1a Pumpgate Street, Pumpgate Street, Inverness

Remedial masonry and lime pointing:

1a Pumpgate Street

Inverness · 2023

Our role
Principal contractor, specialist masonry repair
Client
The Highland Council
Structural engineer
WA Fairhurst
Programme
From September 2022
Scope
Temporary propping, stone repair and rebuilding, chimney rebuilding, lime mortar repointing, stone cleaning

1a Pumpgate Street is a red sandstone corner building in the centre of Inverness, with slated gables, dormers, chimneys and an arched stone doorway at street level. The Highland Council appointed us as principal contractor for remedial works to the ground floor corner and the stonework above, working to a structural engineer's design from a full scaffold and with the adjoining street kept open to the public.

1a Pumpgate Street, Pumpgate Street, Inverness — photograph 1
1a Pumpgate Street, Pumpgate Street, Inverness — photograph 2
1a Pumpgate Street, Pumpgate Street, Inverness — photograph 3
1a Pumpgate Street, Pumpgate Street, Inverness — photograph 4

The challenge

The corner of the building needed safe temporary support before any permanent repair could begin, so the opened-up masonry had to be propped and the works sequenced around it. Above, the sandstone was weathered, with eroded joints and, in places, earlier cement pointing that traps moisture and damages soft stone. Chimneys carried established vegetation. The building stands on a busy street, so working areas, public protection and scaffold access had to be planned carefully, and any stone removed had to be recorded and replaced in matching sandstone.

Our solution

Temporary works were designed and installed first, using timber and steel propping to carry the masonry while defective stone was removed. Damaged blocks were taken out and rebuilt in sandstone to match the existing, bedded in a lime mortar of three parts Beauly sharp sand to one part St Astier NHL 5. Resin anchors were used where stones needed to be tied back. The east chimney was stripped and rebuilt to remove the vegetation growing through it. Joints across the elevations were raked out by hand and repointed in the same breathable lime mortar, so that the walls can shed moisture rather than hold it. Stonework was cleaned using the gentle DOFF system to reveal the true condition of the stone before repair. Scaffold access was used throughout to inspect the upper stonework, and the findings were recorded for the client in a building condition survey.

Outcomes

Corner masonry made safe

Temporary works and rebuilt stonework restored support and weather protection to the damaged corner.

Breathable lime repairs

Matching sandstone and lime mortar used so the repairs behave like the original fabric.

Condition recorded for the client

A photographed survey of the upper stonework, chimneys and roof gave The Highland Council a clear picture of further needs.

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