Listed below you will find some of the projects for this year...
From repointing flint plinths to rebuilding walls, the beauty of revealing hidden stonework to working around Housemartins nesting. It's a demanding and filthy job, but wonderful when you see a client's face at the end.
Here the wall is being stripped of old lime render and concrete render.
Removal of the concrete render proved difficult as in places the concrete was over 4 inches thick and there were two layers of chicken wire. Also, 6 inch nails had been used to hold the wire in place, these had blown and were pulling the wall apart when removed.
Finished view.
Here the wall is being stripped of old lime render and concrete render.
Listed cob house in Enford.
The owners had recently purchased this old cob house. The rear of the building needed stripping, partial rebuild due to the damage caused by cement and wire repairs over the years. Using local materials, chalk bricks and lime mortars the wall once again became a breathable structure. The whole house was then repainted with Earthborn Silicate Masonary paint on the new wall and the remainder in Mapei Silancolor.
The original render had fallen away due to bad frosts. The remaining concrete render was removed revealing the original building in the middle with two extensions either side. Both ends were in poor condition and needed rebuilding.
Here you can see the poor condition of the end of the building where bricks had been removed. The cob behind the bricks had collapsed and needed rebuilding once the rats nest had been removed.
Once the wall had dried an Earthborn Silicate Primer was applied, followed by two coats of Earthborn Silicate Masonry paint in chalk.
The original render had fallen away due to bad frosts. The remaining concrete render was removed revealing the original building in the middle with two extensions either side. Both ends were in poor condition and needed rebuilding.
Lime and cob repair to rear of a barn in Enford.
This barn had suffered over the years with concrete repairs that eventually came off in large chunks with the frosts early this year. The wall was stripped, the French drain cleared and the ends of the barn rebuilt using chalk bricks, flint and lime mortars. A three coat lime mortar was applied before the barn was painted in Earthborn Silicate Masonary paint in chalk. I stored my tools and materials in the front of the barn and watched Housemartins raise chicks over the period I was there, often getting within a few feet of the fledgelings. They didn't seem to mind at all.
The downstairs wall where the chimney on the left is suffered from partial collapse and was in need of repair. The room above also had similar problems with plaster coming away from the walls.
You can see the damage to the wall on the right of the chimney. The crack and area below it was nearly 8 inches deep and went up behind an overhang of cob. This was repaired over a few days, allowing sections to dry, before I felt it was strong enough to support the wall above.
Part of the original exterior wall was painted, hiding a stone and flint wall. This wall is now inside due to an extension. I removed part of the paint and repointed and finished with a churn brush. I then applied an Earthborn Silicate Primer to the mortar.
The downstairs wall where the chimney on the left is suffered from partial collapse and was in need of repair. The room above also had similar problems with plaster coming away from the walls.
Internal repairs to a house in Homanton.
The sitting room wall had blown and was in serious need of repair. When the wallpaper was removed part of the wall collapsed and reeded rebuilding. Using lime mortar and flint the wall to the right of the chimney was rebuilt over a period of time. The wall was then replastered in lime and allowed to dry. Upstairs part of a wall had fallen away when a radiator was removed. This was stabalised and repaired. The images also show part of a downstairs painted wall, this was originally an exterior wall. I removed some of the paint and repointed and left the wall open to view. Beautiful.