Sources of Information

The Building Limes Forum is a forum for the exchange of experience, information and opinion amongst its members, and membership is open to all. As the Forum is not an accrediting body nor a trade organisation, it is not able to give out names of practitioners, nor can it give case-specific advice to non-members. The following, however, should help you find further information:

For information about suppliers and craftsmen, try the websites at www.buildingconservation.com and www.heritageinformation.org.uk that list suppliers and craftsmen and other sources of information. 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 www.newbuilder.co.uk.

The Scottish Lime Centre Trust provides free, general telephone and email advice on the use of lime and related building conservation issues. The SLCT also has a mortar analysis and matching service.

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. 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. 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, enquiries@concreteinfo.org and legal deposit libraries.

For advice on conservation or restoration work, contact your English Heritage Regional Office (your local office will be listed in the telephone directory or on the website www.english-heritage.org.uk under FAQs-local advice). Historic Scotland, through the Scottish Conservation Bureau (0131 668 8668), maintains a lists of recommended suppliers and craftsmen. 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 on 020 7377 1644.

If you want to do-it-yourself, look at the list of organisations which provide training, both basic and advanced, in the use of lime in building.

Finally, you could join the Building Limes Forum and receive a copy of its membership list of over 400 lime enthusiasts and practitioners, most of whom are producers, suppliers, specifiers or users of lime.