Great discussion PP and JandC. There is clear evidence in many places on our house that the original external finish was limewashed - you can still find a lot of it, especially on the North gable which will have been relatively sheltered from the prevailing weather and therefore the limewash has, to some extent, survived. However, there are several other reasons why we will limewash the brickwork, despite reinstating arches:
The old soft brick is in many places covered with a slight bloom of cement which we can never fully remove without damaging the faces of the brick (and/or spending a lot more money which we don't have). Therefore this brickwork just isn't very attractive if left naked.
The brickwork is very variable in appearance, condition, colour and general aesthetic appearance which, though some may call it character was never the intended finish I believe. Therefore limewash will give the brickwork a more uniform look (and was very likely the original finish).
While we are reinstating arches which will be lime washed they will still be clearly visible and complement the new windows, whereas the hard 1990's brick laid over the steel lintels would have been hideous (limewashed or not).
Limewash IS NOT paint!! It will have a beautiful natural flat, matt finish which will change in appearance when rain falls on it and it dries out, giving a very characterful look to the building.
Our house is 750 feet up in the Shropshire Hills and gets a hammering from SWesterley wind and rain for a lot of the year. The limewash will therefore offer a degree of protection and we plan to use hydraulic limewash which is more durable than normal limewash.
Having said all of this we were now seriously considering leaving the big stone wall naked as its a beautiful old wall and looks so good now that its been repaired. We'll be talking to our a architect about this.
Thanks so much for all the interest in our project, its rewarding to know that what we are dfoing is of interest to others.
The old soft brick is in many places covered with a slight bloom of cement which we can never fully remove without damaging the faces of the brick (and/or spending a lot more money which we don't have). Therefore this brickwork just isn't very attractive if left naked.
The brickwork is very variable in appearance, condition, colour and general aesthetic appearance which, though some may call it character was never the intended finish I believe. Therefore limewash will give the brickwork a more uniform look (and was very likely the original finish).
While we are reinstating arches which will be lime washed they will still be clearly visible and complement the new windows, whereas the hard 1990's brick laid over the steel lintels would have been hideous (limewashed or not).
Limewash IS NOT paint!! It will have a beautiful natural flat, matt finish which will change in appearance when rain falls on it and it dries out, giving a very characterful look to the building.
Our house is 750 feet up in the Shropshire Hills and gets a hammering from SWesterley wind and rain for a lot of the year. The limewash will therefore offer a degree of protection and we plan to use hydraulic limewash which is more durable than normal limewash.
Having said all of this we were now seriously considering leaving the big stone wall naked as its a beautiful old wall and looks so good now that its been repaired. We'll be talking to our a architect about this.
Thanks so much for all the interest in our project, its rewarding to know that what we are dfoing is of interest to others.
) its certain he's a smaller firm.