Example Limewash Projects in Leander

Scope of work

Dust sheets over the floor, the sectional and the built-in cabinets beside the fireplace; the beam mantel taped off; a scaffold tower for the upper stone; dusting and a water test on stones at the top and bottom of the wall; a thinned first coat and a fuller second coat with the stone dampened before each; a clear protective topcoat on the top of the raised hearth about two weeks later; clean-up. The firebox and the wood beam stay bare.

Project overview

In this example, the owners have repainted their great room in a clean white, and the cream stone on the fireplace now looks yellow beside it. They like the stone and do not want it painted or covered with new veneer. They just want it to sit closer to the walls.

Some fireplaces that look like limestone are cast stone, so the first check is whether the stone soaks up water. Here it does, top to bottom. The wall is too tall to coat from a ladder without leaving lap marks, so two painters work it from a tower, finishing each coat from the ceiling down in one go.

The goal

The goal is a warm-white fireplace wall that matches the new paint, with every stone edge and joint still clear from across the room.

Process

1. Before work Water sprayed on several stones high and low to see how fast it soaks in; a thin and a full sample brushed on a low stone beside the hearth.
2. Day one Floor and furniture covered, beam taped, tower set up, stone dusted and dampened, and the thinned first coat brushed on from the top down.
3. Day two A fuller second coat, heavier on the stones that still look yellow; tower down and clean-up.
4. Afterwards The white keeps lightening for several days as the lime cures. The fireplace can be lit again once the product’s cure time has passed.
5. 10 to 14 days later A short visit to brush the clear topcoat onto the top of the raised hearth, where people sit and set things down.

Planning right

• Test stones at the top of the wall as well as near the firebox. Stone close to the opening can carry soot or an old sealer.
• A tall wall needs two painters. One coat has to be finished top to bottom before any part of it dries, or the joins show.
• We keep lime off the inside of the firebox and the wood beam. Fire chars lime, and the beam looks better as bare wood.
• Pale stone changes color with less lime than red brick does. The sample on a low stone shows how far one fuller coat goes.

Scope of work

Furniture moved to the middle and covered; carpet, blinds and trim masked; outlet covers off; nail holes and hairline cracks filled and sanded; the walls wiped down; one coat of the primer the lime product calls for over latex; two brushed coats; clean-up. The ceiling, trim and closet stay as they are.

Project overview

In this example, the house is a few years old and every room still has the beige flat paint it was built with. The owners want the main bedroom to feel calmer and less like a model home, in a pale sage with some movement in it.

Limewash cannot grip latex paint by itself, so the walls get a primer first. The bed wall is coated first, because it is the wall people look at most, and the painter sets the stroke pattern there before moving around the room.

The goal

The goal is a pale sage bedroom with soft brush movement, quiet enough to sleep in and clearly different from the builder beige in the rest of the house.

Process

1. Before work Two sage samples brushed on primed boards and left to dry, then held next to the bedding by day and by lamplight.
2. Day one Furniture moved and covered, holes and cracks filled and sanded, walls wiped, primer on.
3. Day two First coat in crossing strokes, one wall at a time, with no stops part way across a wall.
4. Day three Second coat, outlet covers back on, masking off and furniture returned.

Planning right

• Fill hairline cracks above doors and at corners before priming. Lime does not bridge them.
• Some limewash is sold for bare brick and stone only. For painted drywall, pick a product that names a primer for it.
• Wet lime looks several shades darker than it dries. Judge the sage on a dry board, never from the can.
• Plain limewash is not scrubbable. That rarely matters behind a headboard, but it does beside a light switch.

Scope of work

A water test for old sealer or paint; washing off dust and sprinkler marks; filling hairline cracks; covers over the gravel, the stone path and planters, the metal gate, the wall lanterns, the house wall and the potted agave; dampening before each coat; two brushed coats, shaded face first; clean-up and a check once dry.

Project overview

In this example, the courtyard wall went up with the house about twenty years ago. Its color has faded unevenly, and the sprinklers in the planting beds have left a pale line along the bottom. Elastomeric paint would hide that under a rubbery film, so the owners choose limewash for a dry, sandy look that suits the gravel, the stone planters and the agave.

Heat sets the schedule. Live oaks shade the wall for part of the day, but by afternoon the sun comes through in hot patches, and most lime makers say not to work in direct sun or on a hot surface. So each coat goes on early in the morning on a dampened wall, the shaded face first, and work stops when the sun reaches it.

The goal

The goal is an even sandy wall with soft mottling that sits easily with the gravel and the planting, and no sprinkler line at the base.

Process

1. Before work Water test along the wall for old sealer, and a sand-colored patch on the inner face of one pier, checked once dry.
2. Day one, morning Washing and stain cleaning, hairline cracks filled, lanterns covered, and the path, gate, planters and plants protected.
3. Day two, morning Wall dampened and the first coat brushed on, starting on the face still in shade.
4. Day three, morning Second coat the same way, then covers off and clean-up. Sprinklers stay aimed away until the product’s cure time has passed.

Planning right

• Turn off or redirect any sprinkler that hits the wall. Fresh lime needs dry days, and daily soaking wears it away at the base.
• On a summer afternoon a sunny wall runs much hotter than the air. We work the shaded side and stop when the sun gets there.
• Wet lime is caustic, so the agave, the stone planters and the gate stay covered and any splashes are rinsed off.
• Leander’s zoning does not say whether exterior stucco counts as masonry that “shall not be painted.” Ask the city’s Planning Department, and your HOA if you have one, before the work is booked.

Scope of work

Stock covered and the concrete floor protected; wall shelves and the hanging rail taken down where they come off; a rolling tower for the tall walls; the upper wall band and exposed ductwork left as they are; anchor holes and scuffs filled and sanded; primer; two brushed coats; a clear matte sealer on the lower part of the walls a few days later; clean-up each night so the shop opens on time.

Project overview

In this example, the owner leases a unit in a strip center and wants walls that look warmer and more handmade than the flat white the space came with, without paying for wood paneling or wallcovering.

The lease comes first. If it says walls go back to the original color at move-out, the owner asks the landlord whether a lime finish over primer can simply be painted over later. The work is then booked for evenings after closing, so customers never see dust sheets.

The goal

The goal is a warm greige backdrop with gentle movement that flatters folded stock and hanging pieces, and a wall that can be refreshed with another coat instead of repainted.

Process

1. Before work Greige boards held next to the folded stock and checked under the shop’s own lights.
2. First evening Stock covered, shelves and rail down, holes and scuffs repaired.
3. Second evening Primer on all three walls from the tower.
4. Third evening First coat, finishing each wall in one pass, top to bottom.
5. Fourth evening Second coat, shelves and rail back up and the floor cleared for opening.
6. A few days later A short visit to roll the clear matte sealer onto the lower wall.

Planning right

• Ask the landlord before any wall finish, and keep the answer in writing.
• Hangers, bags and shoulders rub the lower wall. A clear matte sealer there keeps it cleanable, and it goes on days after the last coat, not the same night.
• Store lighting changes how greige reads. Choose the color under your own lights, not in daylight alone.
• A tired lime wall takes a fresh coat without stripping, which makes a later refresh quick.