Project Details
Dromoland Castle is a famous baronial castle and the ancestral home of the O’Briens, Barons of Inchiquin. Although previous structures existed the current castle was constructed in 1835 using dark blue limestone in a gothic revival style. The castle was sold by the O’Briens in 1962 and was converted into a luxury hotel which it remains today.
Oldstone Conservation were engaged by Monami Construction in 2016 to undertake stone conservation works to the Castle. These works are being undertaken over a number of phases whilst the building remained fully operational.
Works
The first phase (2016) of works involved taking down a stone bay window that was damaged due to the corrosion of inbuilt iron clamps. Corrosion jacking caused upward movement in the stonework resulting in cracks occurring throughout. Prior to works proceeding each stone was numbered and photographically recorded. The bay window was taken down and rebuilt replacing all iron cramps with stainless steel.
The second phase (2017) involved extensive repointing works to the west elevation. Pointing samples were undertaken and a pointing mix used that closely matched the existing. Cleaning of the main stone turret was also undertaken involving the gentle removal of lichen growth.
The third phase (2018) involved a significant amount of repointing as well as the careful removal of calcite staining from the front entrance. These hard calcite deposits were the result of water egress from the structure which transferred minerals from the building fabric to the surface. These deposits were removed using hand tools taking great care to avoid damage to the underlying stonework. A stone window mullion on the western elevation was replaced with a new stone mullion carved to the original detail in a matching stone.