Bykenhillock, Glen Prosen

Bykenhillock, Pearsie, Glen Prosen

Bykenhillock is an old cottage in the beautiful Glen Prosen, on the southern edge of the Grampians.

The owners bought the cottage in 2014 and have been renovating it ever since. One of the biggest challenges that they faced was damp. The rubble-stone built cottage had been pointed using cement which was removed and replaced with lime mortar. The owners had to decide whether to limewash the exterior or not.

Limewashed exteriors are traditional in this area of Scotland, and the owners wanted a finish that would be in keeping with tradition, attractive and protective, allowing the stonework to breathe. Their pointing contactor suggested that they patch test an area using limewash and compare the effect with another eco-friendly option, KEIM.

KEIM was an unknown product to the owners and they contacted Tony Carter, Senior Sales Executive of KEIM Mineral Paints, who kindly supplied sufficient paint to complete the test patch. Having completed the comparison, it was obvious quite quickly that the limewash discoloured the area, whilst KEIM Royalan did not.

They commented, “Tony was excellent. He came out, checked the walls on a couple of occasions over a few months and advised us that we still had too much damp in the stonework to apply KEIM. We did not feel pressured at any point and after a year we were finally in a position to go ahead with the exterior painting. He advised us of a local decorator who had experience with KEIM and who did a professional job. We are delighted with the result. Bykenhillock now looks like a traditional limewashed building which will maintain a freshly decorated appearance for many many years to come.”