Traditional Limewash Breathable Coating

Janerol can now provide a quality Limewash for both interior and exterior use.

LIMEWASH

What is limewash?

Limewash, colour wash, whitewash, similar names for limewash, traditionally and today, the coating applied over lime plaster/render, wattle and daub and clay lump surfaces.  This allows the building to continue to breathe, allowing vapour /moisture to pass out of the structure.  So what was the importance of limewash apart from its ‘breathability’?  Renders, daubs and clay are all by nature coloured, either from itself or sand used with lime, so to wash over the surface with limewash would cover up various colour shadings and a drab appearance.

Most early limewash would be white as colours would be for the rich or the more ambitious.  Other than the aesthetic aspect, most families had their own recipes for a basic limewash i.e. lime putty thinned with water to a consistency like milk or even thinner.  This was the simplest whitewash and would set and harden rapidly compared to the render, offering some protection to the  surface from rain .  Additives ran from Tallow (fat), oil, salt, urine, copperas and casein to  mention but a few and these could be used in many combinations.

Why use limewash and not paint?

Limewash is not paint, but should be considered as a thin render with colour or without colour.  Lime render is much softer than cementatious renders and breathes readily to allow vapour passage.  Modern paints tend to be too strong and will pull the surface off the plaster and paint flaking can ensue.  Add to the main fact that the breathability of paints varies greatly and detracts from the vapour movement required in old and historic buildings, keeping wet out and allowing the damp to escape.

What colours are available in limewash?

Having moved on through the years we have today a wide range of pigments and a huge range of paints for modern houses, these modern paints have almost destroyed our historic buildings over the last 50-60 years.  However, the last 10 years has seen great strides made to redress the situation.  A greater understanding has developed both professionally and with home owners and manufacturers.

The demand for limewash has increased in popularity and its ‘life span’ has become known as better than paint.  Many owners look for limewash for modern houses  as a vibrant natural finish, albeit the vogue. This has placed greater demand for more limewash colours and deeper colours.