Most 'failed' plaster doesn't need replacing
The default trade answer to old plaster problems is to strip the wall and start again. It is usually the wrong answer. Lime plaster and render are designed to be repairable: cracks can be stitched and filled with compatible material, hollow patches cut out and pieced in, powdery surfaces consolidated, and detached areas re-adhered. Repair keeps original fabric, costs less disruption, and avoids the classic mistake of replacing breathable lime with modern gypsum that fails within a few winters.
What we repair
- Cracked lime plaster — from hairline crazing to structural movement cracks, diagnosed before they are filled
- Blown and hollow plaster — cut back to sound edges and pieced in with matching lime coats
- Water-damaged plaster and render after leaks, floods or failed gutters
- Salt-contaminated plaster around chimneys and at low level
- Failing external render — patch repairs that key into the existing coats and match the finish
- Previous bad repairs — gypsum, cement and filler patches removed and made good in lime
Diagnosis before repair
A crack is a symptom. Before we fill anything we ask why it happened: building movement, a failed lintel, moisture cycling behind an impermeable paint, vibration, or simply age. Repairs made without the diagnosis come back within a year or two — the same crack through the new filler. Where the cause is moisture, we trace it; where it is movement, we say whether it has finished; and where the plaster is simply old and tired, we tell you honestly how much life a repair will buy.
Matching the original finish
A good repair disappears. We match the mix to the original coats — binder, aggregate, hair — and the surface to its surroundings: polished, floated, or softly undulating on old walls. External patch repairs are worked into the surrounding render and finished so that after a coat of limewash the join is gone. Repairs in modern gypsum or cement filler never achieve this; they telegraph through paint and fail at the edges.
Where we work
Plaster and render repairs across South Wales and the West — Newport, Cardiff, Monmouthshire, Abergavenny, Hereford, Gloucester, Bristol and Swansea. Small repairs are usually batched by area, so tell us where you are and we will slot you into the right visit.