Christchurch property owners come to us when a modern finish has failed. Cement render and gypsum plaster trap moisture inside granite and killas rubble, and in the wet, wind-driven rain typical of the South West that shows up as damp patches, salt blooming and rotting timbers. We put it right with breathable lime across Dorset.
Damp in Christchurch homes is usually caused by the wrong material rather than a faulty building. Where cement render has been applied over granite and killas rubble, stripping it back and re-rendering in lime normally resolves the damp within a single drying season.
Around Christchurch you will find cob and thatch cottages alongside later Georgian and Regency terraces. 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.
Lime is flexible, breathable and self-healing. On Christchurch properties built from granite and killas rubble, it moves with the building instead of cracking away from it, and it protects the masonry rather than the other way round.
Every Christchurch job begins with diagnosis: identifying where moisture is entering before any plaster goes on. We then remove failed material, prepare the granite and killas rubble, and build the lime up in coats, allowing each one to cure before the next.
Because cob, rubble stone and granite make breathability non-negotiable, Christchurch throws up a particular set of problems. These are representative examples of how we resolve them in lime.
Regency terrace — A commercial Regency terrace on a Christchurch 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.
limestone rectory — Eroding masonry faces on a limestone rectory in Christchurch 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 cob.
stone-built chapel conversion — Persistent ground-floor damp in a stone-built chapel conversion in Christchurch 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.
Yes. We take samples of the surviving mortar or plaster from the cob first, then match aggregate, colour and texture so the repair blends into the original rather than patching over it.
External lime work is best carried out between spring and early autumn so it can carbonate before the first frosts. Internal lime plastering in Christchurch can be done year-round with adequate heating and ventilation.
Yes — stripping failed cement render and replacing it with a breathable lime render is one of the most common jobs we carry out in Christchurch. It is usually the fastest way to resolve persistent damp in a solid-wall building.
Our lime plastering, render and pointing teams also cover these towns and cities close to Christchurch in Dorset and the wider South West England area.
Browse all areas we cover across the UK
Get a lime plastering quote in Christchurch