MEETING No 4, 9 August 2025

This was an open-air practical meeting to carry out repairs to the external walls of a listed mud-and-stud cottage owned by Arthur and Veronica Fox.  Those present were Trevor Oliver (leader), Tony Bonham, Matthew Giles and David Glew (all members of EMESS).

 

In three different areas of the outside faces of the north and south external walls, the smooth mud finish coats of the walls (the render) had “blown” so the surface of the wall was hollow.  This is a common problem.  These loose areas were scraped off, but collected.  On a hard base, new clay and the old render were trampled together, turned over, then wetted, trampled and turned over again.  Chopped straw was added, and the whole mass was trampled and turned over a final time.  It could be seen that the mud alone was very sticky, but it became less so, and therefore more workable, by adding the straw.  As noted previously, if the straw is not chopped, its long lengths make it impossible to turn over the mix and obtain handfuls to apply to the wall.  The bare old mud mix of the wall was well wetted several times, especially so during this hot weather, and also especially on the south side on a sunny day.  The wetness is to help the new mud mix to bond with the old one, and the same technique would apply when carrying out repairs to old brickwork or old plaster.

 

The new mud mix was firmly trowelled around the perimeter of the areas being repaired, to force new mud beneath any gaps below the old render. The middle area was built up with mud, and then the whole area was gone over with a plasterer's float to make it smooth and solid, to leave a new finished surface level with the surface of the existing wall.  Finally the surface was wetted with a brush and trowelled again, to achieve the final blend.  Even then it was to be gone over again in a few days for the final finish.  When it was eventually dry, Arthur would be painting it at least four times with limewash.

 

The futures of EMESS and the Mumby Heritage Skills Centre were discussed afterwards, and the Mumby lease had only just been finalised.  It was agreed that the EMESS blogspot would be revived, where the last entry was 2018.  Various activities have been mentioned in this series of meeting notes, which have taken place since then.  However, if you're reading this you'll know the blog has come to life again !

 

To join EMESS activities please contact Trevor Oliver by phone : 07801 065291, by email : millstonerestoration58@gmail.com, or send a comment to this blog.

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