Reading property owners come to us when a modern finish has failed. Cement render and gypsum plaster trap moisture inside soft red brick, and in the drier but wind-driven weather of the South East coast and Downs that shows up as damp patches, salt blooming and rotting timbers. We put it right with breathable lime across Berkshire.
Damp in Reading homes is usually caused by the wrong material rather than a faulty building. Where cement render has been applied over soft red brick, stripping it back and re-rendering in lime normally resolves the damp within a single drying season.
Around Reading 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 Reading properties built from soft red brick, it moves with the building instead of cracking away from it, and it protects the masonry rather than the other way round.
Every Reading job begins with diagnosis: identifying where moisture is entering before any plaster goes on. We then remove failed material, prepare the soft red brick, 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, Reading throws up a particular set of problems. These are representative examples of how we resolve them in lime.
timber-framed hall house — Peeling modern masonry paint on a timber-framed hall house in Berkshire. The impermeable coating was removed, minor render defects were patched in lime, and the elevations were finished in several thin coats of limewash.
oast house conversion — Persistent ground-floor damp in an oast house conversion in Reading 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.
Georgian townhouse — Eroding masonry faces on a Georgian townhouse in Reading 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.
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.
Send us the details of your Reading 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.
Yes. We regularly work on listed and conservation-area properties across Berkshire and can supply mix specifications and sample panels for Reading conservation officers where consent is required.
Our lime plastering, render and pointing teams also cover these towns and cities close to Reading in Berkshire and the wider South East England area.
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