Damp, blown plaster and failing render are common complaints in Craigavon's older housing. Because so much of it is built from basalt and whinstone rubble and exposed to persistently wet, mild Atlantic weather, the fix is nearly always breathable lime rather than another coat of cement. We deliver that work throughout County Armagh.
Exposure matters as much as material. Craigavon sits in persistently wet, mild Atlantic weather, which means external work has to shed water and then dry out again quickly. That is exactly what a correctly built lime render does, and exactly what a sealed cement skin prevents.
The older parts of Craigavon are dominated by rubble-stone farmhouses, Victorian brick terraces, Georgian market-town houses. 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.
Using lime in Craigavon 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.
You get a single point of contact from survey to final coat. We agree the specification for your Craigavon property in writing, prepare and apply the lime in the correct build-up, and advise on breathable decoration once the work has cured.
Every Craigavon property is surveyed individually, but these examples show the kind of County Armagh buildings and use-cases we are called to most often.
rubble-stone farmhouse — A commercial rubble-stone farmhouse on a Craigavon 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.
Victorian brick terrace — Peeling modern masonry paint on a Victorian brick terrace in County Armagh. The impermeable coating was removed, minor render defects were patched in lime, and the elevations were finished in several thin coats of limewash.
Georgian market-town house — Eroding masonry faces on a Georgian market-town house in Craigavon 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 basalt and whinstone rubble.
We do. Lime repointing is a large part of our Craigavon 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 — stripping failed cement render and replacing it with a breathable lime render is one of the most common jobs we carry out in Craigavon. It is usually the fastest way to resolve persistent damp in a solid-wall building.
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 Craigavon project so breathability is not lost at the final coat.
Yes. We take samples of the surviving mortar or plaster from the basalt and whinstone rubble first, then match aggregate, colour and texture so the repair blends into the original rather than patching over it.
Our lime plastering, render and pointing teams also cover these towns and cities close to Craigavon in County Armagh and the wider Northern Ireland area.
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