Balnacraig House, Aberdeenshire | Restoration Case Study

Our role: Contractor and conservation adviser
Client: Private client (estate)

Balnacraig House is a Category B listed 17th-century laird's house in rural Aberdeenshire, with 18th-century wings forming a U-plan courtyard. Working with the owners and Historic Scotland inspectors, we advised on and carried out its conservation, replacing cement with lime harling to the original building and a new extension.

Before & after

Drag across the image to compare the building before our work and after completion.

Balnacraig House after restoration by LTM Group

BeforeAfter

The challenge

Hard cement coatings had trapped moisture in the mass masonry walls, causing internal damp and decay of joist ends and timber safe lintels. A full understanding of how the building performed was needed to specify the right lime mortars and identify the most exposed and vulnerable areas.

Our solution

We surveyed and recorded the building fabric and designed a repair methodology, with the Scottish Lime Centre Trust analysing mortars and advising on materials and limewash. After painstaking preparation, deep void packing, pinning and flushing out, the two-coat harl was hand cast and finished with six coats of pigmented limewash. Original pinning stones were kept and replaced with matching stone only where needed. Works also included masonry repairs, slate vents and internal lime plastering.

Outcomes

Walls able to breathe

Lime harling replaced impermeable cement, tackling the source of the internal damp.

Evidence-based specification

Survey and mortar analysis guided every material choice.

Built to last

Careful substrate preparation and six coats of limewash give a durable, sacrificial finish.

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Balnacraig House