Howell Hall, Heckington We were successful in securing a re-pointing project to a wonderful stone property on the outskirts of Sleaford. Upon inspection we found that the stone walls had undergone little to no maintenance over the years which had left them in need of repair. We discussed this with the new owners who were very keen to get the repair work carried out in order to restore the the stonework to its former beauty. Work began with the removal of the existing mortar which was a mixture of some original lime mortar with some modern extremely strong cement mortar. Having identified the presence of such strong cement mortar, great care was taken throughout the removal process to ensure no damage was incurred to the stone ashlars. During the removal process a number of stonework areas were identified where a strong cement mortar mix had been layered on to the face of some of the stone ashlars and a lintel situated above a window. Our stone supplier was able to supply us with the cut stone and dressed stone ready for us to install and point. After preparing and submitting a sample of the new lime mortar mix which comprised of lime putty and well graded sand to the local conservation officer in-conjunction with a methodology of the works for the listed building, consent was granted and the re-pointing work commenced throughout the entire property. It was at this time a decision was undertaken to invest in the brand new DOFF III high temperature, low pressure specialist steam cleaning system and with the re-pointing work nearing completion and our key personnel having completed their DOFF III manufacturers approved training an on-site conversation took place with the client with the proposal to use the system on a sample of stonework. Following agreement an area of stonework was cleaned and on inspection, the results were clear for all to see resulting in client instruction to clean the entire property. It is usually standard practice for masonry cleaning of this type to be carried out prior to re-pointing however in this instance this was not possible so extra care was taken in particular around the joints with spectacular results being achieved!