What is Lime Plaster?
Technical Lime Based Solutions
A Guide to Breathable Interiors
For centuries, traditional lime plaster has been the foundation of healthy, resilient buildings. Unlike modern gypsum plasters and cement—which seal walls and trap moisture—lime plaster is inherently breathable. It acts like a pair of lungs for your property, allowing water vapour to pass naturally through the masonry and evaporate into the air.
Whether you are restoring a delicate listed period property or upgrading the thermal efficiency of a solid-wall home, using the correct internal lime plaster ensures your walls remain structurally sound, dry, and beautifully finished for generations to come.
The Benefits of Using Internal Lime Plaster
Upgrading to a traditional lime system is not just about historical accuracy; it fundamentally changes how your building performs.
Eliminates Damp and Condensation: By allowing moisture to move and evaporate naturally, breathable lime plaster prevents the build-up of trapped condensation. This significantly reduces the risk of structural damp and protects your underlying brick, stone, or timber work.
Flexibility and Crack Resistance: Older buildings naturally shift, breathe, and settle with the seasons. Lime is naturally softer and far more flexible than rigid modern gypsum, allowing it to accommodate this micro-movement without “blowing” off the wall or suffering from severe hairline cracking.
A Healthier Home Environment: Because it manages humidity and is highly alkaline by nature, lime plaster acts as a natural fungicide. It neutralises mould spores and actively improves indoor air quality.
The Authentic Heritage Aesthetic: Beyond its structural properties, lime provides a soft, organic texture that is impossible to replicate with modern, machine-flat materials. It diffuses natural light beautifully, creating warm, characterful, and inviting living spaces.
Lime Plaster vs. Modern Gypsum:
If you are renovating a period property, the choice between traditional lime plaster and modern gypsum is the most critical decision you will make.
Gypsum plasters became the standard in the mid-20th century because they set quickly and provide a hard, uniform finish for modern cavity walls. However, applying gypsum to solid brickwork, timber frames, or traditional wattle and daub is a recipe for disaster. Gypsum is rigid and impermeable; it seals the wall, trapping moisture inside the structure, which inevitably leads to blown plaster, rotting timbers, and severe damp.
Traditional lime plaster works in harmony with older buildings.
| Feature | Traditional Lime Plaster | Modern Gypsum Plaster |
|---|---|---|
| Breathability | Fully breathable (allows moisture vapour to escape) | Non-breathable (traps moisture behind the surface) |
| Flexibility | Soft and flexible (accommodates seasonal micro-movement) | Rigid and brittle (highly prone to cracking and blowing) |
| Moisture Handling | Acts as a natural moisture regulator | Seals water in, accelerating structural damp |
| Best Suited For | Solid brickwork, timber frames, and lath and plaster | Modern cavity walls and standard blockwork |
| Finish & Aesthetic | Warm, organic, and characterful texture | Flat, uniform, and clinical |
Our Complete Lime Plaster Range
Dry Ready Mix Plasters
Our dry ready mix range removes the guesswork from traditional plastering. Carefully batched in our yard, these dry powders simply require the addition of water on-site.
ThermaLime: A highly breathable, insulating base coat that dramatically improves the thermal performance of cold solid walls.
FineLime: The perfect finishing coat, providing a smooth, traditional surface that is ready for breathable mineral paint.
Wet Pre-Hydrated Plasters
For ultimate convenience, our wet plaster mixes arrive pre-hydrated and ready to apply straight from the tub.
FibreChalk: A traditional, highly workable chalk-based plaster reinforced with fibres. Perfect for pargetting, wattle and daub repairs, and achieving a beautiful, historic internal finish.
Anglia Lime are a official supplier of Saint-Asiter Products, Saint-Astier® is the only producer of Pure Natural Hydraulic Limes providing high quality constant performance and expertise for conservation and renovation buildings.
Our Specialist Product Range:
Pure Natural Hydraulic Limes
The ultimate choice for consistent performance. We stock the complete range of official Saint-Astier® NHL 2, NHL 3.5, and NHL 5 binders. Perfect for custom on-site blending, offering exceptional workability and variable strength grades suited to everything from internal plastering to highly exposed external masonry.
Dry Ready-Mix Lime Mortars
Save time and guarantee mix consistency on site. Our best-selling Dry Ready Mix line includes Thermalime basecoats , Finelime topcoats , and specialised Purelime Mortar systems. Just add water for a highly consistent, professional finish every time.
Insulating Lime Systems
Upgrade the energy efficiency of solid-wall properties without compromising their historic fabric. Our Novaskin® breathable thermal plaster and insulating render lines offer incredible thermal upgrades while protecting your building from structural dampness.