lime

Hi! I’m looking for some definitive advice on re-pointing my house, specifically regarding the slate DPC level please. House is 1920’s cavity wall, brick and lime mortar. DPC is single layer of double course slate. The lime mortar is solid (not crumbly or soft), but on the rear elevation we...

Hi all, We’re going to have a stove installed this summer, and I’m prepping our fireplace ready. It’s made entirely of lime and clunch (chalk), and is extremely delicate and any substantial fixings need to be planned as the walling doesn’t hold much weight on its own (no brick or other sturdy...

Hi all, wondering what my options are here. I have a 1930s semi and all the plaster is shot. It's lime plaster on to lime mortar brickwork. I'm taking down the partition lath walls and replacing with plasterboard and multifinish. What would I need for the brick walls? Am I ok with sand...

Hi all, I'm renovating a very old Coach House and one of the many issues with the building is damp and condensation. A possible cause is likely the cement repointing (which is also damaging the external brickwork all round the house). Having chipped away some of the cement (see picture...

I will try to be as concise as possible. See photos for context Jan 2023 - re-roof with existing stone slates, fitting of felt, fitting of velux windows, cost of £6000 Jan - April 2023 - always been an attic room in this house, no insulation so I knocked the lath and lime ceiling down. Then...

We want to plaster a feature wall of our living room to have a natural organic finish, a bit like a "faux" lime render. It is a 19th C. house but it is a sand-cement mortar, so the work involved with a lime plaster is unnecessary. Ideally we'd have it plastered flat and add a textured layer at...

Hi all, just wondering what people’s thoughts are on cavity wall insulation on a 1910’s built house constructed with lime mortar. I’ve read a couple of horror stories online about people installing modern cavity wall insulation into a period property which subsequently caused a multitude of damp...

Hey guys, I have a chunk of slate comming for my hearth, 30mm thick, I'm setting it above the laminate so I created a concrete bed around 2cm, so the boards will slide under to create a nice finish. But I'm not sure what to use to stick it down, I want about 5mm, I was thinking flexible tile...

We have some builders currently half-way through lime rendering for us. They've finished scratch coat ... but: -> I think without wetting bricks first -> have nailed hessian to this overnight (into the brick) until temperature consistently back to 5'c from Monday onwards What impact is this...

...

Hi. So some of you may have seen my other posts on our hallway rennovation of our 1920s semi. Well it's been back to brick and laths for a couple of months now and we are not getting anywhere! I had to let our agreed builder go, before he put it back together, as I learnt that it had lime...

Hello, So I have recently brought a c.1800 stone cottage and am at the start of the extensive work it needs doing to it. The area which is a bit of mine field is the topic of cement rendering and keeping walls breathable. Now the house is basically split into 3 section as I've illustrated in...

I’m stripping our bathroom and found that behind all the layers of skin and tile over the years, we have lime plaster on the external solid wall. My initial plan was to just leave it be, but annoyingly it is blown from about 300mm above where the top of the new bath is going to be. The wall is...

Hi all - and firstly apologies if this is in the wrong place but hopefully addresses my question! We've recently had a loft conversion done, and as part of this, have put aside a section of the eaves for storage. The builders have plasterboarded out most of the eaves area, but have left the...

House is circa 1910, London yellow stock bricks. Original pointing is quite a light colour. I seen and been quoted for repointing in lime ranging up to around £50/sqm with a 'weather struck' finish. I'm also contemplating doing this myself, with some ready mix products like Limetec or similar...

Hi all Looking to remove the ugly cement pointing that will damage the stonework of an 1860s Terrace house. Pointing has been thickly applied over a traditional lime pointing. This will cause the stones to spall and damp issues within the property. Much of the pointing is already loose so is...

Hi I am planning an extension that will involve removing some old outside walls. I would like to reuse the bricks to make a path and patio and also to build a dwarf wall. Will the bricks be OK for the path and patio? This is the look I was wanting Also I was wanting to build a dwarf wall...

Hi So, 1860s Victorian end Terrace. Old plaster delaminated and have removed from the walls - see pics. The external walls are faced sandstone, with solid stone rubble - they’re almost 30 inches thick! The partition walls are single skinned brick. The previous owners have wallpapered and...

Hi, I'm a novice building a small natural stone (Cotswold) wall with recessed seating – c. 4m long wall, double skin. I have about 200 stones, various shapes, sizes. My plan is to do footing, then get cracking. My questions are: 1.Which mortar do I use? I want it to be light coloured to...

We've had a problem with damp in our kitchen cupboards since we moved in. Only against one of the external walls. This is a single story outshoot from a sandstone building (I would say extension, but all the houses have them so I suspect they were built with them) The outshoot is brick and...