Conserving Cardiff Castle County Hall, Room 430, Atlantic Wharf Cardiff CF10 4UW, UK Tel: +44 (0)2920 788359 Mobile: 07796 440 934 Fax: +44 (0)2920 788341

Revised 15 December 2004.

Abstract

This paper sets out to explain briefly what conservation is and what it means to properly implement it; it also describes the necessary tools to make sure it happens and details why conservation is the right approach. The paper also looks at the technology of solid wall construction, different types of cracks, in terms of their identification, significance and possible treatment. Cardiff Castle is the case study used as a vehicle to describe the implications that cracks can have on the interiors of buildings. The paper is intended to provide an overview of the issues largely from a practical perspective.