Scottish Heritage Building Guidance
Expert advice on maintaining traditional buildings in Edinburgh and across Scotland. Sash windows, lime plaster, stonework and conservation planning, written for Scottish regulations, materials and weather rather than adapted from English guidance.
Most advice aimed at older buildings is written for England and Wales. It talks about Building Regulations, Historic England and Grade listings, none of which apply north of the border. Heritage Burgh covers the same topics through a Scottish lens: Building Standards instead of Building Regulations, Historic Environment Scotland instead of Historic England, and Category A, B and C listing instead of Grade I, II* and II.
Core Topics
Sash Windows
Repair, restoration and draught-proofing for traditional timber sash and case windows, including when listed building consent applies.
Traditional Finishes
Lime plaster, harling, limewash and other breathable finishes for stone and rubble-built properties.
Conservation & Planning
Listed building consent, conservation areas and how Historic Environment Scotland fits into the planning process.
Start With a Full Guide
Each topic has an in-depth guide covering costs, materials and the consent process in detail:
Why Scottish Buildings Need Different Advice
Most pre-1919 Scottish buildings, whether a sandstone tenement in Marchmont or a rubble-built cottage in the Borders, were built as solid masonry walls with no cavity and no damp-proof course. They stay dry by letting moisture pass through the wall and evaporate, not by keeping it out entirely. Lime plaster, lime mortar and limewash all support that process. Cement render, gypsum plaster and modern masonry paint trap moisture instead, which is why they cause damp and stone decay on older buildings even though they work perfectly well on a new-build cavity wall.
The regulatory picture is different too. Scottish Building Standards are set by the Scottish Government and numbered differently from English Building Regulations. Historic Environment Scotland, not Historic England, sets conservation guidance and holds the list of protected buildings. Listed buildings in Scotland are graded Category A, B or C rather than Grade I, II* or II, and the rules on what counts as a conservation area, an Article 4 direction or a permitted development right can all differ from equivalent English legislation.
Edinburgh adds a further layer. The Old and New Towns are a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the city has dozens of conservation areas, and thousands of individual buildings carry listed status. In large parts of the city, even minor external repairs such as repointing or repainting a window can need planning permission or listed building consent before work starts.
Who This Site Is For
Heritage Burgh is written for owners, landlords and property managers dealing with a traditional Scottish building for the first time: working out whether a window needs repairing or replacing, whether a render job needs consent, or what a conservation officer is likely to ask for. It is a guidance site, not a directory of contractors, and it does not sell or recommend specific tradespeople. See About for how the content is researched and reviewed.