ABSTRACT
The overall mechanisms of stone deterioration are explained under the headings of chemical weathering and physical weathering, and then the deterioration of limestone and sandstone is specifically considered. The wider view of building stone and stone building degradation is discussed under the overall heading of “The Second law of Thermodynamics, Entropy, and the Inevitability of Ruins” with the explanation that the processes of degradation are inevitable and irreversible: it’s just a question of time. A dilapidated barn in the NW Highlands of Scotland is used as an example of this process. Stone building decay can be accelerated—as was the case with many of the English Cathedrals when Henry VIII suppressed the monasteries (and associated religious buildings) in 1536–1539. Some deteriorated buildings could be used to some extent, see the cover of this book, but many of the church buildings were just left to decay. Good news is that the ability to rapidly record the geometry of a building using laser scanning techniques means that a building can be replicated using 3D printing techniques if it has been scanned. The Chapter ends with a case study of Carrara marble cladding which has a tendency to bend. Copious, full-colour illustrations, an extensive background bibliography together with the information the book contains, will enhance the reader’s appreciation of the built environment whether in the countryside or in the city.
