Welcome home owner...
LimeRestoration has always been about quality and striving to offer the best approaches for your building. It may take longer, and in turn cost you more but to quote Rolls-Royce.... " the quality will remain long after the price is forgotten".
If there is one thing that owners should know is you shouldn't have to live in a damp home just because it is old. Most traditional builders will have told you to apply damp proofing ideas to keep damp out.
This will not work in the long term nor is it the right approach:
A damp wall conducts cold better than a dry wall. This means colder outside temperatures will be pulled inwards quicker and your warmer inside air outwards quicker. So simply insulating or sealing is never going to benefit the wall. Trapped moisture may also cause rotting timbers, wood worm attack and degrading stone. So drying walls out should be the highest priority.
Edward has spent years learning the do's and don't - hopefully this is conveyed around this website. Nothing pleases him more than helping home owners create a love for their home so rarely does contract work - prefering to work direct for owners who share his passion for old buildings. Quick skims are rarely his thing, but restoring old lime plasters with patch repairs are. Old lime plasters are normally far more efficient and suited to old properties and Edward will work with you to conserve what is practically possible.
And he engineers in space in his schedules to fit in small projects between larger ones to retain his interests in various old properties and their owners (and to cover inevitable gaps caused by Listed building consent delays).
As he's become familiar with what constitutes 'like for like repairs' he can advise and carry out some work without formal consents (normally after liasing with Conservation Officers).
- Restoring Cob and Lime structures since 1999
Edward has been working with cob and pure limes, internally and externally since 1999 when he purchased a badly neglected cob cottage. It had a partial roof, extensive rot, cement render and dry lining trapping moisture in the walls and destroying the original lime plaster. This made the walls excessively damp and susceptible to collapse as well as reversing the intended moisture paths. He has since gone on to professionally help many home owners bring the character and charm back to their original design whilst restoring another 16th C cob and timber framed home.
Employing Edward will give you a chance to maintain or restore the building design. He won't roll up in a fancy car, give you the hard sell, then hand the job on to less attentive co-workers. Edward will remain the main expert on site, doing the skilled work himself. He will ensure that no short cuts are taken, the promised job is carried out with enthusiam, passion, within budget and on time.
- Impervious Sands rarely used
The importance of using the right porous materials and techniques to replicate with your traditional wall materials are discussed in the 'Why' lime section. Sand was not traditionally used yet is found in readymixed Hydraulic lime products with setting additives and it will hinder not pull moisture out of the walls.
- Specialist knowledge and techniques
To further his understanding and skills Edward attended Master Craftsmen classes (at West Dean College) in the use of limes in restoration work. It was on one of the courses that a course lecturer introduded the use of sprayers to simulate harling material up onto walls. Whilst easier and more efficient Edward discovered it can also be used to accurately preserve features lost by hand troweling - see the inside and outside case studies sections for how this could offer a unique repair solution for your period property to deal with past damage eg spalled bricks. It also provides a better mechanical key for building up the layers quickly (using nature to set it not additives) and ensures even compaction whatever the layer thicknesses.
Works carried out professionally for local clients around Salisbury and Wiltshire and Hampshire since have been: porous lime plastering, lime rendering, spalling stone and brick repair, cob repair, Flint / brick and stone pointing (traditional lime mortar with gritstone), wall capping repairs, and stonework repair.
- Some Client Testimonials are provided in the Consult section.
Edward will always be on site carrying out the works so you can be rest assured every aspect is assesed as the project progresses and the appropriate repairs are always undertaken. As he is not VAT registered, and doesn't have the large overheads of running a building firm, you will only be paying for his time and knowledge.
- Help for DIYers
Hands on tuition can also be offered to home owners should they wish to get a better understanding of looking after old buildings themselves for smaller repairs. This ideally best done at your own property so you learn exactly how to tackle individual issues.
Case studies of traditional lime pointing, porous lime plaster work and lime putty render work can be found within 'Inside' and 'Outside' section buttons above.