Plastering & Rendering in Marhamchurch

Marhamchurch is a small village a couple of miles east of Bude — one of those places where you could drive through without really noticing it, but it has a real community feel and some beautiful traditional Cornish properties. Stone cottages, some thatched, set around the church — the kind of buildings you want to treat properly rather than just slapping on whatever's cheapest.

The village properties here are predominantly traditional Cornish stone — some cob, some rubble stone, some with a mix of both. These buildings have a relationship with moisture that's completely different from modern construction. The walls absorb and release water as part of their normal behaviour; sealing them with an impermeable modern render creates problems. For the period cottages, a breathable render is the appropriate choice — it's vapour-permeable, durable when done right, and appropriate to the character of the building.

Cottage renovation work in Marhamchurch is a regular part of our workload. These older properties often have uneven stone walls, low ceilings, and awkward reveals around windows and fireplaces — the kind of work that requires patience and good judgement about what's appropriate rather than just running the fastest system. We enjoy this type of work; there's more to think about than a standard new-build project.

For any more modern properties in the area — or for extension work on older cottages using blockwork construction — modern silicone or monocouche render is perfectly suitable. The key is using the right system for the right substrate, not a one-size-fits-all approach.

We cover Marhamchurch as part of our regular working area — it's a short drive from Bude. If you've got a rendering or plastering job, get in touch and we'll come and have a look.

The Bude Canal runs right through the parish and the proximity to water means damp loadings on the lower elevations of riverside cottages can be high. On those properties we'll often specify a breathable base coat with a slightly more vapour-permeable topcoat than we'd use on a hilltop property — the building has to be able to dry out as fast as it gets wet, and cement-based systems trap that moisture against the wall.