Induni Conservation Ltd. Registered in England, No.:6124875

Dr. Bruce Induni,  consultant on stone and mortar

07971 194454 : induni_conservation@yahoo.co.uk

 

Pitstone font : Intuitive solutions

It can be so tempting to adopt the intuitive approach to conservation problem solving. If you have a leaky font bowl or a damaged window cill, cover it with lead and eliminate any risk of dampness and water driven decay...

 

But all too often or intuition deceives us. All interventions will disturb the existing equilibrium and may lead to unexpected consequences.

 

Lead membranes have a high thermal mass, which means they respond relatively slowly to changes in ambient temperature. This temperature lag is capable of causing significant condensation. The condensation will, in turn, drive lead corrosion which will produce salts that will be deposited into the stone. It is very hard to say what the long term result will be.

 

Intuition here may well have produced a good result, but it never comes with a guarantee. Asking for an outside check is always a sound policy.

Under the heavy lid, a lead font liner has been inserted : an intuitive response to the problem of a leaky bowl