Should we remove harling to reveal external stone walls?
FROM: Sarah Benfield (Fife) My boyfriend and myself are considering purchasing a small cottage built in the early 1900’s near Biggar. Whilst the front of the cottage is stone, the sides and the rear walls have been harled and painted grey. We wondered firstly why this had been done and if there was anyway to know whether there was stone underneath the harling and if so how difficult it would be to remove? Ideally if there was a stone wall beneath at the rear we would like to expose it and have it as a feature wall within a conservatory. If it can be removed could you recommend who we should approach to carry out such work? Sarah Benfield I cannot claim to be a specialist on Scottish buildings, but I am aware that harling is common. Its purpose is primarily to give added weathering protection. I suspect that the harling is on the more exposed walls. In view of the age of the property I also suspect the harling to be original. I would urge caution about its removal. Although I often spea
