G.C Bricklaying & Building services LTD

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05/10/2026

Go on, have a guess before you scroll down for the answer.

Research into UK house building puts the average new home at somewhere around 5,000 bricks. Sounds like a lot until you realise a skilled bricklayer can lay roughly 500 bricks in a single day, so that's theoretically under two weeks of actual laying time for all the brick in an average home.

Real builds obviously take a lot longer once everything else around the brickwork is factored in, but it's a nice bit of perspective on how much actually goes into the walls around you.

How close was your guess? Let us know below 👇

03/10/2026

30 bricks down, repaired and you'd genuinely struggle to spot where.

Spalling happens when moisture gets into a brick and then freezes, forcing the face to crack and flake away. Once it starts it only gets worse, so leaving it usually means more bricks need replacing further down the line.

Chris got through this one with good communication throughout and finished it to a high standard, exactly what came through in the client's review afterwards.

Ever had a small repair stop a much bigger problem down the line? Tell us about it below 👇

27/09/2026

Myth: brickwork lasts forever with zero upkeep.

Truth is, it's low maintenance, not no maintenance. Mortar wears over time, movement joints occasionally need checking, and small issues like a hairline crack or a bit of failing pointing don't stay small forever if left alone.

Caught early it's usually a quick fix. Left for years, it often turns into a much bigger repair bill.

Do you check your own brickwork now and then, or is it one of those jobs that gets forgotten about? 👇

24/09/2026

A finished damp course repair, up close.

These bricks sit right under the damp course, which is why weather damage at this level matters more than it might look. Once the brick face starts breaking down here, moisture finds a much easier route into the wall above.

Swapped the damaged ones out and matched them in properly, so the brickwork's actually doing its job again rather than just patched over for the sake of it.

Not the flashiest repair we've done but it's exactly the kind that protects everything sitting above it.

Spotted anything similar low down on your own place? Get in touch, always happy to take a look.

18/09/2026

Bricks under the damp course don't get much attention until they start letting you down.

Weather damage down there is easy to miss since it's so low to the ground, but leave it long enough and moisture starts finding its way where it shouldn't. Swapped out the damaged bricks on this one and got it all sorted properly.

Genuinely pleased with this review too, not just for the finished brickwork but for the whole process being straightforward from enquiry right through to invoicing. That matters just as much to us as the work itself.

Ever had a small repair make a bigger difference than you expected? Tell us about it below 👇

Spotted some damage near ground level on your own place? Get in touch, happy to take a look.

15/09/2026

Ever wondered what's actually going on inside a cavity wall? Here's a proper look at one mid build.

Blockwork on the inside, facing brick on the outside, with a gap between the two doing exactly what it should, keeping the inside dry and insulated.

Keen eyed among you might spot the little vents built into the brickwork as well. They let air flow underneath the floor and keep timber and the structure free from damp, small detail but an important one.

Anyone else find this kind of behind the scenes stuff genuinely interesting, or is that just us? 😄

Got questions about how your own home's built, or a project in mind? Drop us a message.

10/09/2026

Chimneys take more punishment than almost anything else on a roof, wind, rain, frost, the lot, all day every day 🌧️ So when the mortar starts failing up there it doesn't hang about, it just gets worse.

This one needed a proper repoint, working carefully around all that lovely decorative corbelling without losing any of the character. Old brick like this deserves a mortar mix that actually suits it rather than something that'll cause more problems in a few years.

Chimneys are one of those jobs people tend to put off simply because they can't see them properly from ground level, but they're often the first place real damage starts. Worth a look with binoculars every now and then 👀

Think your chimney might need some love? Get in touch and we'll take a proper look.

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07/09/2026

Same mortar, four completely different finishes 🧱

Bucket handle is the classic choice. Smooth curved profile, sheds water brilliantly, seen on most UK homes.

Flush pointing sits level with the brick. Clean and modern looking, though it takes a bit more weather over time.

Weathered pointing slopes outward. Actively pushes rain away from the joint below, great for exposed walls ☔

Recessed sits back from the brick face. Strong shadow line, proper textured look, but needs a hardy brick behind it.

Same job, four totally different results. The finish isn't just decoration, it actually affects how your brickwork copes with our weather 👀

Not sure which one's on your walls or which one you need? Just ask.

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04/09/2026

Ever had new brickwork done and thought "hang on, why does this look a bit patchy?" 🤔 Totally normal.

Bricks are a natural clay product, so even bricks from the same batch come out slightly different depending on where they sat in the kiln. Fresh brickwork shows this off more too, since the mortar hasn't weathered in yet to help everything blend together.

Give it time though, usually a few months to a year 🌦️ and the sun and rain do their thing, settling all those tones into one consistent looking wall. Good bricklayers also mix bricks from several packs as they go, so any variation spreads out evenly instead of clumping together in one obvious patch.

Still looking patchy well past a year? That's worth a proper look. Early on though, that's just brick being brick 🧱

Had new brickwork recently and wondering if what you're seeing is normal? Send us a photo, happy to take a look 👍

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01/09/2026

That narrow vertical gap running through an otherwise solid brick wall isn't a mistake, it's called a movement joint and it's doing an important job.

Brick, mortar and the wider structure all expand and contract slightly with temperature changes and moisture, and over a long enough run of wall that movement adds up. Without somewhere for it to go, you end up with cracking appearing in random spots across the brickwork instead, which looks far worse and is a lot harder to put right.

A movement joint gives the wall a controlled place to flex, usually filled with a flexible sealant rather than solid mortar so it can compress and expand as needed. Building regs generally expect one every ten to twelve metres or so on a long elevation, though it depends on the brick type and the specifics of the build.

➡️ Small detail, but it's exactly the kind of thing that separates brickwork built to last from brickwork that's cracking within a few years.

Planning a new build or extension and curious what your brickwork needs? Feel free to ask.💬

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Address

Cambridge

Telephone

+447375359035

Website

http://www.gcbricklaying.co.uk/

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