How much does wall tie replacement cost?
Last reviewed October 2026
Cavity walls are two layers of brick or block held together by metal ties. On older houses, those ties can rust and fail, letting the outer wall bulge or crack. Here’s what decides the cost of replacing them, and the signs to look out for.
The short answer
It’s mostly decided by the size of the house, how many elevations need new ties and the access. Replacing ties on one elevation of a small house is a modest job; a whole detached house that needs scaffolding all round is a bigger one. We confirm the ties have failed before quoting, so you’re not paying for work you don’t need.
What affects the cost
Every job is different, so we don’t put a figure on this page that we’d then have to caveat. These are the things that move the price up or down. The only accurate number is a measured written quotation, which we give for free.
How much of the house needs doing
New ties are fixed at regular spacings across the wall, so the cost follows the area of wall being treated. Sometimes only the most exposed elevation has failed, which keeps the job smaller.
Removing or isolating the old ties
Badly rusted old ties keep expanding and can carry on cracking the mortar even after new ones are in. Where that’s happening, the old ties need removing or isolating, which adds time to the job.
Access and scaffolding
Ties go in across the full height of the wall, so anything beyond a single-storey section needs scaffolding. That’s often the biggest single item on a wall tie job.
Making good
Each new tie leaves a small drilled hole that is filled with mortar matched to the wall. If the old ties have cracked the joints or pushed bricks out of line, that brickwork needs repairing too.
Common questions
- What are the signs of wall tie failure?
- The classic sign is horizontal cracks in the mortar joints, repeating every few courses up the wall. Other signs are a bulging or bowing outer wall, window cills or lintels that have lifted, and cracks around the corners of openings. Houses built before the 1980s are the most likely to have ties that have rusted.
- How do you check whether the wall ties have failed?
- The usual way is to drill a small hole and look into the cavity with a small camera to see the condition of the ties. It tells you whether replacement is needed before you spend anything on the repair.
- How long does wall tie replacement take?
- For a typical house it’s usually a few days once scaffolding is up. We’ll give you a timescale with the quote.