Building dehydration system at Legerwood Kirk, Berwickshire

Legerwood Kirk is an ancient and historic Church of Scotland church in the former county of Berwickshire, Scotland, dating back to year 1127. It is situated half a mile east of the hamlet of Legerwood and 6.5 miles (10.5 km) south east of Lauder in the Scottish Borders.

The building has been suffering from dampness issues for a number of years. Being a Grade A listed building, invasive dehydration technologies were not an option. Upon a detailed inspection of the building several sources of moisture has been identified, including rising damp, condensation and sideways penetrating damp.

Dehydration Progress & Results

Core Conservation have installed a building dehydration system on the premises and the dehydration of the church is in progress. Within the first 6 months - from summer to winter - the moisture levels inside the wall have dropped by about 25%. The dehydration continued throughout the summer and the following year as shown on the dehydration chart below.

Higher humidity values in the mid areas of the wall in comparison to the base, indicate a high concentration of salts and the presence of hygroscopic moisture in addition to capillary rising damp.

For further information visit www.coreconservation.co.uk