The Lime Green Plaster Blog » rain screen

Pozzolanic Hydraulic Lime

Authenticlime — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 23:40:18 +0000

A type of lime that has been used in construction since ancient Roman times is now covered by an ASTM International standard. ASTM International Committee C07 on Lime has approved ASTM C1707, Specification for Pozzolanic Hydraulic Lime for Structural Purposes. The new standard is under the jurisdiction of Subcommittee C07.02 on Specifications and Guidelines.

Read more here ASTM International Standards

Greening of Mortars with Pozzolans

Quote from ASTM.org

“Growing interest in sustainable building has created a strong interest in fly ash and other coal combustion products (CCPs). Emergence of agencies like the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and the Coal Combustion Products Partnership (C2P2) of the USEPA has accelerated this trend. Their primary goal is sustainable development, focusing on environmental and social concerns. More than 30% of the 100 million tons of coal combustion products produced in the U.S. annually are being beneficially used in such things as manufactured stone, ceramic tile, shingles, concrete, aerated cellular concrete blocks, concrete blocks, stuccos, and mortars. The use of CCPs positively impacts the environment. Specifiers, contractors, and industry need to recognize that environmental stewardship today affects our children tomorrow. The features and benefits recognized in pozzolanic mortars reach beyond the technical, environmental, social, and sustainable aspects of this mortar. They signal future generations to track, improve, and develop mortars beyond any of our current technology”

Natural Hydraulic Lime (NHL) is seeing a worldwide comeback

Hydraulicity & Properties

Hydraulicity is the property of a binder to harden in contact with water.

Hydraulicity is produced by burning a limestone containing silica, alumina and iron oxides which above certain temperatures combine, totally or partially, with the Calcium Oxide. The resulting silicates, aluminates and ferrites give hydraulic properties to the product. Today as in the past, natural building limes are obtained by burning and slaking limestone and the more or less hydraulic character of the finished product is directly related to the percentage of calcium silicates, aluminates and ferrites formed during burning. The composition of the Earth crust shows the predominance of silica and its presence is almost inevitable in all limestone deposits.

Read the rest of the article here ST. Astier Lime mortars

Cement Stucco’s are Evil !

There I said it….but until the majority of home buyers and builders realize the benefits of hydraulic lime base coats and finishes we will be stuck with cement and acrylic stucco in North America…where time is money friends!

Evidence shows that lime has always been and will remain a practical, sustainable, healthier and greener alternative to cement, worthy of far more widespread use across the building industry.

Until the time the consumers realize these benefits, the ST. Astier NHL will remain relatively expensive,and cement will continue to be used as base coats for exterior stucco’s,which is a shame

Authentic Plaster FX from Vancouver BC. is working hard, exposing local builders to Natural hydraulic lime stucco’s, and venetian plaster finish coats such as Intonachino and Tadelakt. Discerning homeowners, architects and the exterior envelope engineers will look closely at the beauty and functionality of Hydraulic Lime plaster exteriors.

Authentic Intonachino Exterior Lime Plaster

Authenticlime — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 23:40:17 +0000

Pools done and the landscaping is finished ! a private residence in Vancouver BC. was completed with Intonachino Italian lime stucco and Tadelakt lime based plaster columns, on the exterior of this Langley BC home. A Authentic lime plaster exterior with a heavy Spanish architectural influence, the Intonachino lime plaster glows…you should see this place in the golden hour…what a sight!! More shots to come as I have time.

The Lime Plaster Company

Authenticlime — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 23:40:07 +0000

Heads east …Ben Scott, talented owner of the lime plaster company has left Vancouver for greener pastures, and landed in Georgetown Ontario. Good luck Ben and keep in touch! At least keep your blog updated so we can all see what you are doing

Marmorino Venetian Plaster

Authenticlime — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 20:03:23 +0000

If Authentic Plaster FX mentions Venetian Plaster to a designer,architect or builder in Vancouver, they all seem to equate the term to old world wall finishes, I’m trying to change that. In fact I am trying to change the misnomer that venetian plaster is only used for interior wall finishes….simply not true!

What is true mind you, is that there is no better suited texture medium then Lime based Venetian Plaster for interior and exterior stucco finishing. Now I used the word “texture” but in the case I show you here, there is no texture….yet it is a Marmorino Venetian Plaster we used on this exterior.

Authentic Plaster FX used Venetian Plaster,in this example, a Marmorino Lime Putty,to create a mix of contemporary west coast with West Coast Salish and Japanese influenced architecture .

Most onlookers think that this exterior stucco is polished and acid stained concrete,when I inform them that in fact it is a hand troweled lime based Venetian Plaster…there eyes open wide! What further blows them away is the fact that this particular project is in fact an E.I.F.S wall system….4 inches thick to be exact,using STO’S Gold Guard rainscreen technology.

Architects, Designers….think outside the box !

Carlos Scarpa did…..bringing back the technique, and re-popularizing the use of Marmorino Lime Plaster in the 1950′s namely with the Olivetti showroom and the Castelvecchio Museum in Verona Italy.

Now what does the reference to Scarpa have to do with my little marmorino venetian plaster project here in Vancouver? Well not much really but it proves that thinking outside the box you can come up with some really impressive designs which I feel is what happened with this architect/home owner driven designed exterior.

They asked Authentic Plaster FX for a smooth hand troweled plaster finish,and I gave it to them …the walls have so much depth ,which as usual does not depict properly in these photos…you have to touch and feel it to appreciate its elegance.

Stucco Italiano Tadelakt Photo OP

Authenticlime — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 04:24:09 +0000

Aaron cohen from Stucco Italiano in Seattle stopped by one of my exterior Tadelakt lime plaster projects in Vancouver BC today …the big ham seized
the opportunity for a photo op…couldn’t keep his hands off the walls either. We then shot off to the sushi restaurant for some sea urchin ..mmmmmm

Exterior Vancouver Tadelakt Plaster project complete!

Authenticlime — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 04:24:03 +0000

Landscaping is almost complete, this private residence in West Vancouver BC has the best of the best in contemporary finishes including a smooth exterior Lime Plaster Tadelakt finish …there is no other house like it in the lower mainland of British Columbia.

Ryan Chivers of Artesano in Boulder county Colorado seems to think this is the only, if not the biggest exterior ever done in north America with Tadelakt lime plaster …if you know of another …drop me a line.

For a smooth stucco finish there is no better finish then Tadelakt ,this Vancouver exterior Venetian Plaster, also incorporates a rain screen cavity system,usually associated with leaky condos here in Vancouver,but which became part of the BC building code approximately 2-3 years ago.

Tadelakt Seamless Monolithic Finish

Authenticlime — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 14:59:11 +0000

Tadelakt is a morroccan finishing technique, the word “tadelakt” comes from the Arabic verb “dlek” which means to rub, knead or caress.

Tadelakt

Tadelakt plaster is a beautiful natural material that can enhance elements of the modern day home. With a texture and patina unmatched by any interior or exterior lime based plaster available on the market today,resembling honed stone and often referred to as looking like like leather. It is a mineral-based polished hydraulic lime plaster Authentic Plaster FX is the leading installer of Stucco Italiano’s Tadelakt lime plaster and stucco in Vancouver BC in Western Canada.

Tadelakt plaster is becoming an extremely popular alternative to traditional wet area materials such as limestone and ceramic tile . Tadelakt functions extremely well in wet areas and can form a seamless, monolithic finish to kitchen back splashes, bathroom, shower and powder room areas. Made from natural hydraulic lime, quartz and marble. Tadelakt is naturally white in color and can be pigmented to varying intensities using natural color earth pigments creating spectacular intense patinas .

After black olive soap is applied, Tadelakt plaster finish becomes very durable, water resistant and repellent.

It is applied by hand and is compressed to a dense smooth finish, The olive soap (a fatty acid) penetrates the Tadelakt, then reacts with the lime creating a water-resistant surface.