This contract took place at Sinclair Girnigoe Castle near Wick. It was a small part of a large restoration project involving archaeological excavation, rebuilding works, and masonry consolidation and stabilisation.

The free standing chimney stack seen in the picture below was the first area to receive serious attention, and the first part of the task was to construct a scaffold to serve three purposes:

• Stabilise the stack to prevent any possibility of collapse
  
  
• Protect the archaeologists (who will be carrying out excavations directly underneath the stack) from any falling masonry
  
  
• Allow repairs to the stack to be carried out