Latest Articles
Why Cement Mortar Damages Historic Brick and Stone
Hard cement mortar used to repoint historic walls is quietly destroying the brick and stone it was meant to protect. Learn why old masonry needs to breathe—and how to spot the damage before it spreads.
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Aggregates and Sands for Compatible Historic Mortar Mixes
Most guides obsess over lime ratios, but the real reason historic mortar fails is the aggregate. Getting the sand's grading, colour and angularity right is 80% of the job — here's how to match it.
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Stone Replacement: Matching Colour, Texture and Bedding Plane
Matching stone isn't just about colour—lay it on the wrong bedding plane and even a perfect match will delaminate within a few winters. Here's how to get hue, texture and orientation right so nobody ever sees the joint.
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Conserving Historic Church Stonework: A Practical Overview
Most damage to historic church stonework comes from well-meaning intervention, not neglect. This practical guide explains how to diagnose problems first, why doing nothing is often the right call, and why lime—never cement—is your friend.
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Choosing the Right Lime Mortar Mix for Historic Stone
Choosing lime mortar for historic stone isn't about the recipe—it's about deciding which element fails first, and ensuring it's never the stone. Learn the sacrificial principle, from lime putty to NHL, before you point a single joint.
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Natural Stone Types and Their Suitability for Restoration Work
Bad stone restoration usually comes down to matching looks instead of physical properties—porosity, hardness and vapour permeability decide whether a repair survives. Here's how each major stone type behaves, and where common advice fails.
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Managing Damp in Historic Buildings Without Damaging Fabric
Historic walls are designed to breathe, so sealing them with cement and plastic paints traps moisture and accelerates decay. This guide reveals why most "rising damp" is misdiagnosed—and how to work with old buildings' physics instead of against them.
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Restoration, Repair or Conservation: What's the Difference?
Repair, restoration, conservation, preservation—we use them like synonyms, but each demands different ethics and outcomes. This guide unpacks how the object's status, not its damage, decides what you're allowed to do.
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