Georgian House Repairs London

We have been specialising in the repair and renovation of Georgian houses in London and the South East for more than fifteen years. From the grand houses of Fitzroy Square to the humble houses of Bermondsey we have carried out lime mortar repairs to brickwork and plastering. We have created cupboards and fire surrounds to match existing. If you look at Crosby row in the gallery virtually all you see was done by us.

Why Lime Mortar

Lime mortar is the very reason we still have some of our wonderful historic houses. As foundations have moved the soft lime mortar has allowed the bricks to slide rather than break. Walls bend and remain tied together. If we can use a soft lime mortar for our repairs to brickwork we will continue to preserve our heritage. Whether we use a lime putty or NHL lime mortar will depend on the job. Where we need a faster initial set for structural work NHL lime mortar is better.

Lime Mortar and Wood

I remember once while fitting a new sash window we had to remove a fixing block cut it and reset it because it obstructed the new window. The block had been in the wall surrounded by lime mortar for hundreds of years but when cut the smell of pine was so powerful you would think it had just been felled, the exposed grain shimmering. On the other hand we have come across an oak beam nine inches square that was in a wall rendered with cement. The end in the wall had rotted away. We had to build in a stone corbel to increase the bearing of the beam. When cement locks in the moisture it’s bad for everything.

Cement

Where cement is used instead of lime mortar the consequences can be dire for historic houses. Lime mortar aids evaporation and dries out brickwork whereas cement locks it in. In winter this can start a process where water gets behind cement pointing or render and freezes damaging brick faces and allowing more water ingress and more freezing.