Sources of Information
The Building Limes Forum is a forum for the exchange of experience, information and opinion amongst its members; the Forum is not an accrediting body nor a trade organisation. There are no qualifications required for membership of the Forum; membership is open to all. This means we cannot guarantee or recommend any members as practitioners, professionals or craftsmen, nor can the Forum give case-specific advice to non-members. The following links, however, should help you find information about lime. Inclusion of a link does not imply endorsement. The BLF is not responsible for the content of other sites.
Advice
For advice on conservation or restoration work, contact your local English Heritage Regional Office, the Conservation Group of Historic Scotland (0131 668 8668) or the Northern Ireland Environment Agency
You could also contact your local Conservation Officer: try the Planning and Development Department of your local authority.
Or speak to the Technical Officer of the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (020 7456 0916).
The Scottish Lime Centre Trust provides free, general telephone and email advice on the use of lime and related building conservation issues.
There is good background information on the Church of England Church Care website and Church Buildings Maintenance in Scotland; information on churches is relevant for other building types. Other websites offer articles including www.buildingconservation.com.
English Heritage produces a series of free-to-download guidance leaflets on a number of topics. Historic Scotland produces a series of free-to-download INFORM leaflets including guides to Lime & Cement, Repairing Brick, Damp, Repointing Rubble, Repointing Ashlar and other titles covering bulding materials and structural issues. Cadw has leaflets on Lime Mortar and Masonry. Guidance produced by local authorities in England are listed on the Historic Environment Local Management (HELM) website.
There are websites for specialist interests such as Earth Building UK, the Scottish Stone Liaison Group and the Centre for Alternative Technology.
Professionals
The Institute of Historic Building Conservation is the principal professional body for building conservation practitioners and historic environment specialists working in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, with connections to the Republic of Ireland.
The Scottish Lime Centre Trust provides advice on the use of lime based materials for the conservation of traditional buildings and other services to the building conservation industry including a mortar analysis and matching service.
Conservation accredited architects are listed on the Register of Architects Accredited in Building Conservation. A list of conservation accredited architects can be downloaded from the website of the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland.
The Conservation Accreditation Register for Engineers (CARE) identifies civil and structural engineers skilled in the conservation of historic structures and sites.
The RICS Building Conservation Accreditation Scheme has a register of individuals with experience and knowledge in the field of conservation of historic buildings or sites.
Try also the categories for (self-selected) architects, engineers, heritage consultants and surveyors at www.buildingconservation.com
Practitioners
The websites at www.buildingconservation.com and www.projectbook.co.uk list (self-selected) suppliers and craftsmen.
Members of the Building Limes Forum have access to its membership list of over 350 lime enthusiasts and practitioners, many of whom are builders, masons, plasterers, etc. Note, however, that membership does not imply accreditation.
Do-It-Yourself
If you want to do-it-yourself, look at the list of providers of courses on this website offering training, both basic and advanced, in the use of lime in building.
Course providers are also listed on www.buildingconservation.com.
Written Sources
For written information about lime, look at the list of publications about lime on this site which can be ordered on-line, many of which are not expensive, non-technical and may be of interest.
Books on conservation are listed on the IHBC website, at www.buildingconservation.com and the on-line bookshops of the the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings, English Heritage, Historic Scotland and Cadw.
There is an extensive bibliography on the Preservation of Lime Mortars and Plasters produced by the Getty Conservation Institute. This is pretty comprehensive but you should bear in mind the snowballing volume of literature since March 2003 when it was compiled.
Your local library should have a copy of the Building Conservation Directory published by Cathedral Communications and/or the Green Building Bible published by the Green Building Press.
For historical information, a comprehensive listing of authors can be found in Some Writers on Lime and Cement, by Charles Spackman, W. Heffer & Sons Ltd, Cambridge, 1929, available for reference in the Concrete Information Limited library, British Cement Association and legal deposit libraries.
Networking
Conferences and similar events provide opportunities to meet like-minded people. Try the listings at Heritage Hub and www.projectbook.co.uk,
Finally, you could join the Building Limes Forum and have access to its membership list of over 350 lime enthusiasts and practitioners, most of whom are producers, suppliers, specifiers or users of lime.