This timber-framed gable in Inkpen, on the Berkshire and Wiltshire border, had deteriorated to the point where it needed rebuilding. The gable was rebuilt around a new oak frame, and the brick infill panels were relaid in lime mortar so the wall can move and breathe with the frame, as it was originally built to.
Lime is the right material for timber-framed buildings: it stays slightly flexible as the oak moves with the seasons, and it lets moisture escape rather than trapping it against the timber.
