Chapel of Sand Laide, Wester Ross, Scotland
			As found...		Bags of lime concrete and stainless steel tie stabilise the partly reconstructed east gable
			Repairs to the east window under way		From the south east after conservation
			The Chapel of Sand is a Scheduled Ancient Monument and possibly dates from the 15th century. By 2002, the ruins were in a very fragile condition and Carruthers Conservation carried out conservation work for the Highland Building Preservation Trust. The main challenge was to stabilise the eastern gable which had lost large areas of its internal masonry face and had developed a severe outward tilt. Carruthers Conservation installed stainless steel ties. These hugged the outside of the eastern gable and were anchored by the base of the western gable. To further stabilise the east end, we reinstated the internal masonry face of the eastern end using hessian bags of lime concrete. This innovative solution, was designed by structural engineers John Addison and Krystyna Pytasz and developed on site by Carruthers Conservation. The exposed masonry core was cleared of vegetation, loose soil brushed away and any open joints pointed with lime mortar. Hessian bags containing wet hydraulic lime concrete were laid on this prepared surface in bonded courses and pinned together with phosphor bronze pins. These bags of lime concrete saved the maximum amount of existing fabric as they could be moulded exactly to the old masonry with no cutting back to a sound bed required. The repair is fully reversible and identifiable, but gives a good indication to visitors of the probable original form of the building. It also fulfills all its structural requirements.