Hertfordshire, UK - What is the Salvo Fair Reclaimed Stone Park?
The amount of reclaimed walling stone salvaged declined by a half in ten years, from 1.1m tonnes to 573,000 tonnes a year, and is still dropping, so to encourage more reuse the Reclaimed Stone Park was launched at Salvo Fair 2011. Customers can discuss their building projects with some major reclaimed stone stockists and see samples of their reclaimed stone.
Is it easy to reuse reclaimed walling stone? Yes . . .
For a small garden retaining wall, reclaimed rubble stone can be laid easily as drystone or in a weak lime mortar. For a new house reclaimed dressed walling stone can be supplied 'backed off' to give an even thickness and then built on to the external skin, attached to an outer block wall or as an outer leaf to a frame structure, using wall ties.
Future reclaimability of reclaimed walling stone . . .
Ideally, a lime mortar should be used when building with reclaimed stone so it will be easily reclaimable again in future. (Lime mortar is also best for new stone and bricks because this also makes them more easily reclaimable in future.) Also, it is a good idea to jot the provenance and supplier of your reclaimed stone on a few pieces of broken roofing slate which you can then put inside the wall, so that future generations will know which old building your stone came from when your building is finally demolished (and it will be!).
Sustainability of reclaimed walling stone . . .
Reclaimed walling stone is the most sustainable stone you can buy. It has a much lower carbon footprint, environmental impact, social impact and economic impact than new stone. Salvo Llp can calculate the carbon footprint and show the emissions savings made by comparison with new stone. (Thornton Kay of Salvo is a member of the BSI committee which wrote the forthcoming British Standard BS 8905 Guidance on the Sustainable Use of Materials.)
The appeal and durability of reclaimed walling stone . . .
Most reclaimed walling stone dates from Victorian England and was hand tooled and has a pleasing patina of age. It was quarried by workers who may have been mining the same stone for generations, so the quality of the stone is usually excellent and very durable. Common varieties are sandstone, granite, limestone, whin and slate.
Dealers in reclaimed walling stone . . .
Many salvage yards stock small amounts of reclaimed walling stone, but only a few deal with it on a more heroic scale, rescuing thousands of tonnes from landfill and the demolition crushers. At Salvo Fair three reclaimed walling stone champions - Abacus Stone, Steptoe's Yard and Valley Reclamation - are bringing samples from the huge stockpiles of stone in their yards to show potential customers. More dealers in reclaimed stone can be found on SalvoWEB.
Reusers of reclaimed walling stone include Chelsea Flower Show 2011 winner . . .
People who buy reclaimed walling stone are often discerning private clients and self-builders who appreciate the aesthetic quality of old stone, or small-scales developers who realise that up-market new homes built with old stone sell better and quicker, green builders who appreciate reclaimed stone's environmental credentials, civil engineering and and heritage project teams such as the restorers of Nelson's Column who used a reclaimed Edwardian window sill to repair Nelson's head, enthusiasts such as Jamie Oliver, and Chelsea Flower Show garden designer Cleve West, who this year built the 'Best in Show' Gold Medal winning Daily Telegraph garden reusing reclaimed ancient Cotswold walling stone supplied by Lichen Garden Antiques.
Discuss your project at Salvo Fair 2011 and reuse more Reclaimed Walling Stone!
