It may look like a plain stone wall, but the internal working of stone masonry is pretty complex. Anyone considering adding insulation to stone walls needs to tread carefully.

What you see from the ground is often deceptive, its only when you get up close with a scaffold that you really get a feel for the condition of your property. Areas that looked solid from the ground have often been forgotten about for decades, while the weather has taken is toll. Often only patch repairs are carried out, to reduce costs, but this can only ever be a temporary solution.

Eventually someone will have to sort it all out.

Climate change is affecting us all , but in unexpected ways. It not all about warmer temperatures and fitting more insulation. For our traditional buildings it can be simpler and more dramatic than that.

We had perfect weather for carrying out our field test of lime mortars this week. Our research project will advance our understanding of lime mortars and heir durability in extreme conditions. The project is being supported by Historic Environment Scotland.

You will be hearing a lot about a new standard called PAS 2035 over the next few years. This standard governs how retrofit projects should proceed. It is a cornerstone of the UK Governments climate change strategy when it comes to insulating and improving homes.

Terms like “nail sickness” are evocative. Whenever a slate slips off a roof, there is a suspicion that the roof is suffering from this mysterious affliction that brought along by old age. We see our own health decline in old age and assume that buildings do the same.