Damp, blown plaster and failing render are common complaints in Aberdeen's older housing. Because so much of it is built from harled rubble walling and exposed to Scotland's cold, wet and wind-driven weather, the fix is nearly always breathable lime rather than another coat of cement. We deliver that work throughout Aberdeen City.
Damp in Aberdeen homes is usually caused by the wrong material rather than a faulty building. Where cement render has been applied over harled rubble walling, stripping it back and re-rendering in lime normally resolves the damp within a single drying season.
The older parts of Aberdeen are dominated by tenement blocks, harled rubble cottages, Georgian New Town townhouses. These are solid-wall constructions — there is no cavity, no damp-proof membrane and no vapour barrier — so the wall relies on evaporation through the plaster and render to stay dry.
Solid-wall buildings in Aberdeen were designed to absorb and release moisture. Lime keeps that cycle working; cement seals it in. That single difference explains why so many Aberdeen City homes develop damp after a modern refurbishment.
You get a single point of contact from survey to final coat. We agree the specification for your Aberdeen property in writing, prepare and apply the lime in the correct build-up, and advise on breathable decoration once the work has cured.
Every Aberdeen property is surveyed individually, but these examples show the kind of Aberdeen City buildings and use-cases we are called to most often.
sandstone tenement flat — Blown gypsum plaster and tide marks on the ground floor of a sandstone tenement flat in Aberdeen City. We hacked off the gypsum, applied a haired lime base coat and a lime putty finish, and specified clay paint so the wall could keep drying.
Victorian manse — Consented repairs to a listed Victorian manse in Aberdeen City. Sample panels were prepared for the conservation officer, mortar analysis informed the mix, and the historic surface was conserved and patched rather than replaced wholesale.
New Town townhouse — Persistent ground-floor damp in a New Town townhouse in Aberdeen previously treated with injected DPC and waterproof render. Once the real moisture path was identified, the walls were replastered in lime and the damp resolved without chemical treatment.
Where damp is caused by trapped moisture in a solid wall — very common in older Aberdeen properties — replacing cement or gypsum with lime allows the wall to dry out. We always identify the source of moisture during the survey before recommending work.
External lime work is best carried out between spring and early autumn so it can carbonate before the first frosts. Internal lime plastering in Aberdeen can be done year-round with adequate heating and ventilation.
Yes, but it must be finished with a breathable product such as limewash, clay paint or mineral silicate paint. We advise on suitable finishes for each Aberdeen project so breathability is not lost at the final coat.
Our lime plastering, render and pointing teams also cover these towns and cities close to Aberdeen in Aberdeen City and the wider Scotland area.
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