Gable rebuild and chimney repair:

Queen Street, Elgin

Elgin, Moray · 2016

Our role: Specialist masonry contractor
Client: Private client
Architect: Suzie Tisch Architect
Structural engineer: Graeme Craig Consulting
Value: Under £0.5m
Scope: Dismantling and rebuilding of gable wall and chimney stacks, new foundation, blockwork backing, lime pointing, new stone indents, fireplace openings and Caithness hearths, flue liners

Queen Street is a Victorian sandstone villa in Elgin, with a shaped gable, a projecting bay window and carved stone detail around the entrance. The family home needed its gable wall and chimney stacks taken down and rebuilt. Working to the architect's instructions and a structural engineer's design, we dismantled the gable in stone, rebuilt it in traditional lime mortar and formed new fireplace openings, with the house remaining occupied.

Queen Street, Elgin, Queen Street, Elgin, Moray — photograph 1

Queen Street, Elgin, Queen Street, Elgin, Moray — photograph 2

Queen Street, Elgin, Queen Street, Elgin, Moray — photograph 3

Queen Street, Elgin, Queen Street, Elgin, Moray — photograph 4

Queen Street, Elgin, Queen Street, Elgin, Moray — photograph 5

Queen Street, Elgin, Queen Street, Elgin, Moray — photograph 6

The challenge

The gable wall, with its chimney breast and stacks, had to be rebuilt without losing the character of the house. The existing wall was about 700mm thick including its lath and plaster lining, and three rooms were linked to it: a ground floor lounge, an upper floor bedroom and a linen cupboard. The new wall had to land on the same internal line as the old so that existing cornices still aligned. The family also stayed in the house, so access, welfare and security were planned around daily life, with the work reached by the driveway and through window openings.

Our solution

The chimney stacks and copes were dismantled and set aside for reuse, and the rubble facing stone, pinnings and corner stones were numbered and laid aside to be rebuilt in their original positions. Propping and the temporary works followed the engineer's site visits and drawings. A new foundation was formed, and a 150mm blockwork backing was built up on the internal face, incorporating the chimney breast and flues. The rubble wall and corners were rebuilt in traditional lime mortar, with terracotta flue liners to the ground and first floor fireplaces, and the stacks and stone pillar stacks were rebuilt with their copes and pots. New sandstone indents were supplied for quoins, a lintel, rybats and a sill, and the stonework was repointed in lime. Fireplace openings were formed in rendered blockwork with Caithness stone hearths, and flue liners were installed ready for stoves fitted by others. The wall linings were specified by the architect as insulated timber frames with a ventilated gap behind.