Decorating with Limewash

Our (my) intention was always to have internal plaster which was fit to be limewashed.  At that early stage I had not researched exactly what was involved; this has only become apparent recently when I realised that I just had to get on with choosing materials and some colours as (obviously) we want most of the decoration done before we move in - and that isn't very long!

Before I start talking about limewash, I have remembered that there was another matter mentioned in my deleted blog entry which deserves repetition: the electricity supply company came at last and sorted the array of cables to the pair of houses!  This is worthy of mention because the front of the house looks so much better, and I want to pass on my grateful thanks to Elaine at the Southern Electric call centre for taking ownership of this issue which had been outstanding since early January.  This is how the house looks now, without loose cables:

Other tasks are moving on gently, with increasing urgency.  The bath is in place and I am now tiling the bathroom so that the plumbers can install the basin and loo.  The floorboards are all back in place, and I am working sporadically on the skirting, as well as starting to sand the woodwork.  Unfortunately the doors all seem to be done in some sort of shellac (I think) which clogs sandpaper in 20 seconds; I eventually found that it comes off as a nasty hot goo with a heat gun and scraper, after which it can be sanded.  If you think that sounds laborious, it is!  I have also found a contractor to install our dropped kerb, for which I now have permission.  This should get done in a couple of weeks, and then he'll prepare the driveway as well.

Back to limewash: having worked for so long on the plaster, the last part of the process almost took me by surprise when I realised that it was time to choose some colours for all the walls.  We bought a lot of sample pots which were tested on inconspicuous places like the wall behind yet-to-be-fitted kitchen cupboards.  My first impressions were that this wasn't going to work, as it looked awful when I was applying the first coat.  It improved considerably when it dried, which encouraged me to apply a second coat the next day.  This looked even more awful when wet, but as it dried the full depth of colour started to appear, and I knew we had a winner (even before applying the third coat).  TOP TIP- when testing limewash colours, leave a bit of the area with just one coat, so that you have something to compare to (and you can be impressed!).

We then had more long discussions on the colours, with plenty of mind-changing - some colours did not work at all, and others were used in alternative places after being deemed unsuitable where we planned them.  Finally, I bit the bullet and ordered my limewash from Mike Wye which duly arrived two days later (with the final load of mortar and plaster for the kitchen wall).  Limewash comes in 10 litre or 20 litre containers, and my calculations showed that I needed more than 10 litres of each colour, so I had to order it in 20 litre containers.  Sadly, no-one else was present so I had to unload the entire one ton pallet (five 20 litre containers as well as 34 ten litre tubs of mortar/plaster) by myself.  TOP TIP - plan deliveries for when you have a helpful contractor present!

Applying limewash is an interesting experience.  It's not really like any sort of paint that I had previously encountered, being a suspension of lime putty, water and pigment; limewash settles out VERY quickly so an essential tool is a mixing paddle to attach to a drill.  It must be well mixed before use, and you even have to be careful that it doesn't separate while you are using it.  Also, you mustn't overbrush it; if you do, it goes all stiff and basically gives you a build-up of lime putty and hence the patchy finish which I had observed with my samples.  So, after a quick visit to my local DIY store for a paddle, I decided to make a start and do the first coat of yellow in the hall; Jane was coming down on Friday at lunchtime and so I was able to do most of the stairs and landing as well before she arrived.  She then spent the afternoon doing the lounge (in pale green), and Phil the Spread spent the same time doing both back bedrooms - one in a different yellow and the other in mint green (this has a yellow tinge which should mask the occasional yellow stains of old dampness in the plaster).

This week the limewash was applied by myself, Phil and Jaye in every spare minute.  I also tackled the ceilings which have been done in a matt white breathable (NOT vinyl etc) emulsion.  The Regency plaster looked white until I painted it!

We managed two major errors: firstly we bought everything in 20 litre tubs.  This was because we were told that a litre covered between 3 and 6 square metres depending on the porosity.  At the last count we seemed to be covering over 12 square metres with every litre, probably because the surface plaster is so fine; the result is that I have lots of unused limewash!  Secondly we bought a colour which we then decided that we didn't like, so I have almost 20 litres of that going spare.

We are delighted with the results.  Photos do not do it justice.