How we chose
We started from the bricklayers Google Maps shows across Telford. Scheme memberships were sourced from the issuing registers, each firm's own website and platforms such as Checkatrade and Which? Trusted Traders [5] [6] [7]. Each business must first meet our basic checks: it is who it says it is, it is trading today and can be reached, and anything it must hold by law is in place. All five met all three. What customers say counts most toward the score — the rating itself, since beyond a small handful of reviews volume adds nothing — then proof of competence, then trading history and whether cover is stated, then pricing clarity and website detail. All evidence is dated early September 2026.
How to hire
Match the firm to the job before you enquire. A local bricklayer owns garden walls, repointing, chimney repairs and small alterations; an extension or conversion belongs with a builder who lays bricks as part of a wider brief; and a large masonry package belongs with a commercial contractor. Say what you want in your first message: the length, height and thickness of the wall, the age of the property, photos of the site and how access looks for materials and waste.
Sort permission before anyone prices the work. In England a garden wall is normally permitted development up to a metre high beside a road or footpath and up to two metres elsewhere, measured from natural ground level, with listed buildings, conservation areas and Article 4 directions able to remove those rights [4]. Telford & Wrekin Council is the authority that confirms where you stand, so check with its planning team before you build above those heights or near a listed boundary.
Treat the boundary as its own job. A wall on or astride the line with a neighbour can engage the Party Wall etc. Act 1996, which means serving written notice on the adjoining owner — and the Act sits apart from planning permission, so a wall can need a notice even when it needs no application [3]. Agree the line, the foundations and who pays for what in writing first, and build wholly on your own land set back from the line if you want to avoid the Act altogether.
Check competence, since no mandatory registration applies to bricklayers. Ask anyone bound for a building site for a CSCS card and verify it through CSCS Smart Check rather than trusting a logo on a van [5]. For extensions and bigger domestic briefs, search the Federation of Master Builders check-a-member route or TrustMark's find-a-tradesperson service for your trade, both of which assess members against published codes [6] [7]. Ask for insurance details and a recent local reference you can verify, in writing.
Get two or three itemised written quotes on the same written scope so you compare like with like, as TrustMark advises [7]. Each quote should separate labour, materials and VAT, and name the wall specification, the brick type and how existing work is matched, foundations and footings, piers and coping, the mortar mix, access and scaffolding, start date, stages and how soil and waste leave the site. Treat an outlier far above or below the rest as a question, and ask what is included or left out.
Pay in stages and keep the paper. A deposit for materials is normal, while full payment in cash before completion is not, and TrustMark urges a written contract setting out what happens, when and for how much [7] [8]. File the quote, the receipt and any written guarantee with your house papers — you will need them when you sell or claim. For extension brickwork tied to structural work, confirm building control sign-off lands with the paperwork before you release the final balance.
Pricing
As of autumn 2026, Checkatrade's cost guide puts a single-skin one-metre by four-metre garden wall at around £825 over one to two days, with the double-skin equivalent at about £1,200, and bricklayer day rates averaging near £280 [1]. Taller and longer walls cost more per metre, and a double skin with piers, proper footings and coping is the stronger and longer-lasting boundary.
Repointing prices per square metre at £50 to £60 for standard brickwork including clean-up, around £55 on average, with a chimney repoint at £500 to £1,000 [2]. Period and solid-wall homes often need breathable lime mortar rather than cement, which costs more, and raking out plus scaffolding for upper floors adds to the bill. Scaffolding for upper floors is usually priced apart from the per-metre rate [2].
Access moves the price most after size: tight side passages, steps and spoil removal all add labour, as does matching existing brickwork where reclaimed or handmade stock costs far more than standard facing bricks. Ask whether VAT sits on top of the quoted figures and whether a call-out fee applies to small repairs. Get the scope in writing before work starts — the exact wall or area, materials, dates, stages and what guarantee the price includes. For extension brickwork, confirm whether the price covers the full cavity wall or the outer leaf alone, and check what the quote says about matching the existing brickwork [1].
Red flags
Quotes a wall, extension or chimney job without visiting or asking for photos, measurements and access details.
Starts a boundary wall with no written agreement on the line and no notice to the neighbour where the Party Wall Act applies [3].
Builds a tall boundary wall single-skin with no piers or coping, though single skin suits only low walls [1].
Repoints a period or solid-wall home in hard cement without discussing breathable lime mortar [2].
Cannot show a CSCS card you can verify through Smart Check for workers sent onto a building site [5].
Asks for full payment in cash before starting, with no written quote or terms [8].
Will not put the scope, price and start date in writing before lifting a trowel.
The bottom line
For most domestic jobs, start with CDM Builders for anything spanning brickwork and general building, or First Choice Brickwork where rates stated up front matter to you. For a substantial masonry package, Prestige Brickwork is the natural first call. Then get two or three itemised quotes on the same written scope and compare like with like.
Match the firm to the job, work through the permission and paperwork checks in the hiring guide below, and keep the written quote, the receipt and any guarantee with your house papers. Check the round date at the top of the page so you know how current the ranking is.
Corrections and business responses
Tell us what needs checking, or ask to claim a listing and reply to an assessment.