Garden Walls Redcar | Brick and Stone

Example image: a low red brick wall with a stone coping forming a raised bed beside a grey patio — Example image of a garden wall and raised bed

Kinds of garden wall

Patio walls. A few courses of brick or stone round a patio, often topped with a coping wide enough to sit on.
Raised beds. Brick, block or stone beds that are kinder on the back and give a flat garden some shape.
Retaining walls. Walls that hold back soil where a slope has been cut into to make room for a level patio or lawn.
Dwarf walls and dividers. Low walls that separate the patio from the lawn or mark out a seating corner.

Walls are usually built to match the house: red or buff brick for most of Redcar, Marske and Saltburn, and natural stone for the older stone houses in Guisborough and the villages.

What makes a wall last

A concrete footing sized for the height of the wall and the ground. Soft or clay ground needs a deeper footing.
Level, straight courses with joints filled solid.
A damp-proof course and a good coping. The coping sheds rain off the top and the DPC stops water soaking down through the wall, which matters in an exposed, frosty spot.
Drainage behind retaining walls. Wet soil pushes hard. Free-draining backfill and weep holes let the water out. Taller retaining walls need proper design, and we'll tell you if yours does.
Frost-resistant brick and mortar suited to exposed positions.

Planning and boundaries

A garden wall usually does not need planning permission if it is no more than 1 metre high next to a road used by vehicles (including the pavement beside it), or 2 metres elsewhere. Listed buildings and conservation areas, including parts of Saltburn and Guisborough, have their own rules. If the wall sits on or right next to a boundary with a neighbour, the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 may apply, so have a word with them early.

Walls with patios and steps

Most walls go in as part of a bigger job alongside a new patio or steps. Planning them together means the levels, materials and drainage all line up, and it is usually cheaper than doing each part separately.

Questions people ask

Do I need planning permission for a garden wall?

Usually not, as long as it is no more than 1m high next to a road used by vehicles, or 2m elsewhere, and the house is not listed. Redcar and Cleveland Council can confirm if you are unsure.

Brick or stone?

Brick that matches the house generally looks most natural. Stone suits natural stone patios and older stone-built properties. We can bring samples to the visit.

Can an old wall be repaired?

Often. Cracked or crumbling walls can sometimes be re-pointed or partly rebuilt, but a wall that leans because of a weak footing usually needs taking down and rebuilding properly.