Quarterly Q&A: Sam Fuller & Mark Bacon
In this quarter’s Q&A we sit down with both Sam Fuller of Dunkeld Builders and Mark Bacon of Bacon & Crerar. Dunkeld Builders have been helping with key structural work across the house, while the joinery and roofing expertise of Bacon & Crerar has proved instrumental at every stage of the renovation.
Read on to hear both contractors describe their most fascinating insights and rewarding challenges of the work so far.
WHAT DRAWS YOU TO THIS KIND OF RESTORATION WORK?
Sam: I quite enjoy bringing old buildings back to life. You're working on something that's stood for generations, and it's satisfying knowing you're helping preserve it for the future.
Mark: A passion for preserving local history. We are lucky to have done this all our working lives. It’s a tangible connection to the past and to be a small part of that story is an honour.
DESCRIBE WHAT MAKES THE CRAFTSMANSHIP ON A BUILDING LIKE DRUMEARN DIFFERENT FROM MORE MODERN WORK.
Sam: Everything is unique. Nothing is perfectly straight or identical, so you have to work with the building rather than against it. It takes patience and a lot of attention to detail.
Mark: Working on older properties such as Drumearn requires a very different understanding of construction. Methods of construction one or two hundred years ago lack modern damp proof courses and cavities, meaning that everything has to be geared to being permeable; the building has to breathe.
No repair here is done using mass produced, dimensional timber. Lime mortar is often used in place of cement. We use traditional Scotch slate in place of the imported Spanish slate you see on new builds. It really is a different game altogether and not everyone’s cup of tea. But we love it.
WHAT'S THE TRICKIEST JOB YOU'VE HAD ON DRUMEARN SO FAR?
Sam: The chimneys and flues. Every one is different and has been altered over the years, so understanding how they're built before making repairs is probably the biggest challenge.
Mark: It’s hard to say what the trickiest task so far is because we’re so used to this type of work. I often think the best part of this is knowing when to ‘please the eye’ as we say – when you’ve taken down an old section of roof, for example, and have to re-build it. Sometimes the new part being perfectly straight and level, when marrying into the existing section (which, shall we say, has its quirks) just doesn’t look right.
WHAT'S YOUR APPROACH TO SOURCING MATERIALS FOR A PROJECT LIKE THIS?
Sam: We always try to match the original materials as closely as possible, whether that's stone, lime mortar or reclaimed elements, so the repairs sit naturally within the building.
WHAT DOES ‘SYMPATHETIC RESTORATION’ MEAN TO YOU IN PRACTICE?
Sam: It's about repairing instead of replacing, wherever possible, and respecting the original workmanship. All while making sure the building will last for years to come.
Mark: A sympathetic restoration to us means using like-for-like materials and choosing preservation over replacement wherever possible.
We believe this preserves the architectural integrity and historic value of the property. There are inevitably times where you need to make a judgement call between practicality and authenticity, but having the right approach and mindset means that more often than not, the right decision is made in the end.
DID YOU NEED ANY SPECIALIST EQUIPMENT FOR THIS PROJECT?
Sam: The main specialist equipment has been CCTV cameras for inspecting the flues, along with specialist masonry tools that allow us to carry out repairs carefully without damaging the original stonework.
Mark: As far as the equipment goes, in all honesty it tends to be typical tools – but the ‘bigger brother’ versions. Routers that plunge that bit deeper and chop saws with a larger capacity to deal with larger-than-usual timber sections. We have sword saws that run on rails to be able to cut jack rafters on back bevels that most other saws can’t achieve.
COULD YOU SPEAK A BIT MORE ABOUT SPECIFIC TECHNIQUES YOU'VE HAD TO USE SO FAR?
Sam: A lot of the work has involved carefully removing old cement pointing and replacing it with breathable lime mortar, repairing and reforming chimney haunching, cleaning and unblocking flues, carrying out CCTV surveys and making localised masonry repairs.
It's all about understanding how the building was originally constructed and using techniques that preserve its character while ensuring it remains structurally sound.
Mark: The techniques we use range from complete rebuilds of hand-cut structures to minimal intervention situations where the key is preserving as much as possible. This can include heavy duty splicing techniques, indigenous timber matching, knowing where existing paint finishes are reversible, and just about everything in between.
So far, we’ve managed to save multiple parts of Drumearn where most wouldn’t have deemed it economically viable.
Working alongside us is a team of some of the best sub-contracting tradespeople out there – builders and stonemasons, slaters, painters, plumbers and lead workers, as well as an architect and a client who are really doing right by this historic property.
