Traditional lime plastering in Burnley and across Lancashire. Working on millworkers' terraces and other solid-wall property, we specify hot-mixed lime, lime putty and natural hydraulic lime to suit each individual wall rather than applying one standard mix to everything.
Sympathetic repair in Burnley means matching what is already there — the aggregate colour, the coat thickness, the texture of the original float finish. We take samples from the existing red sandstone before mixing so new work sits alongside old rather than standing out.
Burnley and the villages around it retain a good deal of red sandstone. Where that material is soft — as most traditional Lancashire 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.
In the high rainfall and constant damp of the North West, an impermeable render is a liability: water gets in at cracks and reveals and then cannot leave. Lime render on a Burnley wall handles that water, releasing it back out through the surface instead of pushing it deeper into the structure.
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 high rainfall and constant damp of the North West 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 Burnley property — the building types and problems vary, but the answer is always breathable lime rather than cement.
slate-rubble barn conversion — Cracked and cement-patched panels on a slate-rubble barn conversion in Lancashire. Failed infill was cut out, laths and staves renewed where rotten, and the panels made good in haired lime so the frame can move without splitting the finish.
Lakeland stone farmhouse — Blown gypsum plaster and tide marks on the ground floor of a Lakeland stone farmhouse in Lancashire. 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.
millworkers' terrace — Sagging original ceilings in a millworkers' terrace near the centre of Burnley. 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.
Lime cures slowly by carbonation. Allow roughly a week per coat as a guide, and longer in the high rainfall and constant damp of the North West. We protect the work and control drying so the finish cures evenly rather than cracking or dusting.
Yes. We take samples of the surviving mortar or plaster from the Lakeland slate and rubble stone first, then match aggregate, colour and texture so the repair blends into the original rather than patching over it.
Every property is different, so we do not publish fixed prices. Cost depends on the substrate, the number of coats, access and whether failed cement has to be removed first. We survey the property in Burnley and provide a written, no-obligation quote.
External lime work is best carried out between spring and early autumn so it can carbonate before the first frosts. Internal lime plastering in Burnley 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 Burnley 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 Burnley in Lancashire and the wider North West England area.
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