Historic Scotland today issued a new CD Rom during National Maintenance Week which brings together expert advice to show owners the best way to maintain and care for their traditionally built properties.

Ruth Parsons, Chief Executive for Historic Scotland, launched the CD at the Scotch Whisky Heritage Centre in Edinburgh.

She said: "It is essential that we preserve the beauty and character of our traditionally built homes for future generations to enjoy.

"We are very lucky that we have such a wealth of beautiful architecture in Scotland and we need to take advantage of all the information we have to ensure that we can maintain and preserve it."

The CD Rom, INFORM House, provides support and information on a variety of areas from gilding to reinstating a fireplace to sorting out broken cast iron pipes and should be an invaluable resource for all owners of traditionally built properties.

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David Mitchell, Director of Historic Scotland’s Technical Conservation Group, said: "With winter fast approaching it is essential that people make sure that their properties are regularly maintained. In addition this can save a lot of money and unexpected bills.

"We have a wide ranging team of experts within Historic Scotland who have a wealth of experience in dealing with the maintenance and care of traditional properties and this CD is a great resource for people to benefit from their expertise."

To use the CD, you move around a 3D house and click on various parts of the building to learn more about the options which interest you. You are then connected to one of Historic Scotland’s range of INFORM leaflets which will explain how to maintain or repair a range of features from roofs, windows and doors to ceramic tiles, interior paints and timber floors.

Helen Kendrick, Communications Officer for the Glasgow City Heritage Trust, said: "We display the Historic Scotland INFORM leaflets in our window and they are extremely popular, people come to pick them up on a daily basis and so it is encouraging to see how much demand and enthusiasm there is for this type of information from the general public."

Anyone who would like a copy of the CD should contact Elizabeth McGrath on [email protected]. National Maintenance Week is from November 20th – 27th 2009.

(GK/KMcA)