renew & restore
About us
We're a family led team with over 45 years experience in domestic building to call upon.
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Our core work is on older properties and buildings that require a specialised approach to certain repairs and renovations than that of modern buildings.
Historic and traditional buildings often require a more sympathetic approach due to the original building methods and materials used such as the combination of stone and lime.
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Our main focus at Limehouse is to restore and renew old properties to help preserve and protect them for years to come. We do this by offering a limework service for all internal and external elements which can benefit from the advantages of the use of lime.
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You've probably heard the saying 'let it breathe' before and that's exactly what the correct approach with lime allows your property to do. Many homes can suffer from damp problems or failing finishes as a result of the changing building methods and applications over the years. We realise that it's not one size fits all and there are many nuances that may determine if an alternative approach is required.
If you want to breathe new life into your home then we can certainly help.
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What is Lime
There are essentially three types of lime available all with different uses.
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Non-Hydraulic Lime
Is produced by burning limestone, creating a dry 'quicklime' which is mixed with water and slaked into a lime putty. Lime putty is stored in a wet state and becomes better the longer it is left due to a self-slaking reaction.
When applied/uncovered it sets with exposure to air (carbonation). This is by far the most permeable of all the limes and the most widely used lime in old buildings.
Hydraulic Lime
Comes in various classifications, arguably the most commonly used is the moderate natural hydraulic lime (NHL) 3.5. The different grades of Hydraulic are indicative of the levels of active clay or in some cases impurities. Essentially the higher the grade the more eminent the lime and often the harder it will set. Hydraulic lime sets under water and comes in dry form as powder or ready mixed (with aggregate) bags.
Hydraulic can be beneficial to certain projects, it's not as flexible but can cope with more severe conditions and sets faster. It can often form the basis for a variety of consolidating and renovating plasters - always read the label!
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Hydrated Lime
This is often referred to as 'bag lime' and is the type of lime you would generally find on any building site. It's an inferior lime and is used as a filler in cement mixes to 'introduce' a degree of flexibility. However it should not be used as a binder in its own right. When the 'quicklime' is produced it is slaked with a smaller amount of water to leave a powder. Therefore if knocked up on site and used it does not have the benefit of an aged process, it then requires further amounts of water to be added which make it harder to gauge the ratios of a good mix.
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What we use
We predominantly use non-hydraulic lime. We source the majority of our material from a rural manufacturing company. This ensures the lime we use is consistent in terms of quality and ratios and saves time and labour by being ready mixed and delivered straight to site.
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We generally only use hydraulic lime as an alternative to cement in rebuilding work.
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For any exterior lime render work we do not add cement which (even in small amounts) can considerably reduce the durability and effectiveness of lime.
To increase protection to exposed areas and as a frost protection during the slow carbonation period of non-hydraulic we add a pozzolan powder. Essentially a refined version of volcanic ash which can achieve a hydraulic like set without compromising the properties of the lime.
Old vs New
There are many advantages to using lime and its associated products in construction as opposed to modern cement, plasters and plastic paints.
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Virtually all old buildings were constructed using lime in combination with stone, earth and timber.
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Cement and gypsum are impervious to damp and rely upon rigidity
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Using lime based materials can solve damp problems, peeling paint, flaking render or crumbling plaster
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The carbon-footprint of lime is vastly different to the process of manufacturing cement based products.
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Traditional materials generally age better and more attractively than cement and plastic products.
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Lime can be used in modern brick buildings.