Oldham is an established Greater Manchester town, and its older buildings were put up long before modern materials arrived — high exposure means walls must shed water and dry quickly. Our Oldham lime plastering team applies authentic lime plaster, external lime render and lime pointing so those walls stay dry, stable and original.
Many properties in and around Oldham sit within conservation areas or carry listed status, so finishes must match the original construction. We work regularly with Greater Manchester conservation officers and typically specify hot-mixed lime render in three coats, roughcast or harled where exposure is severe.
Most of our Oldham work involves red sandstone. In Greater Manchester that usually means stone farmhouses and barns and millworkers' terraces, where original lime plaster survives on lath internally and lime render or pointing protects the wall outside.
In the high rainfall and constant damp of the North West, an impermeable render is a liability: water gets in at cracks and reveals and then cannot leave. Lime render on a Oldham wall handles that water, releasing it back out through the surface instead of pushing it deeper into the structure.
We start with a free survey at the property in Oldham, opening up a small area where necessary to see the substrate. From there we specify the mix — usually hot-mixed lime render in three coats, roughcast or harled where exposure is severe — and issue a written quote covering preparation, coats, curing time and finish.
From stone farmhouses and barns to later solid-wall housing, here is the sort of lime plastering, render and pointing work we deliver in and around Oldham.
Victorian seaside guesthouse — A Victorian seaside guesthouse in Oldham where hard cement render had trapped moisture against Lakeland slate and rubble stone. 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.
slate-rubble barn conversion — Eroding masonry faces on a slate-rubble barn conversion in Oldham 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 Lakeland slate and rubble stone.
sandstone village cottage — A sandstone village cottage being brought back into use outside Oldham. Because high exposure means walls must shed water and dry quickly, we plastered internally in lime over a breathable insulating background and left the external stonework repointed rather than sealed.
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 Oldham and provide a written, no-obligation quote.
Lime cures slowly by carbonation. Allow roughly a week per coat as a guide, and longer in the high rainfall and constant damp of the North West. We protect the work and control drying so the finish cures evenly rather than cracking or dusting.
Yes — stripping failed cement render and replacing it with a breathable lime render is one of the most common jobs we carry out in Oldham. It is usually the fastest way to resolve persistent damp in a solid-wall building.
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 Oldham project so breathability is not lost at the final coat.
Our lime plastering, render and pointing teams also cover these towns and cities close to Oldham in Greater Manchester and the wider North West England area.
Browse all areas we cover across the UK
Get a lime plastering quote in Oldham