Safeguarding Glasgow's stone built heritage skills and materials requirements : facade surveys and building stone analysis

This report presents the results of a study commissioned by the Scottish Stone Liaison Group on behalf of Scottish Enterprise Glasgow (SEG). The work was undertaken in order to provide data on the quantities of replacement building stone and the amount of time and skills levels required for stone masons, for the repair and maintenance of the stone built heritage of the City of Glasgow over the next twenty years (2006 to 2026). The study was undertaken by the British Geological Survey, overseen by an external project director and guided by a project Steering Group appointed by the Scottish Stone Liaison Group. This study is Project B: ‘Buildings Health Check’, forming part of the project ‘Safeguarding Glasgow’s Stone Built Heritage: Skills and Materials Requirements’. The project is funded by Scottish Enterprise Glasgow, with contributions by Glasgow City Council, The work has involved the survey of the facades of over 230 traditional stone buildings and monuments in Glasgow in order to assess the amount, type and severity of stone decay. In order to do this, a methodology was developed which involved the use of rectified digital images overlaid with measured areas of different stone decay categories. Calculation of stone quantities and stonemason requirements was undertaken by an external consultant appointed by the Steering Group. A range of buildings of different type, facade orientation, stone type and from different parts of the city were included in order to ensure that the sample of surveyed buildings is representative of Glasgow’s stone heritage.