DH Painter & Decorator maintains rendered and painted masonry in Creaton, roughly 7.8 miles north of Northampton. In the conservation area that usually means limewash or mineral paint on cob and stone that is already coated, not new paint on bare walls. On post-war houses we use standard breathable masonry paint. Quotes are free.
Start with the question: should this wall be painted?
Much of Creaton is built of ironstone from the Northampton Sand Formation, with orange/red brick from the village’s own 19th century brickworks used for repairs and gables. The conservation area appraisal adopted in March 2021 says painting and rendering exterior walls should be avoided. It also cautions that masonry paint is often the wrong product for anything built before 1919, and prefers lime-based finishes. The appraisal proposed Article 4 Directions for some named buildings, including control over painting walls. At adoption these were only being explored, and we have not found a confirmed direction, so ask the council’s conservation officer what applies to your building before picking a new wall colour.
Our advice on bare stone or brick in the core will usually be to leave it. Masonry work here is mostly about walls that already carry render or paint and need a sound, breathable coat.
Rendered cob on The Green and High Street
Creaton still has a group of cob buildings from the 17th to 19th centuries. They include 10 and 12 The Green (both Grade II), probably 10 to 16 Welford Road, and on High Street Lilac Cottage, Cob Cottage and The Old Cottage. Several have been rendered or partly re-faced in brick. Cob is earth, and it stays sound only while it can dry out. An acrylic or plastic masonry paint over lime render traps moisture behind it, and the wall can slump or crumble where water collects at the base.
On these walls we use limewash or a vapour-permeable mineral finish. Limewash goes on in thin coats over a dampened surface and needs several days without frost or hard sun, so we plan it for mild, still weather. Where an earlier owner has used modern paint that is now peeling in sheets, we remove what is loose by hand before going back with a lime-compatible system. On the listed cob walls, swapping one finish for another could need consent, and matching like for like is the safe route.
Which finish for which wall
| Wall in Creaton | Our usual recommendation |
|---|---|
| Rendered or limewashed cob | Limewash or a breathable mineral paint, never acrylic |
| Ironstone already painted before you bought it | Mineral silicate or lime-based finish after removing loose coatings |
| Bare ironstone or orange/red brick | Leave unpainted, as the appraisal advises |
| Polychrome chequered brick | Never painted or rendered |
| Rendered post-1950 houses outside the core | Fungicidal wash, stabiliser where chalky, two coats of breathable masonry paint |
The chequered brick that must stay clean
The Manse, the 1793 United Reformed chapel and Woodbine Cottage on High Street, along with 8 The Green, have chequered polychrome brickwork in burnt or London brick, with decorative dentil eaves courses. The appraisal names these and says they should not be painted or rendered. If a neighbouring wall or a painted lintel next to them needs work, we mask the brick fully and use drop sheets at the base, because a splash of limewash on a burnt header is hard to remove from the surface of the brick.
Green walls, wind and lime mortar
Exposure on the ridge and shade from the protected trees on The Green both affect masonry here. Walls facing the open eastern slope are battered by rain, while those under large trees stay damp and grow algae. We treat growth with a biocide and leave it to work before brushing off, then let the wall dry before any coat goes on. Where pointing has failed, the appraisal asks for lime mortar. We point that out before painting, because new paint will not hide open joints that let water in. The guide to painting render and roughcast covers the preparation in more depth, and our main render and masonry painting page explains the standard system for modern rendered houses. Everything else we do here is on the Creaton area page.
Last updated by Dean, DH Painter & Decorator.
