✦
Where Artistry Begins
Slaked lime brushed on in thin coats, for Nottingham brick, stone and old plaster that needs to breathe. We lay it, or we sell it for your own decorator.
Limewash in Nottingham is real slaked lime thinned with water and brushed onto a wall. It is not paint. The lime soaks in, hardens back towards stone and leaves a soft, cloudy, matt surface that moves with the daylight. Zavoré is based in Birmingham, our own applicators travel to Nottingham to lay it, and we also sell the material if you would rather brush it on yourself. A sample board is a low risk way to see whether the look is for you.
Nottingham is a good city for lime. Brick, stone and old plaster are what most of its older buildings are made of, and those are exactly the surfaces limewash likes.
The older streets of Nottingham are Victorian red brick, from the terraces of Sherwood, Lenton and Sneinton to the villas of Mapperley Park. Under the city lies soft sandstone, and the rock has been dug into cellars and caves for centuries. Many of these buildings were built with lime, and lime lets moisture move through a wall instead of trapping it.
That is the case for limewash here. It is vapour open, so it belongs on solid brick, lime plaster, stone and old render. An acrylic emulsion forms a film, and on a solid wall a film can hold moisture behind it. Limewash does not flake, because there is no film to lift. It weathers slowly and is repaired by painting another thin coat over the damaged area.
It will not cure a damp wall. If water is coming in, that is fixed at source first, and cold, damp rooms slow drying whatever you put on them.
Limewash gives you colour with movement rather than a flat tone. Our page on limewash finishes explains how it is made and what to expect. In Nottingham homes it suits these places well.
It is the wrong answer on a kitchen splashback, in a shower, or on any wall that is handled daily. Limewash marks and is not washable. If you want an even colour with no movement at all, emulsion is the honest answer.
Lime needs something mineral and absorbent to bond to. Bare lime plaster, old render, solid brick, stone and unsealed clay plaster all take it well. A fresh skim takes it if it has not been sealed, though it drinks unevenly and wants a thin mist coat first.
It will not grip vinyl silk, gloss, a sealed skim or anything with a film on it, and it dusts off. If a Nottingham terrace has been painted in recent decades, assume the wall needs stripping back or a mineral primer before you start. Wet a patch and see whether it drinks or beads.
Limewash is the one finish we will happily tell you to do yourself. It is brushed, it is forgiving, and a patchy first coat is fixed by a second. Two coats is the minimum and three is usual, each one far thinner than feels right, so buy a board, try it, and you will know within an hour. Lime is caustic while it is wet, so gloves and goggles are not optional.
The shop sells real slaked lime paint tinted to colour, mineral primer for chalky or painted walls, and intonachino when you want more body. Painters who buy often can ask about a trade account. We would take the job on where there is height, an exterior, or a whole house where holding a wet edge across long walls matters.
We survey the walls first. That means what they are made of, any previous paint, damp, movement, access and protection, and we say plainly if a wall needs stripping or a damp problem fixing first. Photos can answer the small questions.
Limewash is supplied in its maker's own colour range, mostly earths, ochres, umbers and soft greys, and the material is tinted to the approved sample before it leaves Birmingham. Judge the sample dry and in daylight, because limewash dries lighter than it looks wet and keeps changing for a few weeks as it hardens. A Nottingham job is planned in blocks of days so the team can keep a wet edge across each wall. Read the details on the limewash installation page.
Lime is one family of walls. For a burnished surface look at polished plaster in Nottingham or the stone grain of marmorino in Nottingham. The soft matt cousin is clay plaster in Nottingham. For wet areas see tadelakt in Nottingham and microcement in Nottingham, and for a cool grey wall see concrete effect plaster in Nottingham. liquid metal in Nottingham adds a shimmer to one wall. The full range sits under decorative specialists in Nottingham, and the area guide covers Venetian plastering in Nottingham.
Not directly. Lime needs an absorbent mineral surface to bond with, and emulsion gives it a film to sit on, so it dusts off. Strip back to bare plaster or brick, or put a mineral primer down first. If you are unsure what is on the wall, wet a patch and see whether it drinks or beads.
Bare stone and lime plaster are the surfaces it likes, and it lets the wall breathe. It is not a damp treatment, though. If water is coming in, fix that at source first, and expect a cold, damp room to dry slowly between coats.
Yes, and outside on brick or render it works very well and renews itself, needing a fresh coat every few years rather than stripping. If the house is listed or in a conservation area, check what is allowed before you start.
No. It is a soft mineral surface and it will mark. The trade off is that it repairs by being painted again, so a thin coat over the area blends in. For a bathroom or splashback, ask us about tadelakt or microcement.
If you are not sure what is on your walls, send a photo. Call 07592 929191 (Monday to Saturday, 9am to 6pm) or email sales@zavore.co.uk with photos, rough measurements and your postcode. You can also order a sample board and start from there.
Order a sample board tinted to your colour, or send photos and rough measurements of the walls in Nottingham and we will come back to you with the right finish and a clear quote.
For a quote, email photos and measurements of your walls to sales@zavore.co.uk or call 07592 929191, Monday to Saturday, 9am to 6pm.
See every area we cover.
We also supply the trade by post, wherever you are. The shop ships tracked across the UK, and the Academy teaches the finishes in Birmingham.
Providing luxury finishes for the most prestigious addresses in the world
Venetian plaster, limewash, microcement, tadelakt, metallics, sculptural plaster and gold leaf, supplied and installed by our own team, with Venetian plaster taught at our Birmingham studio.
One list, run by the people who make the material. No noise, and nothing we would not want to read ourselves.
We email as the house has something worth saying, never daily. Unsubscribe from any email, or reply STOP to any text. We never pass your details to anyone.