Traditional lime plastering in Dundee and across Dundee City. Working on harled rubble cottages 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.
Many properties in and around Dundee sit within conservation areas or carry listed status, so finishes must match the original construction. We work regularly with Dundee City conservation officers and typically specify hot-mixed lime harling, applied in successive thrown coats and limewashed.
Dundee and the villages around it retain a good deal of Scottish sandstone. Where that material is soft — as most traditional Dundee City 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.
Lime is flexible, breathable and self-healing. On Dundee properties built from Scottish sandstone, it moves with the building instead of cracking away from it, and it protects the masonry rather than the other way round.
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 Scotland's cold, wet and wind-driven weather 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 Dundee property — the building types and problems vary, but the answer is always breathable lime rather than cement.
harled rubble cottage — Cracked and cement-patched panels on a harled rubble cottage in Dundee City. 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.
sandstone tenement flat — Consented repairs to a listed sandstone tenement flat in Dundee City. Sample panels were prepared for the conservation officer, mortar analysis informed the mix, and the historic surface was conserved and patched rather than replaced wholesale.
converted steading — Sagging original ceilings in a converted steading near the centre of Dundee. 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.
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 Dundee project so breathability is not lost at the final coat.
Lime cures slowly by carbonation. Allow roughly a week per coat as a guide, and longer in Scotland's cold, wet and wind-driven weather. We protect the work and control drying so the finish cures evenly rather than cracking or dusting.
External lime work is best carried out between spring and early autumn so it can carbonate before the first frosts. Internal lime plastering in Dundee can be done year-round with adequate heating and ventilation.
We do. Lime repointing is a large part of our Dundee workload — raking out hard cement pointing and replacing it with a softer, sacrificial lime mortar that protects the masonry face instead of eroding it.
Where damp is caused by trapped moisture in a solid wall — very common in older Dundee 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 Dundee in Dundee City and the wider Scotland area.
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