At Brian Franklin and Son, we are specialists in traditional lime work, using time-honoured techniques and materials to repair and conserve historic buildings. Lime is at the heart of our craft – it allows old structures to breathe, ensures compatibility with original masonry, and provides a sympathetic, durable finish that modern materials cannot match.
Our lime services cover four key areas: lime pointing, lime plastering, lime rendering and limecrete flooring. Each requires a specialist approach, careful attention to detail, and a deep understanding of the materials involved.
Lime Pointing
Pointing with lime is essential to the preservation of historic brick, flint, and stonework. We are experts in repointing using mortars that are colour- and texture-matched to the original. This includes blending local aggregates and limes to achieve sympathetic mixes that both look and perform like the original mortar.
We always avoid the use of hard cement-based mixes, ensuring the masonry is protected rather than damaged over time. Correct curing is also critical, and we take care to cover and dampen new mortars to prevent rapid drying.
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Lime Plastering
We undertake lime plastering on all substrates, with particular expertise in cob structures. Using traditional soft lime putty mixes, we replicate the original number of coats – from simple two-coat applications to the finest four-coat finishes.
Backing coats are strengthened with hair and coarse aggregates, while top coats are refined with finer aggregates or pure lime putty. This ensures not only a historically accurate finish but also one that performs properly for the building’s fabric.
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Lime Rendering
As lime render specialists, we work extensively with cob and brick walls, carrying out re-rendering with care and precision. This includes removing incompatible cement renders, repairing underlying structures, and applying new lime render in multiple coats.
Our finishes range from formal ashlar markings to the softer rounded profiles typical of vernacular cob cottages. Lime render can be left natural, lime-washed, or finished with modern breathable paints such as silicates, depending on the building’s needs.
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Limecrete Flooring
As limecrete flooring specialists, we install breathable floor systems suited to historic buildings, particularly where moisture management is critical. This often involves removing impermeable concrete slabs, preparing suitable sub-bases, and laying limecrete floors using carefully specified aggregates and binders.
Our work is tailored to the building, whether forming a simple, functional finish or preparing a base for flagstones, tiles, or other traditional surfaces. Limecrete floors help regulate moisture and work in harmony with older structures, reducing damp issues while maintaining the building’s overall performance and character.
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Why Choose Lime?
Lime has been used in building for centuries because it provides flexibility, breathability, and compatibility with traditional construction. Where cement can trap moisture and damage old walls, lime allows buildings to manage moisture naturally. Our team combines practical site experience with specialist conservation training to deliver lime work that not only looks right but ensures the long-term health of the building.
Explore our dedicated pages for Lime Pointing, Lime Plastering, Lime Rendering and Limecrete Flooring to learn more about each service and see examples of our work.