If you own a heritage property, leave the paint and finish selection to reputable painters and decorators in Cambridge. They will ensure your property is rejuvenated using breathable traditional finishes such as silicate, limewash, or clay-based paints.
Avoid taking a DIY approach or hiring a team without proven experience working on heritage properties.
Why can a heritage property not be renovated using modern materials?
Modern paints will seal the surfaces of your heritage property, trap moisture within its ancient masonry and in the near future, leave your classic home with persistent and expensive issues like catastrophic dampness, structural rot, and peeling.
The Issues With Owning Heritage Homes
It is a source of pride to own a heritage home. However, in addition to being beautiful, period properties are also quite vulnerable.
Modern buildings stand tall for decades by sealing out the elements, whereas heritage properties stand the test of time by remaining porous to regulate moisture content.
Heritage property ownership raises several issues, outlined below.
The Hidden Risks Of Lime Plaster And Dampness
Most historic properties were built using porous building materials, such as soft red brick, lime mortar, and internal lime-based plaster. When a heritage home gets soaked by rain, the property’s walls, by design, absorb the extra moisture.
When the rain stops and the weather dries out, the heritage property slowly releases the moisture it had absorbed back into the atmosphere.
If you make the mistake of rejuvenating the heritage property with modern paint that leaves a plastic-like finish after curing, the moisture your heritage property soaks during a downpour or from the atmosphere in general gets trapped. And when that trapped moisture expands, ancient masonry will start spalling, timberwork will rot, and traditional plaster will peel from heritage walls.
Shifting Foundations And Flexible Finishes
Heritage homes, in addition to being sensitive to modern building materials, are also quite dynamic.
For context, unlike modern structures that are quite rigid, heritage properties, due to the unique materials they are built from, expand, contract, and shift with the changing seasons.
This is why a traditional property cannot have a rigid exterior aesthetic surface, which can be quite brittle and crack as the heritage surfaces move with the changing weather patterns.
For the best results, a traditional home or commercial property should be rejuvenated only with traditional finishes, as they are inherently flexible and help keep issues like premature peeling at bay.
What Are The Best Paints For Period Properties?
According to the professional opinion of a revered painter-decorator in Cambridge, the following are ideal paints for classic properties.
Limewash
The best option to breathe new life into the ancient masonry and overall facade of a heritage property, while complementing traditional lime render by forming a chemical bond with the surfaces. After curing, limewash-treated heritage surfaces remain porous and look brilliant, thanks to a velvety finish that ages like fine wine.
Clay Paints
Clay paints are ideal for rejuvenating internal surfaces that already have a lime-plastered finish. As clay paints are free of oils and acrylics, the cured surfaces retain their porosity, which helps a heritage property regulate its internal humidity levels. When cured, clay-painted surfaces are left with a rich, ultra-matte texture.
Silicate Masonry Paints
The best and most durable paint choice to protect and rejuvenate the external brick surfaces of classic properties. Unlike the other two options mentioned above, silicate masonry paints fuse at the molecular level with the surface’s mineral substrate. When cured, silicate masonry paint protected the external surfaces of a heritage home for decades without compromising the surface’s porosity.
Long-Term Protection for Your Investment
You need to select the right paint for your classic home. Apart from protecting your investment, the right paint and finish would also protect the region’s charm, history, and, of course, long-lost artistry.
For the best results, now that you know which paint and finish to choose for your classic home, avoid taking the DIY approach. Call a team of professionals associated with leading contractors like M & J Painters & Decorators.
Only professionals can ensure the correct traditional methods are used to rejuvenate your classic home, so that the centuries-old artistry survives the modern era and stands the test of time, leaving future generations awestruck.