Stonework & Restoration

There have been many types of stone used in the building industry for hundreds of years, common causes of stone masonry failure can include incompatible materials being placed beside one another, inadequate weathering protection, and poor quality masonry repairs. At Calibre Building Solutions we have experience working on Historic, Heritage and fragile buildings

External stonework often requires stone cleaning in order to adequately identify concealed defects. Once diagnosed, various methods can be adopted depending upon the type of stone masonry and the extent of the decay. Stone restoration and repair options are broadly the same as those used for other types of masonry, and include complete renewal, in situ surface restoration, or consolidation. The main options are as follows:

Stone Matching – If an area of stonework is defective and needs to be replaced, new pieces of carefully matched masonry can be indented into an existing structure to replace defective areas of stonework.

Removal & Rebuild – A defective area of masonry can be cut out and repaired using restoration mortar. The area of repair is dampened and stainless steel dowels are fixed into the host area of repair if required, before the area is restored forward with mortar to its original line and profile.

Masonry Consolidation – This is ideal for areas of unstable or loose stonework. Grout is pumped into the unstable masonry structure to bind the masonry together while producing what is in effect an invisible repair. Pinning can be used to fix loose pieces of masonry to the main structure and improve the stability of the substrate. Stainless steel dowels are drilled into the stonework and fixed in place with epoxy.

Where replacement units are not possible due to restrictions, or deemed to be too expensive, then stone restoration is a quick simple cost effective way to restore weathered or defective units.  Our highly skilled restorers are capable of carrying out the most intricate of details including tracery sections to windows as well as reforming sections to statues. We have developed restoration mixes over the last 20 years to suits all types of stone ensuring that each repair closely matches the surrounding stone in strength, colour and texture.