St James, Luffincott Cornwall
Luffincott church in Cornwall needed remedial work to the render on the
tower. However since it's exposed position above the valley of the Tamar
meant that the render was under constant attack from the elements it soon
became clear that the render was in a sorrier state than had been thought.
Therefore patching and repair of the existing render was an inadequate
response and it was decided to remove all the old render and replace it
with a different mix and using a different technique.
Originally the render had been trowelled or floated on but it was decided to "throw" the
new render on and then scrape the surface with a trowel when it had achieved
an initial set to get a rough, open finish. This method overcame any difficulty
in getting the render to stick to the slate walls since the force of the throw
compresses the mortar lessening shrinkage later on, also since slate is not very
porous there is not enough suction between stone and mortar to make using a float
easy. The finished, limewashed tower should shold off the rain and wind for a
good few years.
Inside the church the south wall was re lime plastered and the whole interior
limewashed, guttering was put on the south wall to alleviate a damp problem.
[video clip from BBCs "Restoration"]
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