DH Painter & Decorator paints render and masonry in Brixworth, where the old stone core meets newer rendered estates. We paint rendered walls on Froghall, Kennel Terrace and the post-1960s estates, offer limewash where older stone or brick is already painted, and leave bare ironstone and lias alone. Quotes are free.
Most of Brixworth’s walls should never see a brush
A large share of the old village is squared lias, limestone rubble and orange-brown ironstone laid with lime mortar. The 2017 conservation area appraisal is clear on this: render is described as a negative feature in the street scene, bare stone should be left as it is, and modern masonry paint is often unsuitable for buildings put up before 1919. If you own an unpainted stone cottage on Church Street or Harborough Road, we will tell you the walls are better left alone and spend the budget on the windows and doors.
The parish still has plenty of render, though. It falls into four main groups: the rendered commercial terrace on Kennel Terrace, rendered cottages on Froghall, the old Co-op building at the Holcot Road junction, and the brick-and-render houses on the estates built south and east of the village from the 1960s on.
When older stone or brick has already been painted
Some pre-1919 walls in Brixworth were coated decades ago, often with a modern acrylic that now traps damp and lifts in sheets. Putting more of the same on top repeats the problem. Where a stone or soft red-brick wall is already painted, we recommend limewash or a mineral silicate finish, which lets moisture out through the face. That matches what the council’s guidance asks for.
- Limewash is built up thinly, coat after coat, on a wall damped down beforehand, and dries to a soft, chalky finish that weathers gently.
- Mineral paints bond into the surface rather than forming a skin, which suits harder renders and previously painted brick.
- Any repointing found during prep should be in lime mortar, as the appraisal asks, rather than cement.
Old acrylic coatings are not always easy to remove from soft stone. We test a small patch first and agree the approach with you before anything is stripped.
Froghall and Kennel Terrace under the 2019 direction
Froghall was added to the conservation area in 2017, and both Froghall and Kennel Terrace are named in the October 2019 Article 4(1) direction. On those addresses, repainting a front wall, or one that faces a highway, waterway or open space, needs planning permission first. If a rendered cottage or commercial unit there is due for a new colour, the application goes in first. Even for a like-for-like repaint of existing render, we check the address against the named list before pricing.
Shade, trees and a lake: why some walls go green
Brixworth sits high on a plateau, but parts of it are heavily wooded, with about 59 TPOs, 9 TPO groups and the tree belts and lake of Brixworth Hall Park. North-facing and tree-shaded render here tends to grow algae and dry slowly after rain. We apply a fungicidal wash and give it time to work before brushing off, then check the wall is properly dry before the first coat. Because protected branches cannot be cut back, we plan the shadiest walls for the driest spell available.
Estate render south and east of the old core
On the newer housing, render tends to be sand and cement panels, roughcast or pebbledash alongside red or buff brick. These walls are outside the heritage limits unless the address is named, and a breathable masonry paint suits them. Hollow patches are tapped out, cracks raked and filled, and chalky surfaces stabilised before two coats. Our guide to painting render and roughcast and the main render and masonry painting page cover the method in full. For indoor work and joinery in Brixworth, start from the Brixworth area page.
Last updated by Dean, DH Painter & Decorator.
