Engine Shed

Every town and village has unique traditional buildings that contribute to local identity and character.

Aberdeen, The Granite City, famed for its buildings of silver-grey granite

Culross, and other areas in East Scotland, with their bright pantile roofs

Lewis, where incredibly rare blackhouses dot the landscape

Which Scottish building traditions do you love?

Scotland's standing stones have captivated people for thousands of years but they still have many secrets.

From their mysterious origins to the latest scientific surveys helping us understand them, these ancient monuments continue to shine a light into Scotland's past.

Find out what our heritage science team have learned in their latest research: https://ow.ly/kzzQ50ZcN5l

This is a beautiful street isn't it? Traditional building materials like stone, timber and ironwork add so much character! Many traditional building materials age gracefully and can often be repaired rather than replaced. Regular maintenance can protect beautiful features for years. Find out how to maintain your home with our short guide: https://ow.ly/U5Ac50Zco5v

Let's end Monday on a high: do you have a favourite traditional building? Share a favourite photograph of a historic building or detail from your local area and tell us why you love it!

Look closely at traditional buildings and you’ll find lime everywhere. From smooth limewash to textured harling, traditional lime finishes help old buildings breathe, shed moisture and age gracefully. Our blog breaks down the different types of historic lime finishes, how they were made, and why they still matter for repairs today: https://blog.engineshed.scot/2024/08/06/historic-lime-finishes-traditional-buildings

Originally built between 1896 and 1913 as a military goods and transfers shed, the Engine Shed is now over 100 years old. After extensive restoration, it became our traditional building conservation centre. Re-using historic buildings protects heritage and is a powerful way to reduce construction waste and carbon footprints. Discover 4 surprising facts about how we combined traditional materials with sustainable principles: recycling, restoring, and re-use - https://blog.engineshed.scot/2019/10/07/4-facts-about-sustainable-building

From crofters’ cottages in the Western Isles to villages like Swanston on the outskirts of Edinburgh, Scotland’s thatched buildings tell a unique story of local materials, skills and place. In 2014/2015, a survey of Scotland's thatched buildings recorded just over 200 buildings, revealing both the richness of our thatching traditions, and how fragile they are. Once common, many thatched roofs have vanished due to changing land use, lost skills and the challenge of sourcing traditional materials.

With fewer than a handful of practising thatchers and difficulty in sourcing thatching materials, action is needed to protect what remains. Read more about thatch in our new Traditional Materials Framework: https://www.engineshed.scot/publications/publication/?publicationId=c32700f9-7b61-4168-b003-b419010d8ef9

Energy Performance Certificates can tell us how energy efficient a building is. Did you know that the way these certificates are calculated changed last year? Overall, this was good news for Scotland's (pre-1919) traditional buildings because they're likely to be assessed more accurately than ever before. If you want to dive deeper into how they're assessed and what this means for traditional buildings, throwback to our blog from when the changes came into place: https://ow.ly/LKgR50YXGRq

Stone cleaning is a hot topic 🔥! When did the craze for cleaning stone buildings begin? The exact moment is unclear, but many trace it back to France in 1959, when a law requiring homeowners in Paris to clean their building facades was revived.

By the early 1960s, London embraced the trend, where the effect of jetblack Portland limestone emerging sparkling white from under layers of grime was even more sensational.

From there, the desire to clean spread rapidly across the UK, with prestigious public buildings leading the way.

But here’s the catch: early cleaning techniques were often the most damaging, leaving a legacy of harm to historic stonework.

Our INFORM guide explores how the trend started, the impact on historic buildings and lessons learned for conservation today.

Learn more: https://www.engineshed.scot/publications/publication/?publicationId=cfcd9855-eff4-40d7-9ccf-a59500b10077

Scotland’s traditional buildings have been influenced by locally available materials such as sandstone, limestone, granite, schist and other rocks for the last 5,000 years. But did you know that for the greater part of Scottish history, earth construction was dominant? For hundreds of years in Scotland, people built up and passed on earth building knowledge. However, by the end of the 20th century, much of this knowledge had been completely lost. It's knowledge well worth preserving. Find out why: https://blog.engineshed.scot/2021/04/21/scotlands-earth-building-past-and-future

Down to Earth: Scotland's Earth Building Past and Future - Engine Shed For hundreds of years in Scotland, people built up and passed on earth building knowledge. Explore Scotland's earth building past and future.