12/06/2026
A good first few days over in West Lancs as we began pre-mixing our mortars, removing cement scratch coats and preparing the property for re-rendering.
All mortars are being mixed on site using dry slaking methods. The arches will be re-pointed, whilst the plinth detailing below will be exposed pointed brickwork.
Thereās a fair amount of prep work involved before any rendering starts, including structural repairs, remedial masonry work, cement removal, primer removal and the installation of additional air bricks. The front elevation and right-hand gable will receive a floated lime render finish followed by limewash, whilst the left-hand gable will be finished with a harl/shelter coat only as a cost-saving measure.
Itās saddening looking a few doors down and seeing similar detailing throughout neighbouring properties, knowing these buildings were originally designed as exposed brick with decorative detailing. Later cement additions have absolutely ruined the buildingās ability to function properly, alongside leaking chimneys, plastic paints and some bizarre roofing details. If there was a way to get a traditional building wrong, itās pretty much all been done here.
As this is an early cavity wall, maximum breathability isnāt necessarily the main priority. Instead, the focus is on achieving flexibility, controlled capillarity and a system capable of shedding moisture effectively without overloading the cavity. Itās about compatibility with the way these buildings were originally intended to manage moisture, rather than blindly chasing moisture movement at all costs.
_edwards will be taking over on the videos for the next couple of weeks, so stay tuned as weāve got a number of projects running across the North West š