Brick retaining wall and steps under construction

Brickwork

Brickwork & Garden Walls in Kent

Garden walls, piers, steps and raised beds built on concrete footings with frost-resistant brick.

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  • 20+ Years’ Experience
  • Trusted & Friendly Team
  • Full Project Management
  • Competitive Pricing

Hard Landscaping

Garden & Boundary Walls

A brick wall is only as good as what sits under it. We dig a trench down to firm ground, pour a concrete strip footing and build up from there, with a damp proof course near the base and a coping or brick-on-edge top to shed rain. Outside walls are built in frost-resistant brick with a suitable mortar mix, because a wall that soaks up water will flake and crumble after a few hard winters.

Longer runs need piers or movement joints so the wall can cope with expansion and ground movement without cracking. Brick piers that carry a gate are built around a reinforced core, so the gate hangs true and the pier stays upright.

Block paving installation in progressOur Work

About Us

Our Experience with Brickwork

We are a family run groundworks business based in Staplehurst, and we bring over 20 years of experience to every brickwork job across Kent, East and West Sussex and south-east London.

The same small, friendly team surveys the job, prepares the ground and finishes the surface, so you deal with the people doing the work from the first visit to the final sweep.

We have worked on behalf of Kent County Council and utility companies, our team is registered with the Street Works Qualifications Register, and we are approved under the Trading Standards Buy With Confidence scheme.

Block paved driveway with sleeper retaining wallsOur Work

Our Projects

Brickwork: Recent Work

Real jobs, photographed by us. Tap a photo to see it full size.

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Brickwork

Retaining Walls, Steps & Raised Beds

Brick retaining walls and steps are a regular part of our garden work. A wall that holds back soil needs a heavier footing, free-draining backfill and weep holes, so water pressure cannot build up and push it out of line.

Brick steps are built with even riser heights and a slight fall on each tread, so they are comfortable to climb and do not hold puddles. Raised beds follow the same rules on a smaller scale, with the inside face lined to stop wet soil staining the brickwork.

Block paved driveway with sleeper retaining wallsOur Work

The Detail

What’s Included

  • Concrete strip footings dug to firm ground
  • Frost-resistant facing brick, matched to your home where possible
  • Damp proof course and a coping or brick-on-edge top
  • Weep holes and drainage backfill on retaining walls
  • Piers, steps and raised beds
  • Spoil removed and joints cleaned off at the end

Your Quote

What Affects the Price

Every quote is written after a visit, so you know what the price covers before any work is booked.

  1. 01Length and height of the wall
  2. 02The brick you choose
  3. 03Depth of footing the ground needs
  4. 04Retained soil and drainage behind the wall
  5. 05Access and removal of excavated soil

Ready to Talk About Your Project?

Free site visits and written quotes across Kent and the South East.

How the Job Runs

Your Brickwork Step by Step

  1. Survey & Brick Choice

    We measure up, check the ground and help you pick a brick and mortar colour that suits the house and garden.

  2. Footings

    The trench is dug to firm ground and filled with concrete, deeper and wider where the wall is tall or holding back soil.

  3. Building the Wall

    Brickwork goes up course by course to line and level, with piers, movement joints and weep holes built in as it rises.

  4. Topping & Clean-Up

    Copings go on, joints are finished to match, and spoil and offcuts are taken away.

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Why Choose Us

Why Customers Choose Us

Domestic driveways or council-standard reinstatement, the same team and the same standards on every job.

  • Patio laid by South East Groundworks

    20+

    Years’ Experience

    Over two decades of getting the sub-base, levels and drainage right first time.

  • Family Run

    You deal with the people doing the work, from the first visit to the final sweep.

  • Free Written Quotes

    A site visit and a written price, so you know what is included before you commit.

  • Competitive Pricing

    Fair prices set out clearly in your written quote, with the cost factors explained up front.

  • Quick Response

    Enquiries are answered promptly, and urgent potholes and failed drains come first.

  • Block paved driveway laid by South East Groundworks

    Accredited Staff

    SWQR registered for highway work and approved under Trading Standards Buy With Confidence.

  • Ready for a Site Visit?

    Book a free visit and a written quote, with no obligation.

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Free, No-Obligation Quote

Get a FREE Quote

Tell us what you have in mind and where the job is. We’ll come back to you to talk it through and arrange a visit to measure up.

  • A site visit to measure up and check levels
  • A written price before anything is booked
  • Street works registered, Trading Standards approved

Prefer to Talk?

01580 234285

Tell Us About Your Project

We reply to every enquiry, usually the same working day.

Frequently Asked Questions

Brickwork: Your Questions Answered

Can you match new brickwork to my house?

We source a brick as close to yours as we can and match the mortar colour and joint style. Older brick has weathered, so a new wall can look slightly brighter until it tones down.

How deep do the footings need to be?

It depends on the ground and the height of the wall. Footings go through the topsoil onto firm ground, and deeper on clay, which is common across much of Kent and moves as it wets and dries.

Do I need permission to build a boundary wall?

A wall up to 2 metres high generally needs no planning permission, or up to 1 metre next to a road. If the wall sits on the boundary line itself, the Party Wall Act may mean giving your neighbour notice first.

What brickwork do you build?

Garden and boundary walls, piers, raised beds, steps and the brickwork that goes with driveways and patios, such as edging and retaining courses.

Can you repair an existing garden wall?

Often, yes. Loose bricks and failed pointing can be rebuilt and repointed, but a wall that is leaning because its footings have failed usually needs taking down and rebuilding on a proper footing.

Can’t Find Your Answer?

Get in touch and we’ll talk it through, with no obligation.