Limewash in Surrey

Limewash in Surrey belongs on the county's older walls, such as tile hung cottages, timber framed farmhouses, brick and stone houses, and converted barns. It is real slaked lime thinned with water and brushed on, not paint. Zavoré sells genuine lime paint with tracked UK delivery, and our own team, who travel from Birmingham, will brush it on where the job is tall, outdoors or the whole house. Start with a sample board and judge it dry, in daylight.

The lime soaks into the wall, carbonates back to stone and leaves a soft, cloudy, matt surface. It is vapour open, so it lets a solid wall breathe instead of sealing it under a film.

Cottages, farmhouses and barns across the Surrey Hills

Much of Surrey is countryside, and the Surrey Hills are a protected landscape. In its villages you find red brick, local sandstone, tile hung upper floors and timber framed houses with lime plaster between the timbers. Market towns such as Godalming, Dorking and Farnham have old streets of the same kind. Houses like these were built with lime mortar and lime plaster, so lime is the natural thing to put back on them.

The common trouble is what has been added since. Cement render and modern emulsion trap moisture and form a film, and limewash will not grip a film. A wall painted in the last twenty years usually needs stripping back or a mineral primer first. If you are not sure, wet a small patch and see whether it drinks the water or beads.

Converted barns are a different case. Their walls are often new blockwork or board with a skim. Blockwork takes lime well, but a sealed skim does not, so we check each wall at survey. Limewash will also not cure damp. Deal with the damp first and limewash after.

Inside and outside a Surrey house

Our limewash finishes work on these surfaces.

• Bare lime plaster, old lime render, solid brick and stone inside cottages and farmhouses.
• Exterior brick and render, where limewash weathers and renews rather than peeling.
• Hallways and stairwells that want texture rather than sheen.
• Bedrooms and snugs in earthy, muted colours.
• Barn conversions with big walls that flat paint would leave dead.

It is the wrong answer for a kitchen splashback, a shower or any wall handled daily, because it marks and is not washable. If you want one even colour with no movement, buy emulsion.

Colour, coats and how a Surrey job runs

The palette runs to earths, ochres, umbers and soft greys, in the maker's own range. Two or three thin coats is normal, and the first will look like dirty water, so do not panic. Limewash dries lighter than it looks wet and keeps shifting for a few weeks as it carbonates, so judge it on a dry board.

We survey first, checking what is on the wall, damp, access and how the room is used, and we say if it needs stripping or priming. A whole house needs a wet edge across long walls, so a Surrey job is planned in blocks of days with our team staying to lay each coat. Exterior work depends on suitable weather, because cold damp conditions slow drying. See the limewash installation page for more.

Doing it yourself, or calling a decorator

Limewash is the one finish we happily tell you to do yourself. It is brushed, forgiving, and a patchy first coat is fixed by a second. The shop sells lime paint, a mineral primer for walls that will not take lime alone, and a fine lime plaster if you want more body. Lime is caustic while wet, so wear gloves and goggles. We would take on height and exteriors, and decorators can ask about a trade account.

More finishes in Surrey

Lime suits the same houses as clay plaster in Surrey, with more body, and marmorino in Surrey, which is harder wearing. A finish with a shine is polished plaster in Surrey. Where water runs, choose tadelakt in Surrey or microcement in Surrey. Modern looks are concrete effect plaster in Surrey and liquid metal in Surrey. The wider range is in decorative specialists in Surrey, and the classic lime plaster is under Venetian plastering in Surrey.

Questions about limewash in Surrey

Can I limewash the brick or render of a Surrey cottage?

Yes. On brick or render outside it is excellent and self renewing, and it wants redoing every few years rather than being stripped. Cement render and old masonry paint need checking first. Weather matters, because cold damp conditions slow drying.

Can I limewash over emulsion in a Surrey barn conversion?

Not directly. Lime needs an absorbent mineral surface, and an emulsion or a sealed skim gives it a film to sit on, so it dusts off. Strip back or use a mineral primer first. Bare blockwork takes it well.

Is limewash suitable for the lime plaster inside a timber framed Surrey house?

It is the natural finish for it. Lime plaster is absorbent and breathable, and limewash keeps it that way. If the plaster has been painted over, we would check what is on it before starting.

Will limewash cure a damp wall in an old Surrey cottage?

No. It lets a wall breathe but it does not cure damp. The cause must be put right first, then limewash can go on a sound surface.

Tell us what is on the wall and we will say whether it needs stripping first. 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.