All Posts

You have an old stone wall that needs repointing or rebuilding, and one person has told you to use lime while another says cement is stronger and lasts longer. Both sound reasonable. Only one is right for most older stonework, and getting it wrong can damage the stone itself, sometimes past the point of repair. Below is what actually separates the two, how to tell what your wall was built with, and when each one belongs. Repaired mortared wall in Bakewell What is the differ

Most retaining wall price guides online are about building a new wall from scratch in timber or concrete block. That is no help if you have a stone wall holding up your garden that has started to bulge, crack or come down. Repairs are priced differently, and the honest answer is that the range is wide. Below is the range we work to, what pushes a job to either end of it, and how to get a figure you can actually budget around. Retaining wall repaired by our team How much does

A sapling has taken hold in the top of your wall, or ivy has swallowed a whole run of it, and you are wondering how much damage is going on underneath. Some of it is real and gets worse every year. Some of it is doing no harm at all, and the usual fix makes things worse. Below is how to tell the difference, how to remove growth without pulling the wall down with it, and the rules that apply before you start cutting. Do tree roots and ivy damage walls? Tree roots and woody gro

Rebuilding a long run of field wall is expensive, and there is public money set aside for exactly this kind of work. The catch is that it moves around. Schemes open, fill up and close within weeks, and the rules change every round. Below is every funding route we know of that covers dry stone walls in Derbyshire, what each one pays, who can apply, and which are actually open right now. Are there grants for dry stone walls in Derbyshire? Yes, mainly for farmers and land manage

A boundary wall has started to lean, or a section has come down, and the conversation with next door has stalled on whose problem it is. This is one of the most common disputes in English property, largely because almost everything people believe about it is wrong. Below is what actually decides responsibility, where to look it up, and what happens when the paperwork says nothing at all. Who is responsible for a boundary wall? Responsibility is set by your title deeds, not by

Someone has taken out your wall and you are standing in the rubble wondering whether this is going to cost you. In most cases it should not. The rules in England are clearer than the forum threads suggest, but there are two situations where people end up paying for a wall they did not damage, and both are avoidable if you act in the first day or two. Car hit my wall, who pays? The driver who hit it pays, through their motor insurance. Third party property damage cover is comp

A wall that has started to belly out or tip forward is telling you something, and it does not get better on its own. The good news is that most of these walls are caught in time and repaired for a fraction of what a collapse costs. Below is what causes the movement, how to judge how urgent yours is, and what a proper repair actually involves. Is a bulging or leaning stone wall dangerous? It can be. A bulge means stones are already part way out of the wall, so it takes far l

Garden feature walls, reclaimed stone, wetter winters, wildlife, grants and training: what is changing in dry stone walling in 2026.

How many miles of dry stone wall Britain has, what state they are in, how long they last and what it takes to rebuild one. Ten sourced figures.

Most cost guides for stone walling are written nationally, which is exactly why they are no use in Derbyshire. This county has more stone types than almost anywhere in England, and the wall on your boundary might take twice as long to rebuild as one five miles away. Below are the rates we actually work to, how to turn them into a rough figure for your own wall, and the things that move the number. How much does dry stone wall repair cost? We charge around £200 to £250 per d

A retaining wall usually comes down after a wet spell, and it rarely picks a convenient moment. The stone is on the drive, the bank behind it is exposed, and the obvious instinct is to stack it all back up. That is how walls end up falling twice. Below is the sequence we work through on site, what causes these failures in the first place, and where the rules in England catch a roadside wall out. A retaining wall we repaired in Derbyshire Can a collapsed stone retaining wall

You are about to spend real money on a wall, so you want to know how long it will still be standing. Gabion baskets have a reputation for being either a 60 year structure or a rusty mess in a decade, and both are true depending on how they were specified and built. Below we set out the realistic numbers, the things that shorten them, and what we do on our own jobs to push the life to the top end of the range. How long do gabion baskets last? Most gabion baskets last between 2

A ⭐ Project Overview This project involved creating a natural stone water-defence cladding system for a riverside property in Belper. The house sits approximately 10 feet above river level, meaning flood protection was essential, but any work also had to respect the character and requirements of a listed building. The solution needed to be strong, discreet and visually in keeping with the original structure. 🪨 Reclaimed Stone & Sustainable Materials To maintain authenticity

We rebuilt a 40-metre roadside retaining wall that had begun to bulge and twist, working safely beside live traffic throughout winter. The project was completed section by section to avoid land movement and disruption, using mortar for added strength and through-stones weighing up to 100kg. With four craftsmen on site and machinery support, the wall was fully restored over three months.

A bespoke project using 60 tonnes of gritstone sourced directly from the client's land

We were commissioned by Historic England to restore a collapsed lime kiln at Minninglow. Over two months, our team rebuilt the structure using 85 tonnes of natural limestone, hand-made keystones and traditional dry-stone techniques with NHL 3.5 lime mortar. Following strict historic specifications, the kiln was reconstructed exactly as before, contributing to an award-winning restoration.

⭐ Client Review Spotlight “I contacted Jacob initially due to his excellent Google reviews and range of dry stone walling skills. The wall repair required was largely made up of huge stones that needed a complete rebuild of around 5 metres. Jacob responded to my questions quickly and within a week of the first contact the wall has been restored to its former glory! I cannot recommend Jacob and his team highly enough.” 🔧 A Challenging Wall Requiring Specialist Skill This proj