Stonework, harling & pointing

Where the roof meets the masonry

Roofing and stonework are inseparable on a traditional Scottish building. The points that fail most — chimneys, parapets, skews, gable abutments — are where slate, lead and stone all meet, and a leak that looks like a roof problem often turns out to be cracked masonry or eroded mortar above it. Because we work in both trades, we can trace the real cause and put the whole junction right, rather than renewing flashings against stonework that's still letting water in.

Edinburgh is overwhelmingly a stone-built city, and much of it sits within a conservation area or involves listed buildings. That raises the bar on materials and method: external masonry, harling and repointing are expected to match the original, and often need listed building consent or planning permission. We work to those standards as standard, and can advise on or liaise about consents before a job begins.

Harling, repointing and rebuilds

The three jobs that keep stone walls and stacks sound are harling, repointing and chimney work — and each rewards doing properly with the right materials.

• Harling (roughcast) — hand-cast lime or cement render that coats and protects the wall from driving rain, patched or renewed to match the existing texture
• Repointing — raking out failed mortar and renewing it, using breathable lime mortar on traditional stone rather than hard cement that traps moisture
• Chimney repairs and rebuilds — from re-flaunching and re-pointing a sound stack to a full rebuild in matching material with new lead, pots and flaunching
• Parapet, skew and coping repairs — the exposed copings and parapets that take the worst weather and shed water onto everything below
• Stone replacement and indenting — cutting out spalled or eroded stone and matching it in

What's included

• Survey and diagnosis of failed mortar, spalled stone and leaning stacks
• Lime and cement repointing matched to the building's age
• Harling and roughcast — patch repairs and full renewal
• Chimney rebuilds with new lead, flaunching and pots
• Parapet, coping and skew repairs
• Integrated leadwork at every masonry-to-roof junction
• Photo work report on completion

Done to last on period buildings

The single biggest mistake on old Scottish stone is hard cement mortar. Traditional walls were built with lime, which is soft and breathable; cap them in cement and moisture gets trapped against the stone, which then takes the wear and erodes faster. Like-for-like lime repointing protects the masonry instead of quietly damaging it — the kind of detail that separates a repair that lasts from one that looks fine and causes harm. Every chimney we rebuild ties straight into new leadwork, and where a stack needs a fresh covering above, our copper and zinc work finishes it.

For the bigger picture on period roofs and masonry, read our guide to heritage roofing in Edinburgh, or compare roof coverings in slate vs tile. To get a stack, wall or parapet looked at, book a free survey and we'll give you a straight diagnosis and a fixed written quote.