Damp, blown plaster and failing render are common complaints in Newbury's older housing. Because so much of it is built from flint and knapped flintwork and exposed to the drier but wind-driven weather of the South East coast and Downs, the fix is nearly always breathable lime rather than another coat of cement. We deliver that work throughout Berkshire.
Exposure matters as much as material. Newbury 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.
The older parts of Newbury are dominated by timber-framed hall houses, Georgian townhouses, flint-and-brick cottages. 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.
Softness is the point. Traditional Berkshire 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 Newbury's older homes.
You get a single point of contact from survey to final coat. We agree the specification for your Newbury property in writing, prepare and apply the lime in the correct build-up, and advise on breathable decoration once the work has cured.
Every Newbury property is surveyed individually, but these examples show the kind of Berkshire buildings and use-cases we are called to most often.
Georgian townhouse — Eroding masonry faces on a Georgian townhouse in Newbury 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.
oast house conversion — An oast house conversion in Newbury where hard cement render had trapped moisture against soft red brick. We stripped the render back to bare wall, allowed the masonry to dry, then rebuilt the finish in three coats of lime and limewashed it.
timber-framed hall house — Blown gypsum plaster and tide marks on the ground floor of a timber-framed hall house in Berkshire. We hacked off the gypsum, applied a haired lime base coat and a lime putty finish, and specified clay paint so the wall could keep drying.
Yes. We regularly work on listed and conservation-area properties across Berkshire and can supply mix specifications and sample panels for Newbury conservation officers where consent is required.
Send us the details of your Newbury property through the contact form and we will arrange a free survey. You will receive a written specification and quote with no obligation to proceed.
We do. Lime repointing is a large part of our Newbury 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 Newbury 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.
It depends on the wall and its exposure. For most Berkshire work we use hot-mixed lime or NHL 2 with hair reinforcement for lath and frame, stepping up to a more hydraulic lime only where exposure or the substrate genuinely demands it.
Our lime plastering, render and pointing teams also cover these towns and cities close to Newbury in Berkshire and the wider South East England area.
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