Venetian plastering in Cumbria

Zavoré provides Venetian plastering in Cumbria for farmhouses, barn conversions, town houses and holiday properties, from Carlisle and Penrith to Kendal, Whitehaven and the Furness peninsula. We are based in Birmingham and our own applicators travel to install, using authentic Italian lime based plaster tinted to your approved sample. To begin, send photos of your walls with the postcode to sales@zavore.co.uk, or order a sample board.

Cumbria is a county of stone, slate and thick walls, and it asks for a careful choice of finish. We would rather talk you out of the wrong coating than lay it over a wall that cannot cope with it.

The houses and towns of Cumbria

Much of the county is built in local stone. Around Kendal the stone is grey limestone, which is why the town is nicknamed the auld grey town, and its streets are threaded with narrow yards. Carlisle and Penrith sit on the red sandstone of the north and the Eden Valley, and Carlisle has a castle and cathedral at the heart of a city of Georgian and Victorian streets.

The west coast has its own character. Whitehaven is a planned port town with a grid of regular streets and many Georgian buildings near the harbour, while Cockermouth is a Georgian market town. Barrow in Furness grew in the Victorian period around shipbuilding, with rows of red sandstone and brick tenements and terraces built on a grid.

Between the towns are the farmhouses, barns and village cottages that the county is known for. Walls are often very thick, built of rubble stone, and traditionally finished with lime, sometimes limewashed or roughcast. Many barns have been converted to homes and holiday lets, which can mean new insulated walls set alongside old stone in the same room.

That blend of old stone and new board is the central question for any finish here. Old stone and lime walls need to breathe, and new plasterboard needs its joints reinforced and the right primer.

Finishes that suit Cumbrian properties

• Limewash for stone farmhouses and cottages, where it suits the thick walls and the lime tradition of the county.
• Marmorino for Georgian rooms in Whitehaven, Cockermouth, Kendal and Carlisle, giving a refined surface that still lets an old wall breathe.
• Polished plaster for the boarded walls of barn conversions and new homes, as long as the surface is flat.
• Tadelakt for holiday let bathrooms and wet rooms, since Venetian plaster is not what we would use inside a shower.

If you are weighing limewash against ordinary emulsion, our article on limewash and emulsion paint explains the difference.

How a Venetian plastering job in Cumbria runs

First we gather photos, rough measurements and the postcode. A survey follows, covering the substrate, flatness, cracks, damp, movement and how the room is used. Some Cumbrian walls will need damp dealt with before any decorative plaster goes near them, and we will tell you plainly if so.

Cumbria is a long way from Birmingham, so jobs here are planned in blocks of days. The team stays near the property, lays each coat in order and does not travel back and forth between coats. Dates are agreed once you have signed off the sample and the price, and the plaster is tinted to that sample before it leaves Birmingham.

Remote houses mean access matters, so tell us about narrow lanes, steps, and where materials can be stored. Heating matters too, because cold, damp rooms slow drying. Our Venetian plaster installation page sets out the full process, and the neighbouring Lake District page covers the national park.

Holiday lets, hotels and buying the materials

Cumbria has many hotels, inns and holiday lets, where a durable and good looking wall matters. Designers and architects can read how to specify a finish on our specification page. If your own builder or decorator will do the work, we send tinted materials tracked across the UK, and our Venetian plaster courses in Birmingham teach the craft. You can see every area we cover too.

Questions about Venetian plastering in Cumbria

Do you travel to Cumbria for Venetian plastering?

Yes. Our own applicators travel from Birmingham. Because the county is far from our base, the work is planned in blocks of days so each coat is laid in order.

Which finish suits a thick stone farmhouse wall?

A lime finish such as limewash or Marmorino is the natural match, because it is breathable. An acrylic look alike forms a film and can trap moisture in solid stone.

Can you plaster a converted barn?

Yes. We survey first, since converted barns often combine old rubble stone and new boarded walls. Each needs different preparation before the finish goes on.

Can I buy Venetian plaster for a holiday let in Cumbria?

Yes. We supply tinted materials by tracked delivery. For bathrooms and showers we would point you to tadelakt or microcement rather than Venetian plaster.

To discuss your property, call 07592 929191, Monday to Saturday, 9am to 6pm, or email sales@zavore.co.uk. A sample board is the place to start choosing a colour.