The most abused period material?

[Nigel Watts]

Each day my exterior paint stripping is revealing more of the "Roman Cement" stucco on my 1840 London townhouse. The original surface, where it is in good shape, is surprisingly beautiful, especially where there are traces of the earliest pigments, but the amount of abuse is shocking. Patchings up with cement render, pollyfilla, the insertion of steel fittings which when rusted have blown a large area around them to name just a few. On the side of my house there is probably little that can be rescued of the original six feet from ground level. If the house had been faced with stone I cant believe it would have treated with the same level of contempt. Is this because Victorian and modernist moralists dismissed stucco as being fake and a poor substitute for stone?

A fightback is needed. First we need to show that stucco can be beautiful and should not be hidden behind bland, uniform modern gloss or emulsion. A limewash in earth pigments to give the appearance of weathered Bath stone perhaps?

Then we need to encourage people to restore and look after their stucco appropriately. My next door neighbour on the detatched side - an intelligent senior Guardian journalist - tried sand blasting theirs several years ago. The result was so disasterous that most of the facade had to be replastered. This was done in cement with a poor level of finish. It is quite shocking that this kind of abuse should be allowed, though I have no doubt it was the result of ignorance rather than any malicious intent. Another neighbour took the entire stucco facade off and replaced it. The replacement in this case was done in lime and with great care and skill, but then painted Brilliant White. It may have been necessary to replaster given the condition of the building but I would be surprised if all the original stucco had been beyond repair. All these buildings are Grade II.

I contacted Islington Council's conservation department before starting my paint stripping and repair work to ask if I needed permission and if they had any advice. They appeared surprisingly relaxed and had no guidance to give. I got the impression that they dont think this is particularly important.

 

[LadyArowana]

I contacted Islington Council's conservation department before starting my paint stripping and repair work to ask if I needed permission and if they had any advice. They appeared surprisingly relaxed and had no guidance to give. I got the impression that they dont think this is particularly important.

They probably wonder how long they will be employed, and that may be affecting their judgement.

 

[Flyfisher]

A fightback is needed. First we need to show that stucco can be beautiful and should not be hidden behind bland, uniform modern gloss or emulsion. A limewash in earth pigments to give the appearance of weathered Bath stone perhaps?

I'm sure that economics play a large part in all this. While I have little doubt that a limewash with earth pigments would look delightful, in these days of high labour costs I suspect it is simply not sufficiently durable. I seriously doubt that people have an innate preference for modern paints over limewash as such, they just consider the costs.

A couple of hundred years ago, limewash was (more or less) the only option for a painted finish. Today, there are many options. We should think about why these modern options seem to have almost completely displaced limewash. It can't be as simple as the cost of the paint because, as we all know, limewash is the cheapest of the lot.

 

[JoceAndChris]

Most of my London friends have never even heard of limewash. If they were to, I'm sure they'd be initially interested until the horrid realisation that to use it necessitates stripping off past finishes, not something that Londoners, or indeed many people, have time or inclination for in general.

But Nigel, your poor house. I know you'll make it look glorious again - and the Bath stone colour idea is lovely, I'll be copying you.

 

[Nigel Watts]

I'm sure that economics play a large part in all this. While I have little doubt that a limewash with earth pigments would look delightful, in these days of high labour costs I suspect it is simply not sufficiently durable.

When Islington was a slum and the air was thick with soot, which was not so long ago, economics may well have loomed large but with most houses in our road now worth well in excess of £1m, and bankers and city lawyers steadily replacing the champagne socialists, I doubt this is the case today. Tall four storey houses such as ours need to be scaffolded every five years or so to paint the window frames; a quick refresh of the limewash at the same time is loose change.

However as Joce so rightly observes, cost may well be a factor when considering whether to restore the stucco to its former glory. As I am discovering, this is a very onerous process.

I was encouraged recently when I saw the paint being stripped from the stucco of a large house in a nearby street, but thoroughly disappointed when it was then smothered in Brilliant White Dulux gloss. Even when money is not a constraint, people are so programmed into thinking that the stucco on London townhouses has to be painted white or cream they don't realise that there is an alternative. That's why we need some trailblazers.

 

[Moo]

If we had a front garden (and infinite funds) I'm sure we'd be tempted to strip our (rendered) house of its paint and give it a good going-over with limewash.
But our front door opens straight on to the pavement, and we are on a fairly major traffic route, so I reckon the house would look pretty manky if we were to leave it for five years between coats* (not to mention complaints from passers-by when it rubbed off on their clothes!).
There are some pretty ancient houses in the city centre, but I doubt whether any of them have seen limewash for a century or so either. I rely on Gareth to confirm or deny this!



*We, too, have to use scaffolding to reach the windows.

 

[Juju]

Moo - we're straight on to a busy street and I was thinking if we ever had the money, we'd redo our render and limewash it. I'm worried now about what you've said... I suppose you can't pressure wash limewash so as you say, it would look manky and dirty quite quickly. Mind you, it would still look better than the hideous cement pebbledash stuff we have at present.
Juju

 

[JoceAndChris]

No paintwork is clean after 5 years though. :?

 

[Flyfisher]

When Islington was a slum and the air was thick with soot, which was not so long ago, economics may well have loomed large but with most houses in our road now worth well in excess of £1m, and bankers and city lawyers steadily replacing the champagne socialists, I doubt this is the case today. Tall four storey houses such as ours need to be scaffolded every five years or so to paint the window frames; a quick refresh of the limewash at the same time is loose change.

Fair point about the new money moving in. Perhaps the majority of such people just get someone in to 'paint the house' and are quite happy with the result? Is scaffolding really needed for all the windows or can they sometimes be painted from the inside by leaning outside?

I'm not arguing against limewashing, by the way, just trying to understand its apparent lack of popularity. Anyway, good luck with your trailiblazing example - let's hope you can set a new trend that will catch on!

 

[Flyfisher]

No paintwork is clean after 5 years though. :?

Very true. I've always liked brick houses and I'm sure reduced maintenance is one of the reasons, but we've ended up with a rendered house nevertheless. I'd far rather have had somewhere like Oxburgh Hall and not have to worry about any exterior paintwork. :lol: