Repointing is one of those jobs most owners of Victorian terraces face eventually, and prices quoted across London can vary wildly for what sounds like the same work. This guide sets out realistic cost ranges, explains what actually drives the price, and flags the details that matter on older brickwork so you can compare quotes with confidence.
As a general guide in London, repointing is usually priced between £40 and £75 per square metre, with lime mortar work sitting at the upper end. For a typical two storey Victorian terrace, repointing the front elevation alone often comes in around £1,500 to £3,500 including access. A full house, meaning front, rear and any side returns, commonly lands between £4,500 and £10,000 depending on size, condition and access.
These figures assume the old mortar is raked out properly to a depth of roughly 20mm and repointed by hand, not simply smeared over. Scaffolding is often the biggest variable. A straightforward front elevation tower or scaffold might add £600 to £1,200, while a rear elevation over a fragile extension roof or a tight London garden with no side access can push that figure up considerably.
Almost every Victorian terrace in London was built with soft lime mortar, which flexes with the building and lets moisture escape through the joints rather than through the face of the brick. Repointing with hard modern cement traps that moisture, and over a few winters the brick faces can blow and spall. Once the faces are lost, you are into brick replacement, which costs far more than the original repointing would have.
Lime work costs more because the materials are dearer, the raking out must be gentler, and the new joints need protecting from rain and frost while they cure. Expect a premium of roughly 20 to 40 per cent over cement pricing. On a Victorian property it is money well spent, and if your house is in a conservation area, common across boroughs like Islington, Haringey and Camden, the council may expect lime and a matching joint profile in any case.
Two identical looking terraces can produce very different quotes once someone looks closely. Condition is the main factor: if the mortar has eroded deeply, or previous cement pointing has to be carefully cut out without chipping the arrises of the bricks, the labour time rises sharply. Joint style matters too. A simple flush or bucket handle joint is quicker than reproducing the fine weather struck and cut pointing seen on many North London facades.
Access, matching the mortar colour to weathered original work, and extras such as resetting loose bricks, rebuilding window heads or repointing chimney stacks all add cost. A decent contractor will price these separately rather than burying them in one vague figure, which also makes quotes easier to compare.
Ask any contractor what depth they will rake out to, what mortar mix they intend to use and why, and whether they will do a small sample area first. Vague answers on any of these are a warning sign. Be cautious of quotes far below the ranges above; grinding out joints quickly with an angle grinder in unskilled hands is the fastest way to ruin the crisp brick edges that give a Victorian facade its character.
A written quote should state the area covered, the mix, the joint finish, access costs and how patch repairs will be handled if defects are found. Done properly with the right mortar, repointing on a London terrace should last 50 years or more, so it is worth choosing on method and evidence of similar work rather than on price alone.
No. It is common to do one elevation at a time, usually the most weathered face first, which is often the front or whichever side takes the prevailing rain. Doing it in stages spreads the cost, though you save a little per square metre by combining elevations under one scaffold hire.
Look for mortar that has eroded more than about 10mm back from the brick face, joints that crumble when scraped with a key, or damp patches appearing inside on external walls. Small localised failures can be patch repointed rather than treated as a whole wall job.
A front elevation on a typical two storey terrace usually takes around three to five days including raking out, while a full house is commonly two to three weeks. Lime mortar can add time because it needs protection from rain and frost while it cures.
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