We provide conservation-grade lime plastering across Folkestone, Kent. Whether you are repairing damp internal walls in a flint and knapped flintwork property, stripping failed cement render, or repointing stonework, our craftsmen work only in lime — the material Folkestone's period buildings were originally constructed with.
Damp in Folkestone homes is usually caused by the wrong material rather than a faulty building. Where cement render has been applied over flint and knapped flintwork, stripping it back and re-rendering in lime normally resolves the damp within a single drying season.
Around Folkestone 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.
Softness is the point. Traditional Kent walling of flint and knapped flintwork is weaker than modern cement, so a hard mortar concentrates stress and moisture into the masonry face. Lime is deliberately the weaker material, and that is what makes it correct for Folkestone's older homes.
Every Folkestone job begins with diagnosis: identifying where moisture is entering before any plaster goes on. We then remove failed material, prepare the flint and knapped flintwork, 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, Folkestone throws up a particular set of problems. These are representative examples of how we resolve them in lime.
timber-framed hall house — Cracked and cement-patched panels on a timber-framed hall house in Kent. 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.
Georgian townhouse — A commercial Georgian townhouse on a Folkestone 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 Folkestone 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.
Yes — stripping failed cement render and replacing it with a breathable lime render is one of the most common jobs we carry out in Folkestone. It is usually the fastest way to resolve persistent damp in a solid-wall building.
We do. Folkestone is one of our core areas and we travel throughout Kent and the surrounding parts of South East England for lime plastering, lime render, lime pointing and heritage repair.
External lime work is best carried out between spring and early autumn so it can carbonate before the first frosts. Internal lime plastering in Folkestone can be done year-round with adequate heating and ventilation.
Where damp is caused by trapped moisture in a solid wall — very common in older Folkestone 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 Folkestone in Kent and the wider South East England area.
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