posted 09-06-2000 10:58 AM            

I have found Castle Levan remarkably problem free in terms of maintenance. The problems we have needed to address have been much the same as any other kind of property.

Gales took some slates off the roof - these were easy to fix because having battlement access meant that we didn't need any scaffolding. While on the battlements, ours are surfaced with ashphalt which needs attention around every fifteen to twenty five years. Again, the same as most other properties with areas of flat roof.

Ingress of damp - we have no damp-proof course (as far as I know they hadn't yet been invented at the time of Levan's construction). The main defence against damp is thick walls (large distance to penetrate) plus constant low level heating. We have warm water underfloor heating which is on almost permanently - it works a treat and needen't be vastly expensive if electronically controlled. Where passageways are cut into the thickness of the lower walls, and as a consequence we don't have underfloor heating, we have found after sever weeks of sustained rainfull (not uncommon in Scotland)
the outward facing surfaces of some of these passageways have become not only damp, but rather wet. Our conclusion has been that this is just something to be tolerated as no harm seems to be done, and it soon dries out in better weather.

Plumbing. At Levan this is mostly carried through the courses of the original sluices and conduits. If it should ever need maintenance, access will be difficult (running as it does through the centre of walls 2 to 3 metres thick). In all probability it will be easier to replace than repair.

A number of tasks, should they ever require doing, will require specialist contractors. I would imagine that restoring hand-painted wallpaper, ceiling paintings, panelling could have frightening consequences. There are an increasing number of builders with skills in harling (which unlike pebble dashing is flexible) although again, we've never had to do anything to ours. I have minimal do-it-yourself skills so most of the work has been completed by professional tradesmen. Unless you genuinely have good skills in this area, I'd recommend leaving important work to such folks. Some botched jobs can be irrepairable, and others will be more expensive to rectify than what it would have cost to get the job done properly in the first place.

General decoration is quite straight-forward as nearly everything at Levan is painted (although some has been done using natural hand-made pigments). There are a number of companies such as Farrow and Ball, who supply the National Trust, are able to supply period and custom paint finishes. One important aspect is that where possible, paint should be breathable.

Some maintenance that comes into the category of 'upgrades' will need planning consent. Other jobs will be more costly if they are to be done sympathetically (I wanted to add computer networking infrastructure - so as not to have unsightly cables all over the place this meant cutting channels into very hard stone and then covering - believe me, very hard work!).

One final consideration. Narrow turnpike staircases and small deep windows do not lend themselves to the passage of large objects! Some large, long or otherwise awkward items of furniture will be virtually impossible to get into a castle or move around once in. At Levan, one bed had to go up and over the battlements; an antique wardrobe had to be disassembled and then professionally restored in situ; we had to construct a scaffold runway to a first floor window, lift beams and floorboards, heating pipes, and electrics to pass large items up through the centre of the castle as they wouldn't go up the stairs. The stone vaults to the ground floor could present an even greater problem! What's this to do with maintenance? We couldn't get conventional tower-scaffolding units into some of our rooms, and should you need to move furniture in order to carry out maintenance, you could be looking at a significant overhead.

Anyway, that'll have to do for now (I'm bound to have missed something) as I've just taken a wee break from work. If you have any specific questions, feel free to ask.

Levan