Horsham property owners come to us when a modern finish has failed. Cement render and gypsum plaster trap moisture inside clay tile-hung and timber frame, and in the drier but wind-driven weather of the South East coast and Downs that shows up as damp patches, salt blooming and rotting timbers. We put it right with breathable lime across West Sussex.
Exposure matters as much as material. Horsham sits in the drier but wind-driven weather of the South East coast and Downs, 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.
Around Horsham 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 Horsham wall handles that water, releasing it back out through the surface instead of pushing it deeper into the structure.
Every Horsham job begins with diagnosis: identifying where moisture is entering before any plaster goes on. We then remove failed material, prepare the clay tile-hung and timber frame, 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, Horsham 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 Horsham 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.
oast house conversion — A commercial oast house conversion on a Horsham 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.
timber-framed hall house — Eroding masonry faces on a timber-framed hall house in Horsham 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.
External lime work is best carried out between spring and early autumn so it can carbonate before the first frosts. Internal lime plastering in Horsham can be done year-round with adequate heating and ventilation.
Every property is different, so we do not publish fixed prices. Cost depends on the substrate, the number of coats, access and whether failed cement has to be removed first. We survey the property in Horsham and provide a written, no-obligation quote.
Yes. We regularly work on listed and conservation-area properties across West Sussex and can supply mix specifications and sample panels for Horsham conservation officers where consent is required.
Our lime plastering, render and pointing teams also cover these towns and cities close to Horsham in West Sussex and the wider South East England area.
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