Conservation | Repointing with Lime mortar

 To read about the difference between Restoration and Conservation, click here.

Conservation

In conservation, the maximum amount of the original material, in an unaltered condition as possible, is preserved. Any repairs or additions must not remove or alter any original material, beyond absolutely necessary. In theory, all repairs or additions must be reversible and removable without affecting the condition of the original material.

Conserving an object means the object dictates all choices on how it is treated. Conservation does not involve artistic choices or material experimentation on the object. Conservation techniques work to care for the history of the piece while making it usable again.

Conservation / Restoration project in Ballsbridge Dublin 4

After 180 years standing, large sections of the wall fell down due to freeze thaw action, lack of capping and old age. Some areas of the wall were previously restored 50 years ago (using a cement mortar mix), while other parts of the original were standing strong, all be it a little off plump. While another large section collapsed completely.

This wall runs through two properties, a creche and a wine merchants. On the wine merchants side, the outside section of the wall fell down completely, while the inside remained intact. On the creche side, a large tree had grown and had started to shift the wall to one side. As such, we had to take down both sides (inner and outer) and then rebuild. Approx 85% of the old existing stone was cleaned and re-used in the rebuild, and was matched using salvaged stone from a building of the same age that originally stood only 6kms away.

All stone was laid using a lime mortar, and the wall was capped using the same.