A low brick garden or front boundary wall under 1m in Birmingham and the West Midlands typically costs £150–£250 per metre, supplied and built, with the footing and waste included. A 7m front wall comes to about £1,050–£1,750. Walls 1m or taller, and retaining walls of any height, have no online price: they are priced after a free site visit.
These are the ranges our quote form uses for garden walls. They are indicative until the local specialist has seen the wall, the ground and the access.
Garden wall prices per metre
| Type of wall | How it is priced |
|---|---|
| Low garden or front boundary wall under 1m, single or double skin | £150–£250 per metre |
| Dwarf wall under 1m with piers, ready for railings or a fence on top | £150–£250 per metre, with piers and coping adding to it |
| Rebuilding a short run of cracked or leaning low wall | £150–£250 per metre, plus taking the old wall down |
| Wall 1m or taller | Priced after a free site visit |
| Retaining wall (holding back soil), any height | Priced after a free site visit |
| Minimum for a small job | about £400 |
The per-metre rate covers digging and concreting a footing below frost depth, the bricks and mortar, building the wall, and taking the spoil and waste away. Where the wall sits in that £150–£250 band depends mostly on the brick, the thickness and the coping. Matching old bricks, stone copings and extra piers push it to the top of the range or beyond.
Typical prices by length
| Length of low wall | Indicative price |
|---|---|
| About 3m | £450–£750 |
| About 7m | £1,050–£1,750 |
| About 10m | £1,500–£2,500 |
| About 15m | £2,250–£3,750 |
| About 20m | £3,000–£5,000 |
| About 30m | £4,500–£7,500 |
Anything likely to go over £8,000 gets a free site visit rather than an online range. On these rates that means a low wall longer than about 32m.
For comparison, a fence along the same line is cheaper per metre. Featheredge under 1m high is £57–£81 per metre and at 1.2m it is £76–£108, from the fence cost per metre guide. A wall costs more to build but lasts far longer and needs almost no upkeep.
Taller walls and retaining walls
A wall 1m or higher needs a designed footing, and a retaining wall also needs drainage behind it and sometimes an engineer. That is why neither is priced online. Your enquiry goes to a groundworks specialist, who looks at the height, the soil and the access, then gives a fixed price.
The same applies to taking out an old retaining wall. The soil it held back still has to be supported or regraded, so the removal is priced as part of the whole job. For the groundwork side, see turfing and groundworks.
Height also decides if you need planning permission. A wall over 1m next to a road used by vehicles or its pavement, or over 2m anywhere else, needs it. The garden walls page explains the limits, conservation areas and listed buildings.
Worked examples
These use the ranges above. The fixed price depends on what the specialist sees.
A 7m front wall under 1m, nothing to take down
7m × £150 = £1,050 and 7m × £250 = £1,750. The range is about £1,050–£1,750.
15m of low garden wall, with everything carried through the house
| Item | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Wall, 15m × £150 / £250 | £2,250 | £3,750 |
| Carry through the house, about 15% | £340 | £560 |
| Total | about £2,590 | about £4,310 |
Repairing a 2m stretch of low wall
2m × £150–£250 = £300–£500 on the rates, but small jobs have a minimum of about £400, so the range comes out at about £400–£500. Taking down the damaged section is extra.
Replacing a 1.5m wall that holds back a raised garden
No online range. This is a retaining wall over 1m, so it is surveyed first and priced after the visit.
What pushes the price up or down
- Brick choice. A standard facing brick is the cheapest. Matching old Staffordshire or Victorian reds costs more, and reclaimed bricks can be hard to find in quantity.
- Thickness. A single-skin wall, one row of bricks wide, needs piers to stay stable. A double-skin wall is stronger and looks more solid, but uses twice the bricks.
- Footings. Clay soil, which is common across Birmingham, and roots nearby may need a deeper footing.
- Coping and piers. Brick-on-edge, stone or concrete copings, and piers for gates or railings, all add.
- Taking down the old wall. Breaking out an old wall and its footing and taking it away is priced on top.
- Access. If bricks, sand and cement have to be carried through the house, or the van is more than 50m away, expect about 15% more.
- Short runs. A very short wall still has set-up and travel costs, which is why the minimum is about £400.
What is included
A fixed price for a low wall should normally include setting out the line, digging and concreting the footing, the bricks, mortar and coping, building any piers, and taking away the spoil and waste. Ask how deep the footing will be, whether the wall is single or double skin, which coping is used, and whether taking down and disposing of the old wall is in the price.
If the wall is on the boundary, sort out who owns it and whether the Party Wall Act applies before work starts. See who is responsible for a boundary or retaining wall.
How to get a fixed price
- Measure the length of wall you want, to the nearest metre.
- Use the quote form for an instant range on a wall under 1m.
- Add photos of the existing wall or boundary, a close-up of any brickwork to match, and the route from the road.
- We pass your enquiry to one local specialist, who confirms a fixed price or arranges a free visit.
We only pass work to firms whose public liability insurance we have seen, with the expiry date recorded, and who hold a waste carrier registration where waste leaves the site. See how we check firms. Adding gates between new piers? See the driveway gates cost guide.
Questions
How much does a 10 metre garden wall cost?
A 10m brick wall under 1m high costs about £1,500–£2,500, supplied and built with the footing and waste included. Matching old bricks, stone copings or extra piers push it towards the top of that range.
How much does a retaining wall cost?
There is no fixed per-metre price. A wall that holds back soil needs a designed footing, drainage behind it and sometimes an engineer, so a groundworks specialist surveys it and prices it after the visit.
How much does a 2m high garden wall cost?
It is priced after a free site visit, because any wall 1m or taller needs a designed footing. A 2m wall away from a road does not normally need planning permission, but one over 1m next to a road or its pavement does.
Why is my quote for a garden wall so much higher than I expected?
Check what it covers. The usual reasons are a wall over 1m, soil being held back, a deep footing on clay, matching old bricks, stone copings, demolishing an old wall, or a long carry. A low wall under 1m on easy ground should sit near £150–£250 per metre.
How much does it cost to remove an old retaining wall?
It is priced after a site visit rather than per metre. The ground behind still needs supporting or regrading once the wall comes out, so the specialist prices the removal, the new support and the waste together.