Age and type of house
Bricks are spalling at the weather strike on one gable and the other gable is fair. Why should a quote to replace every brick not be assumed from that note?
No spalling at the weather strike on one gable, with the other gable fair, means every brick should be replaced. The note is the bricks shelling where the rain hits that face. A fair gable shows the house has not been described as decayed on every elevation. A quotation to replace every brick goes beyond the strike and beyond the wording. A visual survey records the damaged bricks it could see. It does not design a new skin for walls it has called fair.
Last reviewed 24 October 2026. Written for buyers in England and Wales unless this answer says otherwise. No named surveyor has signed this page. It is general guidance, not a report on your house, and not legal advice.
What is the fuller explanation?
The face of a brick comes off where soft clay stays wet and then frosts, which is why the weather strike is named. A gable in the rain suffers before a sheltered one. The fair gable is a comparison, not a hint to ignore the damaged face. Ask a bricklayer to deal with the bricks that have lost their face on the struck gable, and keep the fair gable out of that work.
Cutting out, where it is needed, is brick by brick, matched as well as the bond allows. Covering the whole gable with a render is a different design, and it is not this note. Ask the quotation to say which gable, and why the fair gable is included if it is. If it cannot, the figure is not an answer to the report. Do not assume a new skin for the house because one elevation takes the weather.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Which gable is spalling, and which gable did you describe as fair?
- Are the damaged bricks at the weather strike, or spread across other walls as well?
- How far do you say any brick replacement should extend?
What are the typical next steps?
- Limit the first quotation to spalled bricks on the gable that takes the rain.
- Do not include the fair gable unless a separate defect is written down there.
- Ask the bricklayer to say which bricks they intend to cut out, and on which face.
Costs vary with the building and with who you instruct. Where this page does not cite a published figure, ask the surveyor, a relevant specialist, or your solicitor for a written quote. Do not treat a forum average as the price.
Also asked about this
Does spalling on one gable condemn the brickwork of the whole house?
No. The other gable is fair. The note is the weather strike on the damaged face, not a plan to replace every brick.
Should that gable be rendered over instead of repaired?
Not on the strength of this report. A coating would be a new specification. The survey describes spalled bricks and does not design one.