Damp, blown plaster and failing render are common complaints in Slough's older housing. Because so much of it is built from soft red brick and exposed to the drier but wind-driven weather of the South East coast and Downs, the fix is nearly always breathable lime rather than another coat of cement. We deliver that work throughout Berkshire.
Slough's building stock reflects the history of South East England, and timber frame, flint and soft brick dominate the pre-1850 stock. Applying gypsum or cement to these walls traps moisture; lime lets it evaporate freely, protecting the fabric of the building for decades.
The older parts of Slough are dominated by timber-framed hall houses, Georgian townhouses, flint-and-brick cottages. 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.
Solid-wall buildings in Slough were designed to absorb and release moisture. Lime keeps that cycle working; cement seals it in. That single difference explains why so many Berkshire homes develop damp after a modern refurbishment.
You get a single point of contact from survey to final coat. We agree the specification for your Slough property in writing, prepare and apply the lime in the correct build-up, and advise on breathable decoration once the work has cured.
Every Slough property is surveyed individually, but these examples show the kind of Berkshire buildings and use-cases we are called to most often.
timber-framed hall house — Blown gypsum plaster and tide marks on the ground floor of a timber-framed hall house in Berkshire. 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.
flint-and-brick cottage — Eroding masonry faces on a flint-and-brick cottage in Slough 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.
oast house conversion — Persistent ground-floor damp in an oast house conversion in Slough 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.
We do. Slough is one of our core areas and we travel throughout Berkshire and the surrounding parts of South East England for lime plastering, lime render, lime pointing and heritage repair.
Send us the details of your Slough 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 — stripping failed cement render and replacing it with a breathable lime render is one of the most common jobs we carry out in Slough. It is usually the fastest way to resolve persistent damp in a solid-wall building.
Our lime plastering, render and pointing teams also cover these towns and cities close to Slough in Berkshire and the wider South East England area.
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