Wells Cathedral Stonemasons

WEST STONEMASONS INVEST IN CAMPAIGN TO REPLACE CEMENT WITH LIME TO “LET BUILDINGS BREATHE – AND LAST”

Wells Cathedral Stonemasons back their preference for traditional lime as the longer-lasting, eco-friendly mortar for building.

If London‘s historic buildings had used cement, they would have been flattened by Hitler‘s Blitz!

Traditional lime mortar lasts for centuries, allows buildings to “breathe and flex”, and is far more eco-friendly and energy-efficient, according to West-based specialists in the conservation of stone buildings.

Wells Cathedral Stonemasons, one of the UK‘s few companies preserving ancient skills by offering full apprenticeship training, has backed its commitment to the superiority of lime mortar over cement.

The company, based at Isambard Kingdom Brunel‘s stone-built railway station in cheddar, has agreed to be the West‘s stockist for traditional lime mortar, produced in France by Irish specialist supplier, Roundtower.

According to Simon Armstrong, one of the company‘s Mason Directors: “We see too many cases of old buildings deteriorating because they are suffocated by cement. If London‘s historic buildings had relied on cement, rather than lime mortar, Hitler‘s Blitz would have flattened far more of them”, he added.

“Lime mortar lets a building breathe, helping it to withstand the test of time.

“In a climate where we are all now realising the importance of environmental and energy-efficiency factors, it is doubly important to return to traditional lime mortar. Unlike cement, lime mortar is a natural product which does not burn up vast quantities of energy in its production”, said Mr Armstrong.

While Wells Cathedral Stonemasons have long advocated the use of lime mortar for their restoration and new-build projects throughout the world, the company is now backing that policy by providing the West‘s architects and builders with a local supply of lime mortar.

“Our only problem was storage. So we bought the back of a lorry to store a ready supply of lime mortar to be able to meet the growing demand from the region‘s architects and builders who are rediscovering the practical and environmental attributes of lime over cement”, said Mr Armstrong.

END 8th May 2006

For further information please contact David Sturgess, Sturgess Van Damme, on 01275 349011 or email david@sturgessvandamme.co.uk