Clay plaster in Exeter

Clay plaster in Exeter is the soft, matt, faintly mottled wall finish sold elsewhere as roman clay. Zavoré is based in Birmingham, where the Academy is. What we sell is the roman clay look in lime, not clay, and our own applicators lay it across the UK. It suits quiet rooms in Exeter's older houses and calm new builds alike. Start with a sample board and live with it for a few days.

Quiet walls for Exeter living

Roman clay is a shelf name more than a material. The look is chalky, low sheen, with colour drifting gently across the wall. In Italy it is made with lime, and that is what we supply, in two forms. Intonachino carries a fine grain and reads a little like stone dust. Stucco suede is smoother, like brushed fabric.

Exeter has plenty of rooms that want this. Terraces in Heavitree and St James, with bedrooms and living rooms that have had a lot of magnolia, are a good example. Interwar semis in Whipton and Wonford suit a gentle wall. Newer flats at Newcourt and Monkerton often have large plain areas that look flat and cold, and a clay plaster look warms them.

Because it is lime, it breathes, which suits solid old walls. True clay plasters stay water soluble, and ours do not. It is not for inside a shower, nor directly behind a hob, nor on damp walls until the damp is solved.

Where clay plaster works in Exeter homes

Our clay plaster suits these places.

• Bedrooms and living rooms in Victorian and interwar houses.
• Open plan spaces in extensions where one tone has to carry.
• Newly plastered walls in new build flats, once primed.
• Cafes and hotel rooms where quiet texture helps.

If your reference picture is really a chalky, colour washed wall with brush movement, lime paint is far less work. Send us the image and we will say which it is.

How a clay plaster job in Exeter runs

We survey first. That covers the substrate, flatness, cracks, damp, movement, access and how the room is used. Small questions can often be answered from photos first. We say plainly if a wall needs skimming, stripping or a damp problem fixing first.

The finish goes on over a primed wall in two thin coats with a stainless trowel, the second worked while it is open. Colour is agreed on the sample and tinted before shipping. Exeter is some way from Birmingham, so the work is planned in blocks of days, with our team staying on the job so each coat goes on in order. Dates are agreed once the sample and price are signed off. See the clay plaster installation page.

Laying it yourself

This is the friendliest of our finishes to lay yourself. There is no burnishing to get wrong, and the material is patient. What catches people out is holding the mottle across a big wall and cutting a clean line at the ceiling. Buy through the shop, or ask about a trade account. The clay plaster course covers it at our centres.

More finishes in Exeter

Alongside it, limewash in Exeter is lighter and brushed, and marmorino in Exeter is harder and more stone like. Shinier choices are polished plaster in Exeter and liquid metal in Exeter. Wet rooms use tadelakt in Exeter or microcement in Exeter, while concrete effect plaster in Exeter gives cool grey. See Venetian plastering in Exeter and decorative finishes specialist in Exeter.

Questions about clay plaster in Exeter

Is this real clay?

No. What we sell is the roman clay look in fine Italian lime plaster. Lime hardens and takes a wipe, where unstabilised clay goes back to mud under a wet cloth.

Will clay plaster go on a new build wall in Exeter?

Yes, on a sound wall that has been primed. Plasterboard needs its joints reinforced first.

Can I use clay plaster in a kitchen?

On walls away from the hob, yes. Grease finds the texture, so keep it off the wall directly behind the cooker.

Which should I pick, intonachino or stucco suede?

Intonachino has more grain and catches the light. Stucco suede is finer and quieter. The sample board helps you decide.

Tell us about the rooms and send a photo of the look you like. Call 07592 929191 (Monday to Saturday, 9am to 6pm) or email sales@zavore.co.uk with photos, rough measurements and the postcode. You can also order a sample board and start from there.