We provide conservation-grade lime plastering across Chatham, Kent. Whether you are repairing damp internal walls in a soft red brick property, stripping failed cement render, or repointing stonework, our craftsmen work only in lime — the material Chatham's period buildings were originally constructed with.
Chatham's building stock reflects the history of South East England, and timber frame, flint and soft brick dominate the pre-1850 stock. Applying gypsum or cement to these walls traps moisture; lime lets it evaporate freely, protecting the fabric of the building for decades.
Around Chatham you will find timber-framed hall houses alongside later flint-and-brick cottages. Both were built with lime, and both suffer when a modern impermeable finish is applied over the top — the moisture has to go somewhere, and it goes into the masonry and the timbers.
Using lime in Chatham is a conservation requirement as often as a technical one. It keeps the property eligible for heritage consent, preserves original detailing, and gives a soft, hand-finished surface no modern board can replicate.
Every Chatham job begins with diagnosis: identifying where moisture is entering before any plaster goes on. We then remove failed material, prepare the soft red brick, and build the lime up in coats, allowing each one to cure before the next.
Because timber frame, flint and soft brick dominate the pre-1850 stock, Chatham throws up a particular set of problems. These are representative examples of how we resolve them in lime.
timber-framed hall house — A commercial timber-framed hall house on a Chatham high street within a conservation area. Decayed render and mouldings were reinstated in lime, run in situ to the original profiles, and finished to match neighbouring frontages.
oast house conversion — Eroding masonry faces on an oast house conversion in Chatham caused by hard cement pointing. We raked out by hand to the correct depth and repointed in a soft lime mortar matched to the original aggregate and colour of the soft red brick.
Regency seafront villa — Peeling modern masonry paint on a Regency seafront villa in Kent. The impermeable coating was removed, minor render defects were patched in lime, and the elevations were finished in several thin coats of limewash.
Yes — stripping failed cement render and replacing it with a breathable lime render is one of the most common jobs we carry out in Chatham. It is usually the fastest way to resolve persistent damp in a solid-wall building.
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 Chatham and provide a written, no-obligation quote.
Yes. We regularly work on listed and conservation-area properties across Kent and can supply mix specifications and sample panels for Chatham conservation officers where consent is required.
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.
Where damp is caused by trapped moisture in a solid wall — very common in older Chatham 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 Chatham in Kent and the wider South East England area.
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