Lime Plastering is a specialist lime plastering contractor working throughout Staines-upon-Thames and the wider Surrey area. As an established Surrey town, Staines-upon-Thames has a large stock of pre-1919 property built from flint and knapped flintwork — walls that were designed to breathe. We restore them using traditional lime plaster, lime render and lime mortar, never cement or gypsum.
Sympathetic repair in Staines-upon-Thames means matching what is already there — the aggregate colour, the coat thickness, the texture of the original float finish. We take samples from the existing flint and knapped flintwork before mixing so new work sits alongside old rather than standing out.
Staines-upon-Thames and the villages around it retain a good deal of flint and knapped flintwork. Where that material is soft — as most traditional Surrey 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 Surrey walling of flint and knapped flintwork 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 Staines-upon-Thames'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 Staines-upon-Thames 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 Staines-upon-Thames 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 — A commercial oast house conversion on a Staines-upon-Thames high street within a conservation area. Decayed render and mouldings were reinstated in lime, run in situ to the original profiles, and finished to match neighbouring frontages.
timber-framed hall house — Weather-facing walls of a timber-framed hall house 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.
Yes, but it must be finished with a breathable product such as limewash, clay paint or mineral silicate paint. We advise on suitable finishes for each Staines-upon-Thames project so breathability is not lost at the final coat.
We do. Staines-upon-Thames is one of our core areas and we travel throughout Surrey and the surrounding parts of South East England for lime plastering, lime render, lime pointing and heritage repair.
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 Staines-upon-Thames 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 Staines-upon-Thames can be done year-round with adequate heating and ventilation.
Our lime plastering, render and pointing teams also cover these towns and cities close to Staines-upon-Thames in Surrey and the wider South East England area.
Browse all areas we cover across the UK
Get a lime plastering quote in Staines-upon-Thames