Traditional lime plastering in Portsmouth and across Hampshire. Working on Georgian townhouses and other solid-wall property, we specify hot-mixed lime, lime putty and natural hydraulic lime to suit each individual wall rather than applying one standard mix to everything.
Many properties in and around Portsmouth sit within conservation areas or carry listed status, so finishes must match the original construction. We work regularly with Hampshire conservation officers and typically specify hot-mixed lime or NHL 2 with hair reinforcement for lath and frame.
Portsmouth and the villages around it retain a good deal of soft red brick. Where that material is soft — as most traditional Hampshire walling is — the mortar and plaster must always be softer than the masonry, so it wears sacrificially instead of eroding the stone or brick face.
Softness is the point. Traditional Hampshire walling of soft red brick 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 Portsmouth's older homes.
Once the survey is agreed, we protect the site, strip back the failed finish, and apply lime in successive coats with proper curing between each. In the drier but wind-driven weather of the South East coast and Downs we control drying with damp hessian or sheeting so the work carbonates evenly rather than cracking.
The jobs below are typical of the work we carry out on Portsmouth property — the building types and problems vary, but the answer is always breathable lime rather than cement.
flint-and-brick cottage — A flint-and-brick cottage in Portsmouth 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.
oast house conversion — Sagging original ceilings in an oast house conversion near the centre of Portsmouth. Sound laths were retained and re-keyed, missing sections re-lathed in riven timber, and the ceiling made good with haired lime plaster to match the surviving profile.
tile-hung Wealden farmhouse — Weather-facing walls of a tile-hung Wealden farmhouse taking the full force of the drier but wind-driven weather of the South East coast and Downs. We specified hot-mixed lime or NHL 2 with hair reinforcement for lath and frame, built the render up in generous coats and protected the work while it carbonated to avoid shrinkage cracking.
We do. Portsmouth is one of our core areas and we travel throughout Hampshire and the surrounding parts of South East England for lime plastering, lime render, lime pointing and heritage repair.
Yes. We take samples of the surviving mortar or plaster from the soft red brick first, then match aggregate, colour and texture so the repair blends into the original rather than patching over it.
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 Portsmouth and provide a written, no-obligation quote.
External lime work is best carried out between spring and early autumn so it can carbonate before the first frosts. Internal lime plastering in Portsmouth can be done year-round with adequate heating and ventilation.
Lime cures slowly by carbonation. Allow roughly a week per coat as a guide, and longer in the drier but wind-driven weather of the South East coast and Downs. We protect the work and control drying so the finish cures evenly rather than cracking or dusting.
Our lime plastering, render and pointing teams also cover these towns and cities close to Portsmouth in Hampshire and the wider South East England area.
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