Six things to check and do before you choose a damp-proofing specialist.

Damp-proofing, timber treatment and waterproofing specialists are ten a penny – Google or Yell will find you lots of them when you need one. However, like all trades there are good ones and bad, ignorant and clever, honest and not – how do you stack the odds in your favour? The thing is, that damp […]

Damp problems solved “the green way” (or how to spend a pile of cash for nothing at all).

I was asked to have a look at a cottage, just off the A1, near Pontefract last week. Arriving on site, I was greeted by my clients; the owners. A couple in late middle age, with two dogs and a cat. I thought this was a standard damp survey, which usually means checking for all […]

Micro-drilling construction timbers. How and why it works.

Wet Rot. Dry Rot, beetle infestations.  All real problems in construction timbers.  In most cases diagnosis and estimation of the extent of the problem is easy; a torch and a screwdriver being all the tools needed, by any half-decent timber infestation surveyor. However, when large section timbers, valuable historic members or restricted access is concerned, […]

Lime mortar – leave it ’till spring

Lime mortar is back in a big way. This past year we’ve used natural coloured Eco mortar, fat lime, Lithomex plastic stone repair and hydraulic lime from NHL 5 down to NHL 1.5. My guy’s have re-built unstable walls, re-pointed and re-rendered with it – it is wonderful stuff. Sales are up year on year […]

Copyright © 2010 Preservation Expert. Legal Stuff: All the advice and information in the posts on my blog is made in good faith and is based on my experience and knowledge at the time of writing. However, nobody is infallible and whilst I’m confident that most of what I write about preservation issues is accurate, there’s a good chance there’ll be an error or two somewhere. I do change my mind about stuff, as I gain more experience. In view of this you must make your own decisions on whether to follow any advice I write and think about this; I could be wrong. No responsibility will be accepted by the author for any losses anyone may suffer as a result of any mistake or for the consequence of any action you take as a result of reading this blog. If you do suffer a loss, resulting from anything I’ve written, a verbal heartfelt apology will be your only compensation.