Location
Cowley, Cheltenham
Service
Repointing
Stone
Cotswold limestone, with replacement stones and cornerstones; lime mortar
Scope
Front elevation only, around 59 m²: cleaned, raked out, stones replaced, walling rebuilt under two windows, repointed in lime

The problem

The cottage dates to around 1800 and is built from traditional Cotswold stone. This job was the front elevation only. The rear of the cottage, which is the side you see from the road, has not been repointed. Over the years its joints had been filled with a bad mix of cement and mortar, much of it smeared across the faces of the stones, and the whole elevation had dulled under green growth and staining.

The front of the Cotswold stone cottage before the work, the stone dulled with green growth and the joints patchy with smeared grey mortar
Before: patchy joints and green growth across the front.
The same cottage front after repointing, the Cotswold stone clean and evenly pointed in a warm lime mortar
After: the same elevation, cleaned and repointed in lime.

Up close, the old pointing was a patchwork of hard grey cement over earlier mortar, cracked and coming away from the stone. Behind it, some stones were broken or badly set, some cornerstones had failed, and some turned out to be no more than a thin veneer.

Close-up of the old pointing: grey cement patches smeared over the Cotswold stone, with an open crack between two stones
The old joints: cement patched over mortar, smeared across the stone and cracking.

What we did

Charlie and Elliot cleaned the stonework and carefully removed the old mortar back to the stone. Broken, badly set and veneer stones were taken out and replaced, cornerstones included, and Charlie and Elliot rebuilt the walling under two of the windows.

The wall below a ground-floor window opened up during the work, old mortar raked out and failed stones removed, with a pile of rubble at its foot
During: the wall under a window opened up, ready to be rebuilt.

They then repointed the whole front elevation in lime mortar. The colour mattered: samples were discussed with the homeowners to settle on a soft, warm tone that sits with the natural variation in the Cotswold stone rather than fighting it.

The end bay of the cottage before the work, with tired, uneven pointing and green staining along the base of the wall
Before: the end bay, stained at the base.
The same end bay after the work, with replaced stones, crisp lime pointing and a clean base course
After: the same bay, repointed in lime.

Charlie and Elliot kept the site clean throughout. At the end of each working day the paving was brushed, the rubble collected and the tools stored away, and the homeowners were kept informed of the working arrangements and any change to the schedule.

Charlie of Jackson's Stonemasonry on a ladder against the finished end wing of the cottage, holding a brush
Charlie on the end wing.

The result

A front elevation that looks crisp and defined again, without losing any of the cottage's character. The lime mortar brings out the variation in the stone and gives the whole face a more even finish, and the work was completed to the agreed specification and at the quoted price.

The finished front of the cottage seen at an angle, the stone evenly pointed in warm lime mortar around the windows and doors
Finished in September 2026.
“We couldn’t have been happier with Charlie and Elliot. The quote was clear and detailed, and the final cost was exactly as quoted. Communication was fantastic throughout, and they were incredibly courteous and tidy. The finished stonework looked fantastic, and the lime mortar complemented the Cotswold stone beautifully. We were so impressed with the craftsmanship and the care they took with our home that we wouldn’t hesitate to recommend them.”
The homeowners, Cowley