Conservation Consultants (Worldwide) Ltd

Introduction
Conservation Consultants (Worldwide) Limited offers consultancy on a range of issues related to the built environment.

• Stone Conservation
• Lime Mortar
• Publications
• Straw Bale
• Weather Data
• Clay Brick

Stone Conservation

Below are just some of the types of degradation that can be found on historic buildings


Intervention
Intervention is not always required. In some cases investigation will reveal that the best solution is have a watching brief and 'leave well alone'. Some of the more common techniques which can be used when intervention is required include replacement of entire units, 'piecing-in' of damaged areas with new material, plastic repair using suitable repair mortars, re-pointing, application of a shelter coat, lime-watering, capping with a lime mortar to prevent further degradation. Each situation requires its own solution, and care must be taken to eliminate, where possible, the initial cause of the damage.
Below is an illustration of a sophisticated piece of plastic repair performed by David Ball Restoration on a building in London in 2002.

Lime Mortar Lime is an energy efficient building material with characteristics that are very sympathetic to the fabric of historic buildings. To gain a better understanding of how lime works, go to the 'publications' section of our web-site. Mortars are made by mixing fillers with a binder. The use of ordinary portland cement (OPC) as a binder in historic buildings has been found to produce dramatic damage over relatively short periods of time. In the field of conservation it has been found that the binder of choice is lime. Fillers are generally sand or a mixture of sand and stone-dust, and other additives include 'pozzolans' which are materials which encourage a more rapid 'hydraulic' set to binders. More detailed information on mortars can be found in the 'publications' section of this web-site.

Straw Bale

Research is being undertaken to help develop the 'Modcell' concept, of pre-fabricated straw bales for use in commercial, industrial and domestic construction. This offers real opportunities for 'zero carbon' buildings an all sectors of construction.