Damp, blown plaster and failing render are common complaints in Paignton's older housing. Because so much of it is built from local limestone and sandstone and exposed to the wet, wind-driven rain typical of the South West, the fix is nearly always breathable lime rather than another coat of cement. We deliver that work throughout Devon.
Damp in Paignton homes is usually caused by the wrong material rather than a faulty building. Where cement render has been applied over local limestone and sandstone, stripping it back and re-rendering in lime normally resolves the damp within a single drying season.
The older parts of Paignton are dominated by cob and thatch cottages, granite farmhouses, Georgian and Regency terraces. 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 Devon walling of local limestone and sandstone 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 Paignton's older homes.
You get a single point of contact from survey to final coat. We agree the specification for your Paignton property in writing, prepare and apply the lime in the correct build-up, and advise on breathable decoration once the work has cured.
Every Paignton property is surveyed individually, but these examples show the kind of Devon buildings and use-cases we are called to most often.
cob and thatch cottage — Persistent ground-floor damp in a cob and thatch cottage in Paignton 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.
granite farmhouse — Eroding masonry faces on a granite farmhouse in Paignton 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 cob.
Regency terrace — Consented repairs to a listed Regency terrace in Devon. 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.
Where damp is caused by trapped moisture in a solid wall — very common in older Paignton 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 Paignton. It is usually the fastest way to resolve persistent damp in a solid-wall building.
We do. Lime repointing is a large part of our Paignton workload — raking out hard cement pointing and replacing it with a softer, sacrificial lime mortar that protects the masonry face instead of eroding it.
Our lime plastering, render and pointing teams also cover these towns and cities close to Paignton in Devon and the wider South West England area.
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