Damp, blown plaster and failing render are common complaints in Worthing's older housing. Because so much of it is built from flint and knapped flintwork 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 West Sussex.
Damp in Worthing homes is usually caused by the wrong material rather than a faulty building. Where cement render has been applied over flint and knapped flintwork, stripping it back and re-rendering in lime normally resolves the damp within a single drying season.
The older parts of Worthing 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.
In the drier but wind-driven weather of the South East coast and Downs, an impermeable render is a liability: water gets in at cracks and reveals and then cannot leave. Lime render on a Worthing wall handles that water, releasing it back out through the surface instead of pushing it deeper into the structure.
You get a single point of contact from survey to final coat. We agree the specification for your Worthing property in writing, prepare and apply the lime in the correct build-up, and advise on breathable decoration once the work has cured.
Every Worthing property is surveyed individually, but these examples show the kind of West Sussex buildings and use-cases we are called to most often.
Georgian townhouse — Weather-facing walls of a Georgian townhouse 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.
Regency seafront villa — A Regency seafront villa in Worthing 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 — An oast house conversion being brought back into use outside Worthing. Because timber frame, flint and soft brick dominate the pre-1850 stock, we plastered internally in lime over a breathable insulating background and left the external stonework repointed rather than sealed.
Yes. We regularly work on listed and conservation-area properties across West Sussex and can supply mix specifications and sample panels for Worthing conservation officers where consent is required.
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 Worthing project so breathability is not lost at the final coat.
We do. Lime repointing is a large part of our Worthing workload — raking out hard cement pointing and replacing it with a softer, sacrificial lime mortar that protects the masonry face instead of eroding it.
It depends on the wall and its exposure. For most West Sussex work we use hot-mixed lime or NHL 2 with hair reinforcement for lath and frame, stepping up to a more hydraulic lime only where exposure or the substrate genuinely demands it.
Our lime plastering, render and pointing teams also cover these towns and cities close to Worthing in West Sussex and the wider South East England area.
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