James Allan Stonemasons (Edinburgh)In this project we were asked to restore a very tired old rubble sandstone boundary wall in Edinburgh, Midlothian.
In the before pictures shown below, we can clearly see the wall is in a bad way with dilapidated old lime mortar pointing and intermittent patches of cement render for whatever reason. The client was hoping that on completion that the wall would be much stronger and nicer to look at. We delivered on both of these fronts as you will see later.
Before:
The pictures of the wall below show the wall at various stages of work being carried out. We can see in the photos that all the existing lime pointing was removed along with any defective stone pieces. We then sourced identical reclaimed stone and rebuilt these into the wall. This act assists greatly in improving the structural integrity of the wall. The wall really does look worse at this stage of the restoration.
You can see in some of the pictures the pointing at an early stage, and the material you see draped over the wall is hessian sheeting which has the desirable effect of slowing down the lime setting process.
During:
In the photographs below we see examples of the completed wall. I am sure you will agree there is no comparison between the before and after examples. The lime pointing was all completed by hand by our expert stonemasons. The wall has a brand new lease of life, the owner is delighted with the results and we are happy with it too.
The lime mortar used in this stone wall was Loanleven coarse sand and an Otterbein NHL 3.5 natural lime binder mix at a 5 sand to two lime ratio mix. This sets as a nice sturdy durable mortar while, very importantly looking nice and showing a nice proportion of grit and aggregate showing on the surface. This lime mortar will age very nicely, giving a nice natural patina to the pointing / finish.
After:
Please also note the nice tidy garden the lads have left after completion. No mess whatsoever. This quality of service comes as standard with all James Allan Stonemasons (Edinburgh). We feel it a huge part of overall customer satisfaction, and as such is very important to us.
Should you ever require a similar stone wall restoration similar to the example above please call us on 0131 447 0003 to arrange your prompt free survey.
Why Choose Us:
- We have over 30 years hands-on experience as stonemasons
- We have a full range of expert stonemasonry and sandstone restoration skills
- We only use lime mortar for re-pointing, sandstone repairs and building work
- We choose our team based on the quality of their work and quality of their character
- Flexible Quoting: we come at a time that suits you, even on the same day if required
Stone Repairs
Do your stones’ need repairing due to weathering and old age? If so, we can bring them back to new again. As James Allan Stonemasons (Edinburgh), we can offer you two effective methods for repairing your stones, which are part Indenting and lithomex.
Lime Pointing
Properly executed Lime Repointing of masonry using lime mortars is critical to the long term health of stone structures. It is strongly advised that repointing is carried out using proper lime mortars & correct technique and preparation.
Church Stone Repairs
Repairs to churches call on every type of stonemasonry skill imaginable, including stone replacement, stone restoration, stone carving and lime pointing. We are able to carry out the stonemasonry restoration of our city’s churches.
Wall Repairs
Repairing a wall takes great expertise, and as one of Edinburgh’s longest standing stonemasons, we have the know how to repair or rebuild your wall the correct way. We only use lime mortars in our building, pointing and restoration work.
Chimney Repairs
On average, we have been repairing 10 chimneys in Edinburgh per year over the last 30 years. This means we will carry out your chimney repairs with attention to detail and a high level of mastery.