East Midlands Masonry Ltd

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East Midlands Masonry Ltd

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Builders, Property Developers, Bricklayers. Providing solutions for the most challenging projects anywhere in the UK is a Hodgkinson Builders' speciality.

The Company:

From purpose-built offices at Pride Park in Derby, Hodgkinson Builders offers a comprehensive range of supply and construction services in brick, stone, glass block work and flint. Our work has been used in housing, factory, retail, specialist and prestigious development and refurbishment projects in locations as diverse as Ilkeston and Iceland. The company has 150 bricklayers, stone masons, forklift drivers and labourers, together with a database of several thousand tradesmen on whose services it can call. In short, we are big enough to deliver on contracts with multi-million price tags but not so big that we lose sight of quality standards on those with a multi-thousand label. We’re built on solid foundations. Managing director Ian Hodgkinson, the friendly and professional face of Hodgkinson Builders, is a great believer in building good relationships with both the people with whom he works and those for whom he works - as long as they share his unremitting commitment to quality. That is something on which he won't compromise. Before launching his company 18 years ago, Ian lectured on a range of construction skills at a local college and was well aware that the building industry didn't enjoy the best of reputations with the public at large, thanks to its frequent failure to deliver a quality service, on time and within budget. Determined that things would be different at Hodgkinson Builders', the company's mission statement is an unequivocal: ‘to build your buildings on time, within budget and with complete safety’. It's a policy that stems from a family involvement with the building trade that stretches back over 70 years - and a personal determination to head the best company of its kind in the construction field. Ian's pledge to customers is a simple one:

"At Hodgkinson's, you will deal with caring, qualified, honest and willing personnel who actually want to help you. No ifs. No buts."

16/10/2026

ASBESTOS ISN'T THE ONLY HIDDEN KILLER.

We know the dangers of asbestos. But respirable crystalline silica from everyday cutting and grinding can also cause serious, irreversible lung disease. Don't let familiar work become an invisible risk.

At East Midlands Masonry, safe working practices matter on every job.

Pass this on to somebody on the tools. It might change how they work tomorrow.

14/10/2026

THE DANGER YOU DON'T FEEL YET.

Silica dust can damage your lungs long before you notice symptoms. Cutting bricks, blocks, concrete and stone releases hazardous fine dust. Use water suppression or suitable extraction and the right RPE where required.

At East Midlands Masonry, safe working practices matter on every job.

Pass this on to somebody on the tools. It might change how they work tomorrow.

05/10/2026

TRADESMEN DON’T NEED VANS IN LONDON… APPARENTLY. 😂

Could a bricklayer genuinely work from a cargo bike?

Mixer, ladders, tools, cut-off saw and materials. Our lads might need a trailer as well. 😂

There’s clearly a place for cargo bikes on some city jobs, but for brickwork and masonry carrying the kit and materials needed every day, we’re not putting the vans on eBay just yet.

Bricklayers, what do you reckon?

02/10/2026

RETAINING WALLS. BUILT SMARTER.

Got a retaining wall requirement on a development?

Before automatically specifying a traditional monolithic reinforced concrete wall, it’s worth looking at a segmental retaining wall solution.

East Midlands Masonry are approved installers of Allan Block, working with Colinwell to provide practical, cost-effective solutions.

Every site is different, so early involvement matters. Ground conditions, loads, levels, drainage, design and buildability all need to stack up.

Got a retaining wall challenge? Let’s have a conversation.

Tim Cave | Allan Block | Colinwell | William Hodgkinson | Robert Hodgkinson

29/09/2026

THE REAL HEROES OF DIY SOS
THEY TURNED UP. THEY GAVE THEIR TIME. THEY GAVE THEIR SKILLS.
ALL FOR ONE INCREDIBLE FAMILY ❤️
DEVON, YOU WERE INCREDIBLE.
DIY SOS BBC ONE 8PM TONIGHT
Then use the punchy post we’ve written underneath with the four hashtags:

That gives you one clear message all the way through: the programme is tonight, but the post belongs to the people who made the build happen.

28/09/2026

Yes. The opening needs more punch. The picture already says the levy is coming, so I wouldn’t waste the hook repeating it.
I’d open with:
Construction doesn’t need more paperwork. It needs more accountability.
Then:
This week the Building Safety Levy comes into force.
It is another big change for developers, housebuilders and the wider construction industry.
But for me, the bigger conversation is what sits behind it.
Good construction has never really been about paperwork.
It is about control.
Knowing who is responsible. Knowing whether the design works. Making sure the right information reaches the people actually building it.
Having competent people on site who are prepared to challenge something when it doesn’t look right.
I started in this industry on the tools more than 40 years ago.
A lot has changed since then, and a lot needed to.
But the fundamentals haven’t.
Know your job. Respect the people doing the work. Take responsibility. Build it properly.
Regulation can set standards. Technology can improve information. AI will change how we plan and manage projects.
But somebody still has to take ownership and make the job work.
That is where experience matters.
It’s also why I’ve recently updated my website.
It brings together what I now do across construction consultancy, housing and development, project delivery and recovery, strategic advice and construction skills.
And it tells a bit more of my journey from starting on the tools to working across construction, housing and television today.
thehod.co.uk
Senior level thinking. Ground level understanding.
After 40+ years, I still believe some of the best solutions come from understanding what actually happens on site.
So what does construction need to get better at next?
Skills? Building safety? Planning? SME housebuilding? Leadership?

22/09/2026

THE REAL STARS OF DIY SOS. 💙🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿
Tonight, DIY SOS heads to Glasgow.
The real stars of this show are the people who answered the call and made the build happen.
The volunteers who gave up their time.
The suppliers who donated vital materials.
The tradespeople who brought their skills, experience and sheer determination to the site.
They worked long hours, early mornings and late nights, through every sort of condition the Scottish summer could throw at them.
Rain, wind, mud or sunshine, they kept turning up, kept grafting and kept pushing the job forward.
Nobody asked what was in it for them. They were there to help a local family and they did not stop until the work was done.
This is what DIY SOS is really about.
Good people. Skilled people. Ordinary people doing something extraordinary.
To every volunteer, supplier, tradesperson and member of the team who took part, thank you.
SCOTTISH HEROES. EVERY ONE OF THEM.
📺 DIY SOS: Glasgow 🕗 Tonight at 8pm 📍 BBC One and BBC iPlayer

30/08/2026

BRICKXIT 🧱🇬🇧
Well, this was a good one to wake up to.
I’m quoted extensively in today’s Sun on Sunday talking about something I’ve spent most of my working life around: bricks, bricklayers and British housebuilding.
The headline figure should make us all think:
352 MILLION bricks were imported into Britain last year.
At the same time, we’re talking about building 1.5 million new homes.
We have clay beneath our feet. We have brickworks. We have skilled people. We have the engineering knowledge.
So why can a brick manufactured hundreds of miles away sometimes arrive on a British building site cheaper than one made here?
As I told The Sun:
“If it is cheaper to transport a heavy brick hundreds of miles than to make it in Britain, the problem is not the brick. It is the system surrounding it.”
This isn’t anti-import. Builders have businesses to run and costs matter.
The question is why British manufacturing starts the race with what I described as a “hodful of extra cost on its back”.
Energy is a huge part of that. Brick kilns operate at around 1,000°C or more. If we’re serious about housebuilding, we need a serious long-term strategy for the British industries supplying it.
And here’s the frustrating bit…
TEN YEARS AGO, I was interviewed by the BBC about Britain’s reliance on imported bricks. My business was sourcing bricks from Spain because Britain couldn’t produce enough of what the industry needed.
A decade later: 352 million imported bricks.
Different pressures. Same underlying problem.
It is time to put British manufacturing back at the foundation of British housebuilding.
Great to see The Sun on Sunday putting this into the national conversation.
And whoever came up with BRICKXIT… I’ll give you that one. 😂🧱

28/08/2026

COWBOY BUILDERS: ABOUT TIME. BUT DON’T PUNISH THE GOOD ONES.
Cowboy builders are back in the news, with Government plans to tackle rogue traders and help the public identify trusted tradespeople.
I’m all for it.
After 40+ years in construction, nothing frustrates good builders more than seeing someone take a customer’s money, produce dreadful work and disappear.
They damage the reputation of the whole industry.
But don’t turn tackling cowboys into another mountain of paperwork and cost for legitimate builders already paying tax, VAT, insurance, wages and training while complying with Building Regulations, CDM and health and safety.
Meanwhile, the cowboys simply operate under the radar.
That isn’t a level playing field.
And it brings me back to something I keep banging the drum about.
Why charge 20% VAT on qualifying home extensions that could help with the housing crisis?
Extensions improve living conditions and can create additional accommodation, particularly bedrooms, without needing another piece of land or an entirely new house.
Why not offer targeted VAT relief on qualifying extensions where the work is carried out by properly registered, demonstrably competent builders?
Give homeowners a financial reason to choose the legitimate builder.
It could support proper businesses, protect consumers, bring work out of the cash economy, improve our housing stock and create much-needed additional accommodation.
Regulation should target the rogue, not regulate the good builder out of business.
Make competence, registration and accountability worth something.
Give proper builders a level playing field.

25/08/2026

🚨 ONE MILLION YOUNG PEOPLE GOING NOWHERE. YET WE CAN’T FIND ENOUGH PEOPLE TO BUILD OUR HOMES! 🧱🏠
More than ONE MILLION 16 to 24-year-olds are now not in education, employment or training.
At the same time Britain is crying out for skilled workers.
Bricklayers. Carpenters. Electricians. Plumbers. Engineers. Groundworkers. Site managers.
How have we got this so wrong?
I’ve no university degree. No fancy career plan.
I learned a trade.
That trade gave me a wage, confidence, responsibility and eventually a career.
That’s why these figures make me angry.
Not with the youngsters.
With the system.
We’ve spent years pushing university as the gold standard while vocational education has somehow been treated as second best.
It isn’t.
Graduate vacancies have reportedly fallen sharply, yet construction continues to talk about a massive skills shortage.
There’s your clue.
We don’t need another glossy brochure telling a 16-year-old about “career pathways”.
We need employers prepared to give them a start.
And construction needs to look at itself too.
We constantly ask:
“Where are all the bricklayers?”
Maybe we should be asking:
“How many have we actually trained?”
You can’t spend 20 years failing to bring enough youngsters into an industry and then act surprised when the skills disappear.
I’ve seen young people who struggled in classrooms absolutely flourish on building sites.
Give them something practical to do.
Give them responsibility.
Teach them properly.
Pay them.
Expect something from them.
And watch what happens.
Britain needs homes.
Britain needs skilled workers.
More than ONE MILLION young people need an opportunity.
Surely we can join those three dots together.
Stop treating vocational education as second best.
Get apprenticeships back at the heart of British industry.
And give these youngsters a bloody chance.
👉 WHAT DO YOU THINK?
I genuinely want to hear what the industry thinks. 👇

Address

36 Royal Scott Pride Park
Derby
DE248AJ

Telephone

01332228944

Website

http://www.bricklayers.com/

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