PL16: cob, stone and slate around Lifton
PL16 is a handful of border villages built almost entirely from what was to hand: cob, local stone and slate. It is a small district and an old one, and the guiding rule here is that nothing on these walls should ever meet a pressure lance.
PL16 covers 4 places we work in, 17.4 to 22.1 miles from our base at 58 Reddington Road, Plymouth (Devon, West Devon Borough Council) - all inside our 20-mile radius of Plymouth.
Cob fails from the bottom and the top
The two ways cob gets ruined are water rising at the base and water getting in at the head where the render or the roof edge has failed. Cleaning has to avoid contributing to either, which means controlling run-off and keeping water away from the plinth.
It is a small detail that most people cleaning walls never think about, and on a cob building it is the whole game.
Painted render over soft backgrounds
A lot of PL16 render is a modern paint over an old, breathable backing. The paint traps damp and then blows off in patches. We clean what is sound, we do not try to scrub loose paint into looking attached, and we say when what you actually need is a decorator.
A quiet district, planned visits
At around eighteen to twenty-two miles out, PL16 is worked as a planned trip. Booking two or three properties in the same village on one day is the sensible way to do it.
Reached via A30. Recorded wall finishes: painted render, cob, stone. Roof coverings: slate, natural slate.
Towns and suburbs in PL16
Villages and neighbourhoods in PL16
Questions we get asked in PL16
- Is cleaning safe on a cob-walled cottage?
- Yes, at low pressure and with the run-off managed away from the base of the wall.
- My paint is flaking - can you wash it back?
- No. Cleaning will remove growth and loose material, but flaking paint needs redecorating.
- Will you come out for one small job?
- We will, though we may ask you to wait for a day we are already planning in the area.