Limewash in Bath

Limewash in Bath is slaked lime thinned with water and brushed onto the wall. It is not paint. The lime soaks in and carbonates back to stone, leaving a soft, cloudy, matt surface. Zavoré sells genuine lime paint with tracked UK delivery, our own applicators will brush it on for you, and we are based in Birmingham, where our Academy is. Begin with a sample board and judge it when dry.

Solid stone walls that were built to breathe

Bath is a city of stone. Georgian terraces, Victorian villas and the cottages of Combe Down sit behind thick masonry walls finished inside in lime plaster. Those walls take in moisture and give it out again, and lime keeps that working. A sealed modern paint forms a film and can trap moisture behind it, which is when plaster blows and salts come through.

Lower ground floors and cellars show it clearly. Many Bath houses have a front basement area, and the walls below pavement level run damp in wet months. Limewash does not cure damp, and we say so. It lets a sound wall dry, and it is the right partner once the cause has been dealt with.

The usual problem is previous paint. Vinyl silk, oil paint and sealed skims leave lime nothing to grip, and it dusts off. If a wall has been painted in the last twenty years, assume it needs stripping back or a mineral primer. Wet a small patch and see whether it drinks the water or beads. New plasterboard additions in an old house need a mist coat first.

Where limewash works in a Bath house

Our limewash finishes suit surfaces that are mineral and absorbent.

• Bare lime plaster in hallways, landings and stair walls.
• Bedrooms and sitting rooms in stone cottages and terraces.
• Vaulted cellars, utility rooms and basement kitchens once dry.
• Garden walls, outbuildings and rendered back elevations, depending on the building and any listing.
• Walls in cafes, shops and boutique guest houses wanting a soft, matt background.

It is the wrong answer on a kitchen splashback, inside a shower, or on a wall handled every day, because it marks and is not washable. If you want one perfectly even colour with no movement, buy emulsion.

How a limewash job in Bath runs

We survey first. That covers what is on the wall, damp, movement, access and how the room is used, and we say plainly if it needs stripping or priming. Small questions can often be answered from photos. The sample board shows how limewash dries lighter than it looks wet, and keeps shifting as it cures.

Bath is some way from our Birmingham base, so we plan work in blocks of days. The team stays on the job, keeps a wet edge across long walls and lays each coat in order. Cold, damp rooms slow drying, so we plan around the weather and heating. Material is tinted to your approved sample before it ships. See the limewash installation page for more.

Buying lime paint or learning to use it

Limewash is the finish we are happiest to see people do themselves. It is brushed and forgiving, and a patchy first coat is fixed by a second. The shop sells it with tracked UK delivery, and trade accounts are on the trade page. Lime is caustic while wet, so wear gloves and goggles. For height, exteriors or a whole house, ask us. The limewash course runs at our centres in Birmingham, London and Manchester.

More finishes in Bath

For a chalky, closer grained wall look at clay plaster in Bath. Burnished lime is polished plaster in Bath and marmorino in Bath. Wet rooms suit tadelakt in Bath and microcement in Bath. Modern surfaces include concrete effect plaster in Bath and liquid metal in Bath. The whole range is under a decorative finishes specialist in Bath, and there is Venetian plastering in Bath.

Questions about limewash in Bath

Can limewash go over modern emulsion?

Not directly. Lime will not grip a film, so the paint must be stripped back or sealed with a mineral primer. A small test patch shows how the wall behaves.

Will limewash cure a damp basement wall?

No. It lets a sound wall breathe, but damp needs its cause found and fixed first. We say so at the survey.

Can I limewash the outside of a stone house?

It depends on the building and its listing. Bath stone is not normally limewashed, but render and outbuildings can be. Ask the conservation officer if listed.

Why does limewash look patchy while wet?

It dries pale and settles over days. The first coat can look like dirty water. Two or three thin coats build the soft cloud, so judge it dry.

To talk it through, call 07592 929191 (Monday to Saturday, 9am to 6pm) or email sales@zavore.co.uk with photos, rough measurements and the postcode. The sample board is the place to start.