We provide conservation-grade lime plastering across Oxford, Oxfordshire. Whether you are repairing damp internal walls in a clay tile-hung and timber frame property, stripping failed cement render, or repointing stonework, our craftsmen work only in lime — the material Oxford's period buildings were originally constructed with.
Exposure matters as much as material. Oxford 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 Oxford 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.
Lime is flexible, breathable and self-healing. On Oxford properties built from clay tile-hung and timber frame, it moves with the building instead of cracking away from it, and it protects the masonry rather than the other way round.
Every Oxford 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, Oxford throws up a particular set of problems. These are representative examples of how we resolve them in lime.
Georgian townhouse — Blown gypsum plaster and tide marks on the ground floor of a Georgian townhouse in Oxfordshire. 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.
Regency seafront villa — Eroding masonry faces on a Regency seafront villa in Oxford 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.
timber-framed hall house — Consented repairs to a listed timber-framed hall house in Oxfordshire. 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.
Yes. We regularly work on listed and conservation-area properties across Oxfordshire and can supply mix specifications and sample panels for Oxford conservation officers where consent is required.
Where damp is caused by trapped moisture in a solid wall — very common in older Oxford 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 Oxford. It is usually the fastest way to resolve persistent damp in a solid-wall building.
It depends on the wall and its exposure. For most Oxfordshire 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 Oxford in Oxfordshire and the wider South East England area.
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