Repointing in Ramsbottom

Ramsbottom, Holcombe and Edenfield are stone towns — terraces, cottages and Victorian villas in local gritstone and sandstone that need lime mortar and a sympathetic finish. We also repoint the brick semis around Stubbins and Shuttleworth, and plenty of garden and boundary walls.

Ramsbottom's stone is local sandstone and gritstone, much of it in the conservation area around Bridge Street, Carr Street and the streets climbing towards Holcombe. The original joints were lime and often struck with a slightly recessed profile; we match the mortar colour to the stone — sandier around Holcombe, greyer towards Edenfield — and put a sample up before starting on anything in a conservation area.

Cement repointing from the last fifty years is the usual problem: it holds water against the stone, the faces spall and the wall stays damp inside. We rake it out to sound mortar and repoint in natural hydraulic lime, working with the weather and protecting the wall while it cures. The exposed terraces towards Holcombe Moor and Peel Tower are where the chimneys and gables fail first.

Stubbins, Shuttleworth and the brick semis along the Bury side are cement-mortar walls and repointed in a matched sand-and-cement mix.