Lime Plastering is a specialist lime plastering contractor working throughout Ashford and the wider Kent area. As an established Kent town, Ashford has a large stock of pre-1919 property built from clay tile-hung and timber frame — walls that were designed to breathe. We restore them using traditional lime plaster, lime render and lime mortar, never cement or gypsum.
Many properties in and around Ashford sit within conservation areas or carry listed status, so finishes must match the original construction. We work regularly with Kent conservation officers and typically specify hot-mixed lime or NHL 2 with hair reinforcement for lath and frame.
Ashford and the villages around it retain a good deal of clay tile-hung and timber frame. Where that material is soft — as most traditional Kent walling is — the mortar and plaster must always be softer than the masonry, so it wears sacrificially instead of eroding the stone or brick face.
Solid-wall buildings in Ashford were designed to absorb and release moisture. Lime keeps that cycle working; cement seals it in. That single difference explains why so many Kent homes develop damp after a modern refurbishment.
Once the survey is agreed, we protect the site, strip back the failed finish, and apply lime in successive coats with proper curing between each. In the drier but wind-driven weather of the South East coast and Downs we control drying with damp hessian or sheeting so the work carbonates evenly rather than cracking.
The jobs below are typical of the work we carry out on Ashford property — the building types and problems vary, but the answer is always breathable lime rather than cement.
flint-and-brick cottage — A flint-and-brick cottage in Ashford where hard cement render had trapped moisture against soft red brick. We stripped the render back to bare wall, allowed the masonry to dry, then rebuilt the finish in three coats of lime and limewashed it.
tile-hung Wealden farmhouse — Weather-facing walls of a tile-hung Wealden farmhouse taking the full force of the drier but wind-driven weather of the South East coast and Downs. We specified hot-mixed lime or NHL 2 with hair reinforcement for lath and frame, built the render up in generous coats and protected the work while it carbonated to avoid shrinkage cracking.
oast house conversion — Sagging original ceilings in an oast house conversion near the centre of Ashford. Sound laths were retained and re-keyed, missing sections re-lathed in riven timber, and the ceiling made good with haired lime plaster to match the surviving profile.
We do. Lime repointing is a large part of our Ashford workload — raking out hard cement pointing and replacing it with a softer, sacrificial lime mortar that protects the masonry face instead of eroding it.
Yes. We take samples of the surviving mortar or plaster from the soft red brick first, then match aggregate, colour and texture so the repair blends into the original rather than patching over it.
Lime cures slowly by carbonation. Allow roughly a week per coat as a guide, and longer in the drier but wind-driven weather of the South East coast and Downs. We protect the work and control drying so the finish cures evenly rather than cracking or dusting.
Send us the details of your Ashford property through the contact form and we will arrange a free survey. You will receive a written specification and quote with no obligation to proceed.
Where damp is caused by trapped moisture in a solid wall — very common in older Ashford 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.
Our lime plastering, render and pointing teams also cover these towns and cities close to Ashford in Kent and the wider South East England area.
Browse all areas we cover across the UK
Get a lime plastering quote in Ashford