AFTER front of grade 2 listed farmhouse with Wethertex exterior wall coating applied

Preserving this Grade 2 listed historic house in Warwickshire, with Wethertex MP44 coatings

Listed buildings are part of the nations heritage, and many of which are simply peoples homes rather than grand old edifices, and they require expert help in order to keep a good standard of maintenance.

This is where we come in, with over 40 years experience of working on historic homes, we have the skills, knowledge and experience to give your listed house the TLC it needs, and this is clearly displayed in the work we did to this grade 2 listed farmhouse in Warwickshire.

The big challenge if you live in a listed building is preservation.

It is not only in your best interest to keep your home in tiptop condition, but unlike those living in “normal” houses, you also have a legal obligation and can be heavily fined by the government if you let your listed house go to rack and ruin.

This also applies if you carry out home improvements that are not in keeping with its character.

Here’s what we did to renovate this lovely grade 2 listed farmhouse.

The first thing we had to do after meeting the client and finding his requirements, was to liaise with Warwickshire council to make sure the system we used were suitable for the building in question.

Which it was.

This is what the house looked like before work started

wootton grange farm before wall coatings

A very imposing house but over the years it had lost it’s “wow” factor and needed a makeover.

Pebbledash, which had been applied probably in the 1930’s and before planning permissions were needed, pretty much ruined the exterior image and took much of the houses historic character away.

This would have originally been smooth render, probably lime render at that.

Unlike masonry paint which is just decorative, our exterior wall coating system offers a layer of protection not found in paints.

Protection from what?

The Wethertex MP44 system we use offers protection against all kinds of weather, and damp, plus erosion too. Something that is very important in listed buildings.

It is also fully breathable and can flex and stretch according to the seasons and how they affect the house.

This is why many people have previously contacted us to paint a listed building in Warwickshire or anywhere else in England for that matter.

This wasn’t a straightforward job, as you can see

We expect, and deal with, many challenges on each job we do, and working in this confined space was certainly a challenge.

confined space before painting

A very strange part of the house, it would have had some sort of use in days gone by, but what use, we don’t know (suggestions welcome)

So what did we do to this house?

As with every job we do, the first thing is repair. We check over the entire wall surface for defects and make them good. Defects in the walls could include cracks, hollow render or signs of damp ingress.

Your local painter and decorator will rarely do this, which just goes to show how the amount of effort and care we put into each job, pays dividends in the long run as our work lasts for over 20 years.

The first thing we did was to protect all areas not receive paint, such as doors and windows, plus we covered the floors too. We leave each job CLEANER than when we arrived on day one.

We then hand applied a cement slurry bonding primer which consolidates the wall surface and provides a good background for subsequent coats of paint and coating.

You can see how this works with the photo below

masking all done and putting the primer on before spraying the never paint again wall coating

The process is done to the entire wall area, and then allowed to dry.

The drying time gives us a chance to set up our spraying machine ready to apply to final top coat of Wethertex MP44 exterior textured masonry coating.

Spraying paints or coatings is definitely the recommended method for textured wall surfaces such as this pebbledashed house.

Prep work coming along nicely

another view of front during painting

Once the entire house is painted in primer, we get to work in applying the top coat.

The wall coating system we use is 20 times the thickness of normal masonry paint, giving a weather beating finish that lasts over 2 decades without the need to repair or repaint.

It also does not flake, fade, crack, chip or peel, and that promise comes with a written 20 year guarantee.

Here is the end result, a weatherproof and breathable exterior paint finish, guaranteed for 20 years.

front of listed house with never paint again wall coatings applied

Looks impressive doesn’t it?

Once the main colour was done, we then, as per the customers request, painted the mouldings, window cills and windows, in white, which contrasted the whole exterior.

And what about that tight space we showed you further up this page?

working in confined spaces applying exterior wall coatings

Breathe in!

(made even more tricky as the space was surrounded with spiked railings!)

This historic home has now been protected from the weather and will keep its paint finish for at least 2 decades.

front of wootton grange farmhouse after exterior wall coatings

We specialise in painting listed buildings and your local agent can show you many photographic examples of different historic homes we have worked on.

We of course also provide this wall coating service for mere mortals such as ourselves who live in “normal” houses, and much of which can be found by looking through our past painting projects here.

To get a quote, or even just information, and costs, call us on 0800 970 4928 or email the team today

Scroll to top