Serving East Lothian, Edinburgh & surrounding areas · 24hr emergency service available
Case study
North Berwick Sea-Facing Property
Two neighbouring sea-front properties in North Berwick, restored in two phases.
Location
North Berwick, East Lothian
Services
Stone Repairs & Replacements, Bespoke Carving, Restoration & Conservation, Lime Mortar Pointing
When
2024-2025
Duration
Phase 1 - 3-4 weeks / Phase 2 - 5-6 weeks
The project
Overview
We were contacted by one of our clients regarding 2 neighbouring properties situated right on the sea front of North Berwick regarding spalling/eroding stone and water ingress issues.
We were asked to split this into 2 separate phases carrying out 1 property in 2024 and the other in 2025.
01
Phase 1
(First floor only)
The first thing that was apparent was the painted and cement covered stonework.
The cement coatings and unbreathable paint have suffocated the soft porous sandstone and was also trapping water in the building causing water ingress internally. We proposed removing this and replacing all defective stonework/repairing what stones were salvageable.
We also recommended a full re-point in lime putty which actually ended up continuing down to the ground floor flat even though we didn’t get to address the bay window stonework.
Stone preparation in the workshop
We started by taking templates of the cornice stones from next door so we could apply this template to the new stone sourced from the quarry.
We then went on to hand carve all the new cornice to match the original detail.
All in a dust controlled and safe environment Before transporting the new stone on site and laying out on the scaffolding.
On site
Making sure things were sufficiently supported where required we carefully cut out the original cornice sections and replaced with the newly carved stone.
Out with the old and in with the new.
All the paint/cement coverings were removed from the Mullions/lintels/window cills on the bay windows along with the jamb stones on the left hand side window.
We then carried out stone repairs where necessary with a colour match/lime based repair mortar to create the look of new stone while also protecting the stone from the elements of the sea front.
All joints were also raked out and fully pointed with lime mortar.
Before & after
Finished photos of Phase 1
Drag the slider to compare. Before and after photos of our own work.
Close up
Phase 1 close-ups
02
Phase 2
(Next door- ground level and first floor)
As you can see on phase 2 there is a lot more stone in bad condition and requiring replacement.
This stone after being battered by the salty sea air has now been left eroded and past the point of being salvageable in some cases.
We came to the conclusion we had to replace all the cornice sections along with approximately x1 bay window mullion/x2 bay window lintels/x1 right hand side jamb stone/ x 1 moulded doorway lintel and x1 corbel stone to right of doorway.
The rest of the stonework we were able to carry out mortar repair works.
Stone preparation in the workshop
After sourcing the stones from the quarry we got to work.
- Around 11 metres of Cornice hand carved.
- New lintels and mullion stones for the bay windows dressed.
- Intricate doorway lintel and right hand side corbel stone carefully carved by hand.
All in a dust controlled and safe environment, before being palleted up and transported to site via lorry.
(have a watch of 2 videos below showing the process of hand carving some of this stonework)
On site
In anticipation of the stone arriving on site we made sure we were all ready to go and immediately get the main structural stones built straight in place.
We carefully supported above masonry where required and cut out the cornice/lintels/mullion stones marked for replacement.
As soon as the lorry arrived on site we got the stones craned straight up onto the scaffolding and immediately built in place.
Bish bash bosh.
After all the main structural stones were built in place and supports removed we bashed on and got the rest of the cornice section built along with carrying out colour matched mortar repairs on the rest of the bay window and where required on the facade.
Selective mortar repairs were also carried out to the ground level bay window and first floor right hand window.
The moulded lintel and right hand corbel stone above the main doorway were badly eroded and required replacement.
A lot of skilled and intricate work went into hand carving these 2 stones and after doing so making sure they were handled properly on site to avoid damage.
The lintel itself is around 200kg.
We carefully cut out the defective stones and replaced with the new.
We also carried out small selective mortar repairs on the moulded jamb stones as they were crumbling in places.
Phase 2
Completed photos
To finish off phase 2 we carried out a full rake out and re-point in lime mortar along with new cast iron gutters and a lick of paint.
Before & after
Phase 2: before and after
Drag the slider to compare. Before and after photos of our own work.
Case studies
More case studies
North Berwick Pillars
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West Lodge
The phased restoration of an old shepherd’s cottage, bringing it back to life one stage at a time.
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Bayswell Hotel, Dunbar
Entrance pillars and a dwarf wall rebuilt in polished Corsehill sandstone after being knocked down by a delivery vehicle.
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07415 513782
Monday–Saturday: 8am–8pm
Sunday: Closed
24hr emergency service available, even if it is just to make the area safe until the required works can be carried out.