Cat's Eye Carving

Restoration of stone plinths.

After the painter had been in and conserved the wooden pillars, it was my turn to bring the stone plinths back from their sorry state.

Some areas could have mortar repairs built onto them, whereas the front of one of them needed a whole new piece. I used Portland limestone from Dorset as I believe that was what had been used for the originals.

This is an area where mortar repairs were built onto the stone. I used lime putty and stone dust to create a good match, lime putty needs tending until it has hardened and not shrunk or cracked.

Once the new piece was built onto the brick plinth, I used Hydraulic lime for this mortar as it dries quickly. I was able to finish off the final corner of the other plinth.

I re-used the original corner and pinned it back to the rest of the stone using a threaded stainless steel bar, once the glue had dried, I soaked the stone and built up the mortar repair.

I applied a lime putty shelter coat to the plinths to protect and finish them off. This shelter coat protects the stone and allows the water to move freely through the stone, paint would trap the water.

When doing repairs like these, there is a fine line between conservation and restoration. I made the decision not to fill every ding in the stone and I am really pleased with the overall result.