stine-letter-carving

Avebury

Fittleton All Saints

Letcombe Basset

St James

St Leonards

St Margaret of Antioch

St Mary's

St Michaels

St Nicholas

St Stephens

St James, Luffincott Cornwall

luffincott church 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"]