Breath-Taking Drummond Castle Gets the Intona Preservation Treatment

Intona

Long standing members of the Association of Accredited Wykamol Users have completed a highly delicate timber preservation project on Drummond Castle in Perthshire, Scotland.

Formed in 1994, Intona is an acronym for In Touch with Old, New and Ancient, a principle which Intona and Wykamol have in common, resulting in a strong working relationship between our two companies for over 20 years. But AAWU membership is not the only accreditation Intona have. They are also PCA and Trustmark members, to name a few.

Directors, Ron and Irene Mitchell have worked in the industry for over 30 years and the team they have built around them is an admirable one, proudly displayed on their website.

The Architecture

Originally constructed in 1490 by the 1^st Lord Drummond, the castle has a rich history, with a documented visit from Queen Victoria and Prince Albert in 1842. During their visit they ‘walked in the garden which is really very fine, with terraces, like an old French garden.’ Another notable, but less leisurely visit was that of Oliver Cromwell in 1653, when he sacked the castle during the War of the Three Kingdoms.

Drummond Castle was constructed on Gask Ridge, a rocky land stretch that extends across several miles of Perthshire, and has been used as the backdrop for films such as Rob Roy in 1995 and the popular TV series Outlander.

The gardens at Drummond Castle are breath-takingly beautiful, described by Historic Scotland as ‘the best example of formal terraced gardens in Scotland. Although the castle is not open to the public, you can visit the gardens from Easter Weekend until the end of October every year.

Intona had to work in accordance with guidelines set out by Historic Scotland while completing the timber preservations, which is standard practice with historic listed buildings. Having worked on the Drummond estates and other listed buildings in the past, this is something Intona are very familiar with and they took exceptional precautions to maintain the historic and unique features of the structure.

We have carried out work on Drummond estates and the castle in the past, however this new timber preservation contract was particularly demanding due to the history, age and fabric of the internal location where the actual work was being carried out. Apart from renewing and treating existing timber, we had to ensure that we paid 100% attention to the preservation of the internal fabric of the building such as the ceilings, cornices and wall coverings in the surrounding room to where the actual work was being carried out. To protect the castle interior for example, materials had to be delivered via a specially erected external scaffolding. Protection on this project was every bit as vital as preservation.

Ron Mitchell

The Project

Intona used Wykamol’s Lignum Timber Treatments to complete the project, which are available in highly concentrated formulations for easy transportation and high coverage rates making them ideal for large scale projects such as this one. They also used Wykamol’s Brunosol Concentrate for the eradication of dry rot. Brunosol Concentrate is highly penetrating, and instantaneous, which is essential when treating dry rot, as once it takes hold, dry rot spreads extremely quickly across timbers and masonry walls, causing serious issues with the structural integrity of a house.

As well as timber preservation, Intona’s website boasts a wide range of services, including damp proofing, fire and flood damage solutions, asbestos services and general property renovations and alterations.