Brick, Chalk and Flint Replacement
Brick, Chalk and Flint Repairs in Swindon and Wiltshire
Wiltshire’s older buildings are built from a wonderful mix of materials: soft red brick, chalk block, knapped and field flint, and local stone. When they are damaged or eroded, the repair needs to match the original and be bedded in lime, or it will fail and harm the wall around it.
At Limeway Wiltshire we cut out and replace damaged bricks, rebuild flint panels and chalk walls, and reset loose masonry on houses, cottages, barns and boundary walls across Swindon, Wiltshire and the neighbouring counties.
What Is Brick, Chalk and Flint Replacement?
It is the careful repair of traditional masonry: cutting out bricks that have spalled or crumbled and replacing them with matching bricks, rebuilding sections of flint walling, and repairing or rebuilding chalk block walls. Wherever we can, we reuse original material, and we source reclaimed or matching bricks when we can’t.
All of it is bedded and pointed in lime mortar. Traditional brick, chalk and flint all rely on a breathable, slightly flexible mortar, and cement repairs are one of the most common causes of the damage we are asked to fix.
When Masonry Repairs Are Needed
- Bricks with flaking or powdering faces, often next to cement pointing
- Loose, missing or bulging flints
- Chalk walls that are softening, eroding or losing their capping
- Cracked or bulging sections of wall
- Old cement patch repairs that don’t match and are failing
How We Carry Out Repairs
- Survey. We identify what has failed and why, so the repair addresses the cause.
- Matching materials. We source bricks, flints or stone to match size, colour and texture, reusing original material wherever possible.
- Careful removal. Damaged units are cut out without disturbing sound masonry around them.
- Rebuilding in lime. New and reset units are bedded in a lime mortar suited to the wall.
- Pointing to match. Joints are finished to match the rest of the wall, so the repair blends in as it weathers.
Related Projects
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you match my bricks?
Usually, yes. We reuse the original bricks where they are sound and source reclaimed or new bricks to match the size, colour and texture where they are not.
Why are my bricks crumbling?
The most common cause is hard cement pointing or render, which traps moisture and forces it out through the brick faces, where frost then damages them. Replacing the cement with lime stops it happening again.
Do you repair flint walls?
Yes. We reset loose flints, rebuild flint panels and brick lacing courses, and repoint in lime, which flint walls depend on to stay stable.
Can chalk walls be repaired?
Yes. Chalk walls need to be kept dry at the top and base and repaired with compatible, breathable materials. We repair and rebuild them in lime.
Areas We Cover
We carry out brick, chalk and flint replacement throughout Swindon and Wiltshire, including Marlborough, Chippenham, Devizes, Malmesbury and Cirencester. See all the areas we cover, or get in touch for a quote.
