Trowbridge is a smaller Wiltshire town with a high proportion of older property, and its older buildings were put up long before modern materials arrived — cob, rubble stone and granite make breathability non-negotiable. Our Trowbridge lime plastering team applies authentic lime plaster, external lime render and lime pointing so those walls stay dry, stable and original.
Sympathetic repair in Trowbridge 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 granite and killas rubble before mixing so new work sits alongside old rather than standing out.
Most of our Trowbridge work involves granite and killas rubble. In Wiltshire that usually means cob and thatch cottages and granite farmhouses, where original lime plaster survives on lath internally and lime render or pointing protects the wall outside.
Softness is the point. Traditional Wiltshire walling of granite and killas rubble 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 Trowbridge's older homes.
We start with a free survey at the property in Trowbridge, opening up a small area where necessary to see the substrate. From there we specify the mix — usually hot-mixed lime with coarse local aggregate, built up in generous coats — and issue a written quote covering preparation, coats, curing time and finish.
From cob and thatch cottages to later solid-wall housing, here is the sort of lime plastering, render and pointing work we deliver in and around Trowbridge.
granite farmhouse — A granite farmhouse in Trowbridge where hard cement render had trapped moisture against cob. 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.
limestone rectory — Peeling modern masonry paint on a limestone rectory in Wiltshire. The impermeable coating was removed, minor render defects were patched in lime, and the elevations were finished in several thin coats of limewash.
stone-built chapel conversion — Persistent ground-floor damp in a stone-built chapel conversion in Trowbridge 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.
Every property is different, so we do not publish fixed prices.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 Trowbridge and provide a written, no-obligation quote.
Lime cures slowly by carbonation. Allow roughly a week per coat as a guide, and longer in the wet, wind-driven rain typical of the South West. We protect the work and control drying so the finish cures evenly rather than cracking or dusting.
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 Trowbridge project so breathability is not lost at the final coat.
Our lime plastering, render and pointing teams also cover these towns and cities close to Trowbridge in Wiltshire and the wider South West England area.
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