Plasterer & Roughcaster in Kilbarchan

Work in Kilbarchan

Harl on a solid stone wall

Kilbarchan's older houses are stone, built solid, with a harl over them. There is no cavity and no damp course in the modern sense: the wall takes water, holds some of it and lets it go again, and the harl controls how much gets in and how fast it leaves.

That is why a failing harl on one of these cottages is more urgent than failing dash on a modern semi, and why putting a modern impermeable render on one is the wrong answer however well it is applied. The water still arrives; it just cannot leave.

Conservation and appearance

Much of the village is a conservation area, so changing the appearance of an elevation is not purely a matter of taste. It is worth a call to the council's planning department before committing to a change of finish.

In practice most of the right answers here are also the traditional ones, so this rarely ends up being a fight.

Inside the cottages

Thick walls, small rooms, uneven surfaces and ceilings that have usually been replaced at least once.

Skimming an old cottage wall flat is a judgement call: taken completely flat it can look wrong in a building like that, and most people want it tidy rather than laser straight. Tell us which you want.