Repointing brickwork: calculator for UK builders
Answer the measurements this calculation needs and JobBosh works out the materials with wastage and pack rounding, the labour hours by role, the plant, the waste and the site needs - then prices them from your own figures, a supplier's quotation or a dated price you record. Free, no account needed to start.
What it works out
- Material: Building sand (25 kg bags); Cement (25 kg)
- Labour: Rake out joints; Repoint
- Plant: Mortar raking grinder + dust extraction hire
- Waste: Raked-out mortar and dust
The questions it asks
| Question | Unit / choices | Required? | Help |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wall area to repoint | m2 | required | |
| Rake out existing joints? | yes / no | optional - default yes (labelled assumed) | |
| Mortar | one of: cement sand, lime | optional - default cement_sand (labelled assumed) | |
| Storeys | nr | optional - default 1 (labelled assumed) |
The norms behind it, with their sources
Coverage, productivity and wastage defaults you can edit; each carries where it comes from and is shown as assumed until your own benchmark replaces it.
| Norm | Value | Source | Tier |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pointing mortar per m2 | 4 kg/m2 | trade practice | assumed |
| Rake out joints per m2 (grinder / hand) | 0.5 hr/m2 | trade practice | assumed |
| Repoint per m2 | 0.75 hr/m2 | trade practice | assumed |
A worked example
Answers used: Wall area to repoint 20 m2; Rake out existing joints? yes; Mortar cement sand; Storeys 1 nr. These are the recipe's own quantities for those answers - the prices are yours, the supplier's or a quotation's, never a figure typed on a web page.
| Kind | Line | Quantity | How it is worked out |
|---|---|---|---|
| material | Building sand (25 kg bags) | 70.4 kg 3 x bag - 25 kg bags | 20 m2 x 4 kg/m2 x 80 % |
| material | Cement (25 kg) | 17.6 kg 1 x bag - 25 kg bags | 20 m2 x 4 kg/m2 x 20 % |
| labour | Rake out joints | 10 hr | 20 m2 x 0.5 h/m2 |
| plant | Mortar raking grinder + dust extraction hire | 1 hire-day | 1 hire-day per ~20 m2 |
| labour | Repoint | 15 hr | 20 m2 x 0.75 h/m2 |
| waste | Raked-out mortar and dust | 0.1 m3 | 20 m2 x 0.005 m3/m2 |
Labour on this example: about 25 hours across the roles; at your rates it becomes money.
Site questions this work raises: Access equipment and temporary works, Parking and traffic, Site access and neighbours.
Dust: neighbours and cars nearby need telling (BoshCheck).
Then what
Price the lines from your crew rates and your material prices (each with its source and date), answer the site questions (parking, skip, welfare, power, water, protection), let JobBosh draft the supplier enquiries you approve, and issue a branded quotation your customer accepts on a secure link. Guest work is kept for 14 days; a free account keeps it for good.