Bank of Scotland, Aberfoyle, Main Street, Aberfoyle

Sandstone repair:

Bank of Scotland

Aberfoyle · 2014

Our role
Specialist stonemasonry subcontractor
Client
HCS Ltd
Value
Under £0.5m
Programme
March 2014
Scope
Removal of defective render repairs, red sandstone indents, Lithomex repair mortar to rybats, lime repointing

The Bank of Scotland on Main Street, Aberfoyle, is a Victorian building of dark whinstone walling with a red sandstone entrance porch beneath a timber gabled canopy. The sandstone around the door had been patched in the past and some of the stone had eroded. HCS Ltd invited us to price and carry out the repairs to the main entrance.

Bank of Scotland, Aberfoyle, Main Street, Aberfoyle — photograph 1
Bank of Scotland, Aberfoyle, Main Street, Aberfoyle — photograph 2
Bank of Scotland, Aberfoyle, Main Street, Aberfoyle — photograph 3
Bank of Scotland, Aberfoyle, Main Street, Aberfoyle — photograph 4
Bank of Scotland, Aberfoyle, Main Street, Aberfoyle — photograph 5
Bank of Scotland, Aberfoyle, Main Street, Aberfoyle — photograph 6

The challenge

The sandstone rybats at the main door carried defective cement-based render repairs and a number of eroded stones. The joint between the sandstone and the whinstone walling had also been filled with hard cement mortar. The entrance is the customers' way into a working branch on a village street, so the work had to be done without dust or obstruction while the door was in use.

Our solution

Work was carried out on a Saturday, when the bank door was not in use, with the area fenced off and a lightweight access tower erected and taken down each day. Defective render repairs were removed by hand, with chisels and hammers, to keep dust down and to protect the sound stone around them. Eroded stones were cut out and indented in new red sandstone to match. Where the rybats had lost their profile, the sub-surface stone was taken back to a sound, roughened base and Lithomex repair mortar, reinforced with stainless steel mesh where needed, was built up in layers to a thickness of no more than 50mm. Once it had taken up, it was dressed back to match the existing profiles. Cement-filled joints at the door frame and between the sandstone and whinstone were raked out and repointed in lime mortar, with stone pinnings where needed, and waste was bagged and removed from site.

Outcomes

Entrance stonework restored

Defective repairs and eroded stones around the main door were replaced with sandstone indents and matched repair mortar.

Lime pointing reinstated

Hard cement joints were replaced with lime mortar at the door frame and the sandstone to whinstone junction.

Branch kept open

Working on Saturdays with the area fenced off left the entrance clear for customers during the week.

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