Traditional building

Lime Plaster

Lime plaster is the traditional plaster finish which has been used for thousands of years until the mid 1900’s when ‘modern’ plasters were widely adopted. Unfortunately modern plasters such as gypsum or cement based renders are not suitable for solid wall constructed buildings as they are not porous. Solid walls need to breathe to avoid the build up of moisture. Our team undertake three coat lime plaster applications and repairs using a range of traditional materials to achieve the desired traditional finish. We also use lime plaster on new build projects where a softer looks is desired along with the benefit of moisture and humidity control.

Limecrete floors

Traditional buildings are not suited to concrete floors with plastic membranes or DPC’s as moisture becomes trapped which can causes condensation in the lower walls. Poorly ventilated suspended timber floors also often fail when ventilation is blocked. Our building control approved limecrete floor system works extremely well with old buildings as we are able to provide insulated, breathable and heated floor systems and coverings that work in harmony with the building. The build up thickness can be designed to work in buildings with shallow foundations too without the need for under pinning.

Lime Pointing

Unfortunately cement has been used extensively to repair and repoint traditional solid walled buildings across the country. Cement is too hard and not porous and this often causes the masonry to deteriorate and buildings to become unstable and damp.

Solid walled buildings need to be repaired with like for like materials which regulate moisture naturally. Lime mortars look far superior to modern materials and can last for hundreds of years when applied correctly.

We are able to match historic mortars by careful aggregate selection and by adding various pozzolans to match the look and performance of a traditional mortar. The correct mortar is fundamental to a buildings condition as the mortar wicks away moisture from the structure due to is high porosity and hydroscopic properties. We mainly use hot mix quickly lime mortar on traditional buildings and NHL mortars where appropriate.