions and assumptions: for example, unexpected buried structures, structural design fees, service diversions or landscaping outside the agreed area.
• Variations: how unforeseen work will be assessed, priced and approved before it proceeds.
• Timing: an estimated start date and duration, distinguishing working days from waiting or curing periods.
• Payment terms and validity: any deposit or stages, when payment falls due and how long the quoted price is offered for.

For more detail on presentation and terms, see How to Write a Professional Building Quote.

Before sending the PDF, compare your itemised selling prices with the internal cost sheet, check every total and make sure exclusions do not contradict the agreed scope. If the design or important conditions are still unknown, make clear whether you are providing a budget estimate rather than a fixed-price quotation.

7. Common Garden Wall Quoting Mistakes

Pricing by square metre without checking what's included. A rate that covers bricklaying alone cannot be compared with one that includes excavation, footings, coping and waste removal.

Assuming the foundation design. Excavation and concrete quantities depend on the ground and wall design. If these are not established, say what still needs assessing rather than presenting an uncertain price as firm.

Ignoring handling and reinstatement. Getting bricks into a rear garden and restoring a damaged path can take more time than expected.

Confusing provisional allowances with fixed prices. If an element is uncertain, identify the assumption and explain how any change will be agreed.

Showing a total without a clear scope. Even a carefully calculated number becomes difficult to defend if the customer thought it included different materials, more reinstatement or an additional gate pier.

Price the Whole Job, Then Quote It Clearly

Start with an agreed, suitable wall design and a proper site survey. Measure the masonry, price the groundworks, build up realistic labour and other job costs, and add overheads and markup before checking VAT. Then turn that internal calculation into an itemised customer quotation with a clear scope, exclusions and terms.

Once you've worked out the price, Quote Forge can help you prepare a professional quotation with itemised prices, calculated totals and a PDF for the customer. It doesn't replace your own measurements, pricing or design decisions.