Traditional lime, for walls that need to breathe.

Why lime, and not gypsum

Older buildings generally don’t have a damp-proof course. They were built to take moisture in and let it back out again, and lime plaster is permeable enough to allow that. Modern gypsum and cement finishes are not — put them on a solid old wall and the moisture has nowhere to go. It ends up trapped, and it comes out somewhere you don’t want it.

Lime also has some give in it, which matters on walls that move slightly with the seasons.

Material

Traditional lime

Why

Permeable — lets walls breathe

Approach

Matched to existing

Best for

Period and listed buildings

What I do

• Repairs and patching to existing lime plaster, matched to what’s already there
• Full re-plastering where the original has failed or been covered over
• Work on period and listed properties, where the finish has to suit the building

Matched, not covered over

The aim on an old building is that the repair doesn’t announce itself — matching the existing finish rather than imposing a flat modern one across the whole wall.

Lime or ordinary plaster?

If the building is solid-walled and pre-war, it almost certainly wants lime. If it has a cavity and a damp-proof course, ordinary gypsum plaster is fine and cheaper. The trouble comes when gypsum has already been put on an old solid wall — it traps moisture, and the damp reappears somewhere else. If you’re not sure which you’ve got, I can tell you when I come and look.

Worth knowing

Lime work runs to its own timetable and isn’t a finish to rush. If you’re working to a programme, tell me early and I’ll be straight with you about what’s realistic. Listed buildings may also carry conditions on what can be used — I’ll tell you honestly if it’s a job for a specialist conservator rather than for me.

Decorative finishes on old buildings

Lime plaster takes a decorative finish well, and Venetian plaster is itself lime-based — so it suits a period property in a way that most modern finishes don’t. Worth a conversation if you want something more than a plain wall.

How much

Every old building is different, so this one really does need a visit. I’ll come out, look at what’s there, and send a written price within one to two days. There’s a gallery of finished work, and more about how I work if you want the background before getting in touch.