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Where Artistry Begins
Limewash, Marmorino and polished plaster for historic houses and new builds in and around Ely, laid by applicators who travel from our Birmingham base.
Zavoré offers Venetian plastering in Ely and the surrounding Fen villages, with our own applicators travelling from our Birmingham base to lay each finish by hand. We work in lime based Venetian plaster, Marmorino, limewash, clay plaster, tadelakt and microcement. A sample board is the easiest place to start, or you can send photos of your rooms to sales@zavore.co.uk.
Ely is far enough from Birmingham that we plan the work in blocks of days, so once we arrive the applicators see each coat through in order.
Ely sits on its isle of higher ground above the flat Fens, and the cathedral, with its central Octagon, stands out across them. Around the cathedral and the Market Place, the old city is a close mix of medieval, timber framed and Georgian houses, many of them listed and inside the conservation area. Oliver Cromwell's House, the timber framed home he lived in here, gives a sense of how old some of these walls are.
Much of the later town is built of the pale yellow gault brick common across the Fens, from Victorian terraces near the station to houses running down Fore Hill towards the river. Along the Great Ouse, old maltings and warehouses have found new uses, and riverside flats have joined them.
On the edges of the city, and in neighbouring places such as Littleport and Soham, large new estates have been built in recent years, so a modern Ely home is as likely to have plasterboard walls as old brick.
Those two worlds call for different preparation. Old walls in the historic centre want breathable lime and a light touch. New homes want their board joints and primer right before any polish.
If your house is listed, it is worth checking with the council's conservation officer before changing wall finishes, and a breathable lime system is the natural starting point for older fabric.
Photos come first, with rough measurements and your postcode, and we may answer the simpler questions from those. A survey follows before we price, covering the wall's make up, flatness, cracks, damp and movement, as well as how the room is used, access and protection. Old houses sometimes have layers of paint or a damp patch to deal with first, and we will explain that plainly.
When you approve the sample and the price, we agree dates. The material is tinted to your sample before it leaves Birmingham, and the work is booked as a block of days. Please have other trades finished and new plaster dry, and keep the heating on gently through the job, since cold, damp rooms slow drying. Streets around the cathedral are narrow and parking in the centre is limited, so tell us early where we can unload.
The Venetian plaster installation page has more on how the finish is laid, and our installations page lists the other finishes.
If you have a decorator ready to do the work, we can tint the plaster, primers and wax to your colour and send them by tracked delivery to Ely. Decorators can learn the finish on our Birmingham courses, with trade accounts for regular orders.
For more reading, try lime or acrylic Venetian plaster and limewash or emulsion. Our Cambridge page covers the city to the south, and you can see every area we cover.
Yes. Our own applicators come from Birmingham, and Ely jobs are planned as a block of days once the sample and price are approved.
A breathable lime finish such as limewash or Marmorino. Older solid walls need to breathe, and acrylic look alikes form a film instead.
Yes. The plasterboard joints are reinforced and primed first, and the walls must be flat because a polished finish shows every dip.
Yes. Littleport, Soham and the surrounding Fen villages are planned in the same way, with a survey first and the work booked as a block of days.
Ring 07592 929191 between 9am and 6pm, Monday to Saturday, or email sales@zavore.co.uk with photos, measurements and your postcode. A sample board will show you the colour on your own walls.
Order a sample board tinted to your colour, or send photos and rough measurements of the walls in Ely 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.
Venetian plastering nearby in Peterborough, Cambridge, Norwich and Essex. See every area we cover.
Want to lay it yourself? Read about Venetian plastering training for Ely, or see every course at the Zavoré Training Academy.
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.
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