Restoring stonework the right way
Old stone buildings fail slowly, and they usually fail for avoidable reasons: hard cement pointing trapping moisture in soft limestone, blocked or leaking rainwater goods washing out joints, or decades of small defects left to grow. Good restoration starts with understanding why the stonework is decaying — then fixing the cause, not just the symptom.
Our approach is conservative in the best sense: keep as much original stonework as possible, repair rather than replace where the stone is sound, and use materials that work with the building rather than against it. On a Cotswold stone property that almost always means lime — lime mortars for repointing and bedding, which stay breathable and flexible, rather than modern cement, which does not.
Restoration services
- Repointing in lime mortar — raking out failed or cement pointing by hand and repointing in a lime mortar matched to the original in colour, texture and joint profile.
- Stone replacement — cutting out individual stones that have decayed beyond repair and piecing in new stone, dressed by hand to match the existing work.
- Stone repairs — pinning, stitching and mortar repairs where stones are cracked or spalling but worth saving.
- Rebuilding failed sections — taking down and rebuilding bulged, leaning or structurally failed areas of stonework, reusing the original stone.
- Window surrounds, quoins, copings and detail — restoring dressed-stone features: mullions, cills, heads, string courses, kneelers and chimney stonework.
- Boundary and garden walls — restoration of mortared stone walls, gate piers and steps. For mortar-free walls see dry stone walling.
Cement pointing: the most common problem we see
A large share of the restoration work we take on across Cheltenham and the Cotswolds involves undoing well-intentioned repairs from the last fifty years — above all, cement pointing on soft Cotswold limestone.
Cement is harder and less permeable than the stone around it. Moisture that would once have evaporated harmlessly through lime joints is forced out through the face of the stone instead, and every winter's frost blows a little more of that face away. The result is stones eroding back while hard cement fins stand proud — the opposite of how the wall was designed to weather.
The remedy is patient rather than complicated: rake out the cement by hand without damaging the arrises (edges) of the stone, and repoint in an appropriate lime mortar. Done well, it dramatically slows decay and the wall looks right again.
Listed buildings and conservation areas
Much of the housing stock around Winchcombe, Cheltenham and the north Cotswolds is listed or sits within a conservation area. We regularly work on both, and we're comfortable with what that involves:
- traditional materials and techniques as the default — lime, matched stone, hand tools;
- like-for-like repairs that generally sit comfortably within consent requirements;
- method details and material specifications to support a listed building consent application where one is needed;
- working alongside your architect, surveyor or the conservation officer.
If you're unsure whether your project needs consent, we can advise on what the conservation officer is likely to expect before anything is committed.
What restoration costs
No two restoration jobs are alike, so we don't price from a rate card. What we do promise is a clear process: we inspect the stonework, diagnose what is actually causing the decay, and give you a written, itemised quotation that separates the essential structural work from the cosmetic — so you can prioritise if you need to. Quotations are free and carry no obligation.
Where we work
We carry out stone restoration across Gloucestershire and the Cotswolds, including Cheltenham, Winchcombe, Tewkesbury, Gloucester, Broadway, Stow-on-the-Wold and Cirencester.
Frequently asked questions
Can damaged stonework be restored rather than replaced? Very often, yes. Sound stone with surface damage can frequently be repaired in place, and where replacement is unavoidable it can usually be limited to individual stones rather than whole sections. Wholesale replacement is a last resort, not a starting point.
Why lime mortar rather than cement? Lime is softer and more breathable than the stone, so moisture escapes through the joints — which are easily renewed — rather than through the face of the stone, which is not. It also accommodates the small movements old buildings make without cracking.
Will the new stone match? New stone starts brighter than weathered work, but we match the stone type, colour and bedding carefully and dress it by hand to match the existing tooling. Cotswold stone mellows quickly; within a few seasons a good repair is hard to spot.
Do you work on listed buildings? Yes, regularly — see above. Where listed building consent is needed we can provide the method details to support the application.
