House Extensions
Extensions designed to sit comfortably alongside a period property — the right proportions and materials, not a bolt-on that fights the original house.
Chartered builders for a period town
Builders in Highworth
Highworth is a historic hilltop market town of stone and period brick — the kind of housing that punishes shortcuts. SwiftBrick renovates, repoints and extends these older homes with the right materials and a Chartered (MCIOB) Director accountable for the work.
Request a Quote Call 07460 232373
Free assessment of brickwork, stonework and pointing condition across Highworth.
| Trade | Bricklayer-led team, NVQ-qualified tradespeople |
|---|---|
| Oversight | Chartered (MCIOB) Director on every project |
| Mortar | Matched to the building — lime or cement, never guessed |
| Checked by | L. Regan MCIOB, Director |
Local builders who respect old buildings
Sympathetic work on Highworth's period homes
Highworth sits on a hill above the Thames valley, and its historic core reflects centuries of building: stone cottages, period brick townhouses and older properties around the market square that were put up long before modern materials existed. These are handsome, characterful homes — but they behave nothing like a modern house, and the wrong repair can do lasting harm.
The single most common mistake we see on Highworth's older housing is hard cement pointing applied to walls that were built to breathe. Most pre-1930s properties here were bedded in lime mortar, which stays slightly flexible and lets moisture evaporate out through the joints. Repoint one of those walls in dense modern cement and you trap the moisture inside the masonry — so the stone or brick face, not the joint, takes the frost damage and begins to spall. Once a face has blown, it doesn't come back. Our approach is to identify the original mortar first and match it: lime where lime belongs, cement only where cement is correct. Our brickwork and repointing work is the trade this company was founded on.
The same principle runs through everything we do on Highworth's older stock — whether that's a full period renovation, sensitive repairs to a stone elevation, or a carefully judged extension. Modernise the living, keep the character, and never let the two fight each other.
What we do in Highworth
Our building services
Brickwork & Repointing
Lime repointing, stone and brick repairs, and boundary walls — mortar matched to the building so Highworth's older walls are protected, not damaged.
Structural Alterations
RSJ work and wall removals in older homes, handled carefully where original structure and load paths need respecting.
Renovations
Sympathetic renovations that bring a period Highworth home up to modern comfort while keeping the features that make it worth living in.
Why it matters who you choose
Why choose a Chartered builder in Highworth
Period homes are unforgiving, and they attract more than their share of well-meaning but damaging work. Choosing a builder who understands how an old building actually behaves is the difference between a repair that lasts a generation and one that quietly rots the wall behind it.
SwiftBrick's Director, Luke Regan, is personally Chartered with the Chartered Institute of Building (MCIOB, No. 2082913) and holds an NVQ Level 7 in Senior Site Management. He's a bricklayer by trade, which matters enormously on a town like Highworth — the person judging your mortar and diagnosing your cracked stonework has laid brick and stone himself, not just read about it. We're accredited by the Federation of Master Builders (Membership No. 170197), fully insured, and put a 10-year insurance-backed guarantee on major projects. Building Control signs off any notifiable work.
We're rated 5.0 across 41 Google reviews, and our credentials back every claim on this page. If you own an older property in Highworth and want a straight opinion on what it needs, send us a few photos or book a visit.
Builders in Highworth — FAQs
Common questions
Do you use lime mortar on period Highworth homes?
Yes, where the building calls for it. Most of Highworth's older properties were built with lime, and repointing them in hard cement traps moisture and damages the masonry. We identify the original mortar and match it — lime for lime, cement only where cement is correct.
Can you repair old stone and brick elevations?
Yes. We repoint, rebuild and repair stone and period brickwork, and diagnose cracking honestly before recommending a fix — movement can be historic settlement or something live, and each needs a different response.
Can you extend or renovate without spoiling the character?
That's exactly the work we do on older homes. Sympathetic renovations and well-proportioned extensions that modernise how the house lives while keeping the features that give it value and character.
Are you fully insured and accredited?
Yes — FMB accredited (Membership No. 170197), fully insured, with Chartered (MCIOB) oversight and a 10-year insurance-backed guarantee on major projects. Notifiable work is signed off by Building Control.
Old buildings, done right
Own a period home in Highworth?
Send photos or book a visit — we'll tell you honestly what the building needs, and what it doesn't.
Request a QuotePrefer to talk? 07460 232373 · luke@swiftbrick.co.uk