PL10 Rame peninsula: lime render, slate and sea wind
The Rame peninsula is a small district with an outsized weather problem. Painted lime render on stone, Cornish slate, and villages sitting directly on the water at Kingsand, Cawsand and Cremyll where nothing shelters a south-facing wall.
PL10 covers 8 places we work in, 3.8 to 8.6 miles from our base at 58 Reddington Road, Plymouth (Cornwall, Cornwall Council) - all inside our 20-mile radius of Plymouth.
What sea wind actually does to a painted wall
It is not just salt. Wind-driven rain forces water into hairline cracks in the paint film, and when the wall dries the salt crystallises behind the coating and lifts it. That is why paint here fails in flakes rather than fading evenly.
Cleaning cannot fix failed paint, but a gentle wash before repainting is worth doing properly - anything left on the surface will come through the new coat.
Lime render must be allowed to breathe
Traditional lime render on stone works by letting moisture out through the face. Treat it as if it were modern render and you either seal it or you damage it. Low pressure, generous dwell time and a soft rinse is the whole method.
Getting a van to the water
Kingsand and Cawsand were built before vehicles. Parking is at the top and the last stretch is on foot with hose. We factor that in - it is a normal part of working here, not an obstacle.
Reached via B3247, local lanes off B3247. Recorded wall finishes: painted render, stone, painted lime render. Roof coverings: slate, Cornish slate, felt.
Towns and suburbs in PL10
Villages and neighbourhoods in PL10
Questions we get asked in PL10
- Should I clean before repainting a seafront wall?
- Yes. Salt and biological growth left under a new coat will push it off again within a couple of years.
- Can you work in the village where there is no parking?
- Yes - we park where we legally can and run hose down. It is how every job in Cawsand gets done.
- Is lime render more fragile than modern render?
- It is softer, and it needs to stay breathable. Handled correctly it cleans perfectly well.