Serving Burford & the Cotswolds
Cotswold stone masons
and sympathetic builders
working in Burford.
Burford is one of the most photographed Cotswold towns in England, and it's photographed for a reason: honey-coloured limestone, stone-tile roofs, and centuries of proper lime-and-stone construction. That is not the property to hand to a firm that mostly does cavity brick.
Free site visit. Written estimate in 3–5 working days. £5m public liability. Lime mortar and matched Cotswold stone as standard on solid-wall property.
We serve Burford
Burford is on our regular Cotswold circuit.
From Highworth we drive up through Lechlade to Burford: a 30–40 minute run. We're regularly on jobs in Burford, the Burford-area villages, and along the A40 into West Oxfordshire.
Response times to Burford
Burford enquiries answered the same working day. Site visits usually inside the week.
Property types in Burford
Burford's housing is overwhelmingly Cotswold oolitic limestone, laid in lime mortar, with Cotswold stone-tile or Welsh slate roofs. The listed-building density is exceptionally high: much of the High Street, Sheep Street and the streets around them are listed or in the conservation area: with some later stone-built and brick-infill housing on the edges.
Common Burford jobs
Typical Burford work: lime re-pointing on stone frontages, matched Cotswold-stone garden walls and repairs, stone-tile roof relays, sympathetic single-storey extensions or outbuilding conversions, and internal lime-plaster repairs on solid stone walls.
Services available in Burford
The full family-run trade list, in Burford.
Every service below is handled by the same three-person family team.
Stone Laying in Burford
Natural Cotswold stone walling and cladding, laid with the eye and hand of a specialist.
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Pitched Roofing in Burford
Tiled and slated pitched roofs: repairs and full re-roofs. (We don't take on flat roofing.)
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Plastering & Render in Burford
Smooth internal plastering and clean external render by the same three-person family team.
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Bricklaying in Burford
Fair-faced brickwork, garden walls, arches and repairs: built by the family that's been doing it since 1988.
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Extensions in Burford
Full home extensions handled start to finish: groundworks, brickwork, roofing, plastering.
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Guttering & Fascias in Burford
Replacement guttering, fascias and soffits to keep the water off the brickwork where it belongs.
Read moreWhy choose us in Burford
Why Burford owners choose us.
The wrong trade on a Burford property doesn't just look wrong: it damages the stone, offends the planning regime, and costs a fortune to reverse.
Stone specialism for 40 years.
Stone laying is a named service, not an add-on. Matched sourcing, lime-mortar technique and patient work are what makes new stonework look like it's always been there.
We insist on lime.
Natural Cotswold stone is soft and porous: it hates cement-heavy pointing, and it needs a lime-based mortar to breathe. We work stone the way it wants to be worked, not the way a mixer full of OPC would prefer.
We work with the consent process, not around it.
Central Burford is almost entirely conservation area or listed. We don't do consent-avoiding shortcuts: the risk to you and the property isn't worth it.
Local building issues
Typical Burford property issues.
High-value listed and conservation-area stone property in Burford tends to fail in a specific set of ways.
Cement pointing damaging stone faces.
The single most common issue on Burford stone: previous cement re-pointing has trapped moisture, and stone faces are spalling. Lime re-point is the honest fix.
Cotswold-tile roofs shedding tiles.
Original oak pegs and softwood battens under stone tiles eventually rot. Full strip, new battens, breather membrane, re-lead flashings, re-set tiles.
Trapped damp behind cement render.
Sand-and-cement render on solid stone walls holds water in the wall. Symptom is internal damp; correct fix is hack off and re-render in lime.
Failed lead flashings and parapet detailing.
Water gets in through failed lead on Cotswold detail. Rain enters the wall head, tracks down internally and appears far from the source. Correct lead and re-set stone solves it properly.
In depth
Working sympathetically in Burford.
Burford is one of the most architecturally significant small towns in England: a Cotswold market town that has retained its medieval street pattern almost intact, with a High Street of listed stone buildings running down to the River Windrush. The building fabric is Cotswold oolitic limestone throughout, laid in lime mortar, with stone-tile and Welsh slate roofs and traditional timber joinery. Working on this stock properly is a specialist trade, not a general one.
Everything on older Burford property assumes lime. Lime mortar for pointing, lime mortar for stone laying, lime render externally, lime plaster on original internal walls. Cement and gypsum on solid stone construction trap moisture, cause damp, stain the stone and eventually damage the fabric. The short-term saving from cement is dwarfed by the long-term cost of stone repair. We spec lime as standard on solid-wall Burford property and won't compromise on it, even when a client asks whether we can save money by using cement: we can, but it's the wrong answer.
For newer additions: a rear extension, a garden wall, an outbuilding conversion, matched Cotswold stone from established regional yards is the usual specification. Bed heights, colour and finish selected to blend with the existing property. Where a matched-stone addition isn't right for cost or planning reasons, honest brick or lime render is a cleaner design choice than a poor stone imitation. We'll talk through both options at the site visit and put an itemised written estimate in front of you inside 3–5 working days.
Our process
The same four-step process, whether you're in Burford or up the road.
Repeatable, honest, and identical for every job: a garden wall or a full extension.
- 01
Free site visit
We come out to your Burford property, walk the job with you and answer questions in person.
- 02
Written estimate in 3–5 days
Itemised, in writing, with staged payments set out. No verbal quotes.
- 03
Booked in and started
Materials sourced, timing agreed. The same three-person team on site from day one.
- 04
Snagged and handed over
Site cleared, snag-list walked with you, aftercare explained. We stay reachable after the job.
Recent works
Recent projects in and around Burford.
Nearby areas
Also serving these Oxfordshire towns and villages.
Do you work on listed buildings in Burford?
Yes, subject to appropriate listed-building consent from West Oxfordshire District Council. We work in lime, source matched stone and coordinate with the conservation officer as required.
Do you use lime mortar on Cotswold stone?
Yes, always on solid stone construction in Burford. Cement damages Cotswold limestone and is the wrong specification, no matter how cheap it looks on paper.
Can you match Burford stone on an extension?
Yes. Matched Cotswold stone sourced through established regional yards, with bed heights, colour and finish selected to blend.
How long from Highworth to Burford?
30–40 minutes via Lechlade. Not a barrier to attending regularly on a running job.
Do you re-roof Cotswold stone-tile properties in Burford?
Yes: full pitched stone-tile re-roofs and repairs, including new battens, breather membrane and lead flashings. We do not do flat roofing.
Cost of stone work in Burford?
Priced only after a site visit: stone jobs vary enormously depending on source, quantity and access. Written, itemised estimate in 3–5 working days.
Are you insured for high-value Cotswold property?
£5,000,000 public liability and £10,000,000 employers' liability. Certificates on request.
Do you cover villages around Burford?
Yes, nearby Cotswold villages are on the patch. Ring Dale and we'll confirm.
Ready when you are
Get a free estimate for your Burford job.
Free site visit at a time that suits. Written, itemised estimate in 3–5 working days. Staged payments, nothing due before we start.