Limewashed Beams

[Geoffrey]

Was just wondering if anybody had tried this or had opinions on it. I saw some magazine pictures where oak beams had been lightened with limewash. It looks quite nice and lightens their impact somewhat. Ours are (like many others) stained a nasty dark brown - would this need to be stripped before limewashing? - probably would I suppose. And does limewash in any way harm oak?

On a completely different tack, we just had a soakaway dug for new drainage around my studio (old cow shed) and found that the old cobbled yard behind our house is well and intact about 2 feet underneath the lawn.
I daresay the tree roots have damaged it in places but it does make me wonder when the garden was created. The cowshed or stable (?) I use for work is dated 1895 and built at a level much closer to the current ground level.

Nice to have a little time free to be back here.

 

[Anne]

You wouldn't need to strip the beams unless they are painted, if it's stain then it would work to limewash them. I'll recommend going over the beams first with steelwool that is 0000 grade this won't hurt them at all. Then take your limewash and dilute it with water so that you've got one part limewash and one part water. Then get a spare peice of wood and practice till your happy. If you use limewash that's not diluted it will look like flat paint on the beams if you want to see the grain through you need to dilute it. I haven't done this one beams myself but I've done it on floorboards and it worked great.

For what it's worth it is historically correct to limewash beams and was used in the past to help prevent infestation of woodworm and deathwatch.

 

[middi]

There is no harm at all in limewashing oak beams, just lightly brush first.

You may need more than one coat and if the existing "paint" is of a bitumenous nature it may dull the effect.

Of course it woul be nice to remove the existing paint first.

As to the stones, who knows, could be of any period in time.

 

[Flyfisher]

I'll recommend going over the beams first with steelwool that is 0000 grade this won't hurt them at all.

Is there a risk that fine pieces of the steelwool would become embedded in the wood? This may not be a risk to the wood itself but would it cause local patches of discolouration when the limewash is applied and the steelwool begins to rust?

 

[andrew gayton]

you would need to remove any 'modern' coating. limewash and linssed oil is applied, left to dry then brushed off to allow the grain to 'grin' through..... if you do not brush off, it will flake off! look at the recent work at the guildhall lavenham, suffolk.

 

[Gervase]

Don't use steel wool or a steel brush for the final treatment, as you'll get dark flecks - use a brass brush for the final 'going over'. The sort used for cleaning suede shoes are handy.
If you're using lime with new oak, don't be frightened if it turns blood-red as son as you apply the lime - it's a natural reaction with the tannin in the oak and will fade after a day or so.

 

[Nemesis]

Before:

Now:

 

[andrew gayton]

thanks e! x

 

[Nemesis]

Bottom pic courtesy of the National Trust...


http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-vh/w-visits/w-findaplace/w-lavenham/


which I am sure won't mind it being used in a good cause.