Conservation

The St Benedict war memorial in the city of

Lincoln: completely cleaned and conserved

Colour-matched mortars for discreet repair

A comprehensive range of conservation techniques is offered and appropriate treatments are available from single carvings, to complex monuments, and entire facades.

During treatments the surface stonework is at all times closely scrutinised, seeking inherent structural weaknesses or significant archaeological evidence, such as polychromy or historic marks.

Our conservation service offers:

Cleaning: from dry cleaning methods suitable for interior monuments, nebular spray water washing and wet slurry systems on large areas of ashlar masonry and running mouldings, to micro air-abrasive cleaning, or laser techniques on fine carving and sculpture.
Desalination: removal of soluble salts with poultices.
Consolidation: a last resort used as an alternative to stone replacement, primarily applicable to localiseed areas of high value, rather than large expanses of masonry.
Dismantling and reassembly where individual stones are seriously delaminating, an option might be to dismantle separate fragments to be reassembled in a stable manner.
Colour-matched mortar repair: gaps, cracks, and missing areas may be filled or capped with matching mortar repairs, bound with lime or resins.

We recommend that preventive measures are always given priority in order to reduce the need for future treatments. However, where intrusive treatments do prove necessary we always embody the principle of reversibility so that changing conditions can be addressed and historic fabric can be retreated.