- Thread starter Bevmarley
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88v8
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Hmmm sounds a bit high, but if he's good then he may have plenty plenty work.
Brick or stone?
Big stone or little stones?
Ivor
Brick or stone?
Big stone or little stones?
Ivor
A
Anonymous
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Hi, just for reference Perfect Pointing quoted me approximately £7k to do the whole of our 2 up 2 down cottage... I don't have £7k so it was a non starter ! 
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.Bevmarley said:I take it that was lime.We cannot afford it either so will be doing it ourselves.
Start round the back! Seriously, if you've got the right kit, with some practise you'll do a better job than the pros, who are always up against the clock. If you can get the old stuff raked out without doing any damage you're halfway home. Then, getting the mix knocked up just right is critical. Too wet and it's a messy disaster. Too dry and it will crumble out in a year or two. It needs to be like putty. You'll learn to spread out a slightly wet shovel-full on a scaffold board to absorb the moisture, or to use a spray-mister to just cheer up a bit which is getting a bit dry. Don't stand your barrow in the sun...... Most of all, take your time, and don't worry.
Flyfisher
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£8100 for 60m2 of 'biggish' stones, which I'm assuming means a lot less pointing than with standard brickwork.
That's working out at £135 per m2, which sounds very expensive to me, considering a rough day rate for an employed brickie is around £200 in these here parts and much less for a self-employed one. So that rate only looks reasonable if there's some particular reason why whoever quoted for the work can only manage 1 to 1.5m2 per day . . . which sounds like a very relaxed pace to me.
I tend to agree with MikeG. This is a classic example where DIY can save a small fortune for a not-too-difficult job and for which the final result can easily be indistinguishable from a 'professional' job. The downside is that the DIY approach will almost certainly take more time (though surely anyone could manage 1.5m2 per day?), which may not always be easy to find but much depends on one's state of mind - it's like the old saying about how to eat an Elephant . . . one mouthful at time :wink:
Think not about the amount of time it might take to DIY but about the money being saved for better things. Given this quotation the DIY approach will 'pay' around £135/m2 (tax-free!!), which is not to be sniffed at! Alternatively, shop around for a more affordable quote, still DIY and then spend the 'affordable' money on a luxury holiday somewhere exotic!
That's working out at £135 per m2, which sounds very expensive to me, considering a rough day rate for an employed brickie is around £200 in these here parts and much less for a self-employed one. So that rate only looks reasonable if there's some particular reason why whoever quoted for the work can only manage 1 to 1.5m2 per day . . . which sounds like a very relaxed pace to me.
I tend to agree with MikeG. This is a classic example where DIY can save a small fortune for a not-too-difficult job and for which the final result can easily be indistinguishable from a 'professional' job. The downside is that the DIY approach will almost certainly take more time (though surely anyone could manage 1.5m2 per day?), which may not always be easy to find but much depends on one's state of mind - it's like the old saying about how to eat an Elephant . . . one mouthful at time :wink:
Think not about the amount of time it might take to DIY but about the money being saved for better things. Given this quotation the DIY approach will 'pay' around £135/m2 (tax-free!!), which is not to be sniffed at! Alternatively, shop around for a more affordable quote, still DIY and then spend the 'affordable' money on a luxury holiday somewhere exotic!
Flyfisher
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That's the spirit : win-win
I bet you'll make a fine job of it too (we'll be expecting photos :wink: )!
I bet you'll make a fine job of it too (we'll be expecting photos :wink: )!
We have been doing ours ourself. Its only repair work though from where we removed concrete render. Practiced on a bit inside that was getting hidden first. Soon got the hang of it to a decent enough standard. Time consuming and can get a bit tedious at times. We will be spending the money on a rendering instead....another reason we gave it a go as it's going to be covered at a later date with lime render. Go for it. Nothing to lose in trying. You can always pay someone to do it if it doesn't work out.
plasticpigeon
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I find it hard to do it well. There are a lot of different finishes and lots of different sands to choose from. I like a mix of plastering sand with building sand for colour. The finish I like most is flush pointing that has been ruled top and bottom. It is how my house was originally pointed (at least at the front) and looks right with the period bricks. Recessed looks too modern, although if it is only a mm or so it can look quite good. Weatherstuck is awkward to do well in my opinion, and flush can obscure the face of the bricks a little, which is why I like fush and ruled! Anything proud of the bricks like ribbon pointing look a bit naff in my opinion.
Feltwell
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Hmm, I've been debating this one too. My house is a right old hotch-potch of deteriorated original pointing and various cement based patch-ups, some coloured, some not.
I've got a decent scaffold tower. I've got all the tools required. It's not that difficult a job. Lime Green are not too far away from me and do coloured dry pre-mixed mortars:-
http://www.lime-green.co.uk/products/lime-mortar/natural-lime-mortar
Which is an expensive way of doing it I know but which should guarantee a consistent colour (house had almost black pointing originally - coal dust in the mix I presume or possibly soot, don't know).
BUT.......
It's a big, tall, brick built house. Do I really have the time and motivation to do it all myself? I can see it being a very very long job......
That I put off for a very very long time! :wink:
I've got a decent scaffold tower. I've got all the tools required. It's not that difficult a job. Lime Green are not too far away from me and do coloured dry pre-mixed mortars:-
http://www.lime-green.co.uk/products/lime-mortar/natural-lime-mortar
Which is an expensive way of doing it I know but which should guarantee a consistent colour (house had almost black pointing originally - coal dust in the mix I presume or possibly soot, don't know).
BUT.......
It's a big, tall, brick built house. Do I really have the time and motivation to do it all myself? I can see it being a very very long job......
That I put off for a very very long time! :wink:
We are being charged £105. M2 and we are in Northumberland . Dont know where you are Twig but it sounds a bargain compared to our quote. We have got a scaffold tower and cement mixer so we are going to have a go and hubby had a short course on lime pointing so we have nothing ( hopefully) to lose.
Wow - £105 per sq metre! That's ridiculous! At that sort of price you are looking at big heritage projects, where they are repointing ashlar with joints so thin they need to be raked out with a hacksaw blade, and each joint needs to be taped up to avoid "spilling" onto the surrounding stonework (i.e. slow, painful and precise).
We are just outside Bath so not exactly a cheap part of the world here, and I haven't had a single quote above £65 per metre. That price sounds to me like a "Don't really fancy it but I'll do it if you pay me enough" price - much like when I was quoted £5k to lime plaster two walls and a ceiling, totalling ~35m2
Re-pointing honestly isn't hard, and if you have the patience and perseverance it is a great way to save a load of money. For me the most painful thing is mixing up the mortar by hand in a wheelbarrow, so if you have a mixer you'll fly through it I'm sure More power to your elbow and all that sort of thing, good luck!
We are just outside Bath so not exactly a cheap part of the world here, and I haven't had a single quote above £65 per metre. That price sounds to me like a "Don't really fancy it but I'll do it if you pay me enough" price - much like when I was quoted £5k to lime plaster two walls and a ceiling, totalling ~35m2
Re-pointing honestly isn't hard, and if you have the patience and perseverance it is a great way to save a load of money. For me the most painful thing is mixing up the mortar by hand in a wheelbarrow, so if you have a mixer you'll fly through it I'm sure
More power to your elbow and all that sort of thing, good luck!skier-hughes
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We've been paying £100 /m2 and a job is only easy if you can do it, pointing is like tiling to me............. not a chance.