We provide conservation-grade lime plastering across Gillingham, 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 Gillingham's period buildings were originally constructed with.
Gillingham'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 Gillingham 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.
In the drier but wind-driven weather of the South East coast and Downs, an impermeable render is a liability: water gets in at cracks and reveals and then cannot leave. Lime render on a Gillingham wall handles that water, releasing it back out through the surface instead of pushing it deeper into the structure.
Every Gillingham 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, Gillingham throws up a particular set of problems. These are representative examples of how we resolve them in lime.
Georgian townhouse — Persistent ground-floor damp in a Georgian townhouse in Gillingham 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.
tile-hung Wealden farmhouse — Consented repairs to a listed tile-hung Wealden farmhouse in Kent. 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.
oast house conversion — Owners of an oast house conversion in Kent wanted warmer rooms without sealing the walls. We installed a woodfibre or cork-lime background and finished in lime plaster, improving comfort while keeping the wall vapour-open.
External lime work is best carried out between spring and early autumn so it can carbonate before the first frosts. Internal lime plastering in Gillingham 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 Gillingham 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.
Yes — stripping failed cement render and replacing it with a breathable lime render is one of the most common jobs we carry out in Gillingham. It is usually the fastest way to resolve persistent damp in a solid-wall building.
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.
Our lime plastering, render and pointing teams also cover these towns and cities close to Gillingham in Kent and the wider South East England area.
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