Heritage Masonry Repair in Adelaide

Repairing an old wall is building work on a building, and South Australia's Building Work Contractors Act 1995 bars carrying on business as a building work contractor except as authorised under it. This site has read no page that says whether masonry repair is covered, so the useful question for any quote is who is authorised and for what, and what the mortar will be.

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What heritage masonry repair in Adelaide actually involves

In the Act, the definition begins "building work means— (a) the whole or part of the work of constructing, erecting, underpinning, altering, repairing, improving, adding to or demolishing a building;" and the Act also provides that nobody may carry on business as a building work contractor unless authorised under it. The lines read set no monetary threshold. The legislation read is the Building Work Contractors Act 1995 (SA), in the version current from 15 January 2026, which was read on 6 October 2026.

A sandstone block with a weathered, recessed mortar joint — heritage masonry repair, Adelaide. Illustrative example.

What to ask

No page read says in terms that masonry repair is building work in the Act's sense, so this page does not say so. Ask whoever quotes for their contractor number and which work it covers, and what the mortar will be: the 2008 joint heritage guide to salt attack and rising damp (Heritage Council of NSW, Heritage Victoria, the South Australian Department for Environment and Heritage and Adelaide City Council) says: don’t use hard cement mortar to repoint failed lime mortar joints — that will just drive the damp further up the wall and may also damage the bricks.

Ask the provider what mortar the quote uses, how deep the joints are raked, and whether the house is a heritage place.

Neat lined pointing between coursed bluestone — heritage masonry repair, Adelaide. Illustrative example.

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