Count units, then price the labour they carry
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Work out the face area and convert it to units
Brick, block and stone each cover a known area per unit including the joint, so the count follows from the wall. Add for waste, corners and any cutting the pattern needs.
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Price the joint, not just the unit
A struck joint, a raked joint and a flush joint are different amounts of finishing on the same wall. On restoration work the joint profile has to match what is already there, which is slower again.
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Account for the coursing and the bond
Running bond over a straight wall is quick. A pattern with a header course, a soldier band or a curve is slow, and the units that need cutting to make it work are their own labour.
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Add the things that are not the wall
Footings, reinforcement, ties, flashing, weeps, lintels and caps are all part of a wall that stands up, and none of them appear in the face area.
Height changes the rate, not just the total
Everything a mason lays has to be lifted to where it is laid. Below shoulder height that is trivial; above it, scaffolding is erected, moved and struck, and material is carried up. So a wall twice as tall does not cost twice as much — it costs more, and the scaffold is its own line rather than an overhead absorbed into the unit rate.
Matching existing work is a search, not a purchase
What moves a masonry number up
- Cold or wet weather, where mortar cannot cure and work stops or needs protection and heating
- Cutting, which is slow, dusty and needs suppression and protective equipment
- Restoration, where old mortar is raked out by hand and the mix has to suit the original masonry
- Site access for material, since brick and block are heavy, palletised and delivered by lorry
- Structural work found behind the face, which is a different trade and a different inspection
Hold the price for thirty days
Valid for 30 days, and only while the yard holds the lot named on the quote. Colour varies between production runs enough to be visible in one wall, so material for a job is reserved rather than ordered later — and a quote accepted after the reservation lapses is priced against whatever is available then.
Common questions
- Is masonry quoted by unit or by area?
- Either, depending on the work — both come from the same face measurement, since each unit covers a known area including its joint. What matters more is that the labour is priced from the joint, the bond and the working height rather than from the count alone.
- Why does the joint type change the price?
- Because finishing a joint is a separate pass over every unit laid. A raked or struck profile takes longer than a flush one, and on restoration the profile has to match the surrounding wall, which is slower still.
- What happens if the brick is discontinued?
- The material line changes and often the schedule with it. Matching an existing wall can mean reclaimed stock or a special order, which is why the quote names the lot it was priced against.