Limewash
The wall repaired in 2009 was limewashed the following spring with a colour made up to our specification by Ted Ingleby, the well known traditional paint manufacturer of Glemsford, Suffolk, which he called Rodgers Flint. We asked him to match the very attractive colour of the render itself, which came from the sand we used. (We took it to him painted onto a flint). The recipe is on his file and we have continued to order it.
There turned out to be a bit of controversy over grades of limewash – one for the those into the detail of repairing old buildings. Ted is very keen on an ancient Suffolk recipe using tallow, which he markets for outdoor use. It can cover a wall effectively in three coats rather than five and is very waterproof, and has considerably better coverage and durability than some other versions of limewash. But various books we consulted advised against tallow as not breathable enough, and suggested linseed oil was better, or even plain limewash in sheltered positions. Three of our walls are very sheltered.
We decided to add new coats the following year, 2011, using Ted Ingleby’s interior limewash, with linseed oil, on the outside. This has kept its full colour and has not deteriorated after two years. We also use his special pozzilime mix for non porous surfaces, which has tiny glass spheres in the mix, to paint the old cement render. This old render is to be removed, but not yet.
Inside the house, all the panels and the exposed brick footings on the ground floor were painted with an off-white Ingleby limewash, containing linseed oil. (The colour was called ‘half tint’).
saving The Old Brewhouse 