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the cottage is built of stone and cob with lime and earth plasters that had been patched with gypsum, cement and lime at different periods. There are sections that have limewash on cob with lime plaster on top of that … Continue reading →

This little room had lime washed lime plaster walls, many patches were crumbling away and the limewash was flaking off but overall the plaster was sound. I decided to keep as much as possible and carry out conservative repairs.

I had the opportunity to repair a shell grotto. The ceiling had collapsed in places due to a leaky roof so after the roof was repaired I got to work fixing new lath armatures for the missing stalactites. All the … Continue reading →

Having spent time wondering what sort of trowels might have been used in antiquity, not having seen any in any of the many museums that I have been in, I simply reasoned that some might have been made from copper … Continue reading →

Not all sheds need be built of timber, not all sheds need be clad with timber. I decided to build a shed from old pallets and I decided to render it with cob – earth, stones and straw – so … Continue reading →

This cottage had a cement render which was cracking. It turned out that it had been applied over thick to the cob without any attempt to anchor it to the dusty surface of the cob so that it was just … Continue reading →

For some reason felt floats are not widely used. They are difficult to find so I thought I would make my own. I find it really useful for smoothing mortars with a high lime content. Being felt it grips the … Continue reading →

the difficulty with this ceiling was that the floor joists were so bent in the middle the new ceiling could not be made flat – the two alcoves governing the level of the ceiling edge. But by carefully compromising and … Continue reading →