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LIME PLASTER
WHAT IS LIME?
Lime has been used for thousands of years as a binder in mortars, plasters, and paints. During the post-World War II housing boom, quick-setting cement products eclipsed lime in construction. Lime does cure more slowly than cement, but it holds many advantages as a workable, self-healing, breathable, nearly carbon neutral material, making it nicely suited to natural building. (Cement production creates 1.25 pounds of CO2 for each pound of cement produced.) Additionally, lime plaster is breathable - meaning it allows air-borne moisture to travel freely through - so does not trap moisture inside a wall system. Without moisture buildup, biodegradable materials, such as wood or straw, are protected from decomposition.
RESOURCES
WEBSITES
www.mikewye.co.uk en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lime_plaster howardhallfarm.com/limeplaster.html www.nps.gov/history/hps/tps/briefs/brief21.htm www.buildnaturally.com/EDucate/Articles/Lime.htm
B OOKS
Building with Lime: A Practical Introduction by Stafford Holmes and Michael Wingate This is my lime bible! Using Natural Finishes: Lime- & Earth-Based Plasters, Renders & Paints by Adam Weismann and Katy Bryce
H OW IS L IME MADE ?
1. kiln burn. First limestone, seashells, or other material containing calcium carbonate is heated in a kiln, driving off carbon dioxide and leaving calcium oxide, also known as quicklime. 2. hydration. Quicklime reacts with water in a volatile process called slaking, resulting in calcium hydroxide, or hydrated lime. Calcium hydroxide can look like a powder or a thick, sour cream consistency putty. If purchased as a powder, it must be rehydrated in water for many weeks to create high-quality putty for plaster. 3. carbonation. Calcium hydroxide reacts with carbon dioxide in the air to create calcium carbonateexactly what it started as!
HANDS-ON WORKSHOPS
Down to Earth Design teaches workshops on plastering with hydrated lime putty on strawbale walls.
WORKSHOPS INCLUDE: overview of hydrated lime, including safety, surface preparation, troweling skills, and why calcium hydroxide outperforms cement and hydraulic lime guided hands-on experience mixing and applying hydrated lime plaster Check our website www.buildnaturally.com additional information. for
SAFETY
Note that lime is highly alkaline and can severely burn your skin. Unlike acid burns, you generally do not feel an alkali burn as it occurs. So please use full protective gear whenever working with lime, including elbowlength rubber gloves, long sleeves, eye protection, etc. If your clothes get lime putty or lime water on them, change so the lime is not in contact with your skin through your clothing. I always keep a bucket of vinegar water nearby to neutralize my tools, gloves, and hands throughout the day.