The Lime Green Plaster Blog » lime based plaster

North American Interior Designer Discovers Tadelakt Lime

Authenticlime — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 23:40:16 +0000

Up beat Vancouver interior designers are always looking for cool plaster wall finishes, Looks like San Francisco Bay area designer Kit Golson is very upbeat,checkout the use of Tadelakt lime on her design blog Chic Provence .

More pictures Kit ! the red and gold back splash is a stunning example of Tadelakt Lime Plaster.

“I had never seen anything like it before, and rarely have since I had stumbled upon one of the oldest and most treasured plaster finishes in the world. The art of tadelakt is 4,000 years old, and comes from Morocco.

The tadelakt process is deceptively simple. A natural powder paste is applied to the surface, then polished with a smooth stone. This is repeated seven times. Finally, the surface is sealed by rubbing with a black olive oil soap”

Read the rest of the blog here  Chic Provence

Interior Tadelakt of the Villas of L’Amandier

Authenticlime — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 23:40:09 +0000

Check out this web blog about the Villas at L’Amandier in Marrakech there are plenty of photos with Tadelakt lime plaster either being applied,or already finished in the background. Personally I find it interesting to see the Tadelakt being applied in its native setting,all of the interior walls are finished with Tadelakt lime,and then protected using “savon noir” (black olive soap) Apparently there are more photos on the way, as some of the Villa’s have been completed ….if your looking for ideas for your interior, you like Moroccan architecture,or you want to buy a villa in Marrakech! …check out this blog!

Mikaela Fenton-Jones sent me this email of her personal account of Tadelakt lime plaster in Marrakech, and included updated shots of the interior of the Villa’s.

Thank’s Mikaela!

The lucky new buyers of these villa’s should give Maryam a shout from My Marrakech Lifestyle and interior design Blog, for some inspiration in furnishing there newly acquired abode

“The Moroccan art of Tadelakt plaster is one of those building traditions that has thankfully survived the test of time and is not, as so many other traditional trades and skilled practices are, dying out with a reduction in the knowledge pool. It is alive and kicking in Morocco. Now, I am by no means an expert in tadelakt, but I love that fact that it is ubiquitous here in Marrakech; it’s historical ‘ birthplace’ . I also love the fact that it transcends the luxury décor/functional divide and is just as widely used in public hammams (steamy bath houses) as the most trendy of boutique hotels The beautiful rounded edges and curves achieved on showers and bathubs, allow for the most indulgent of designs and the natural pigments used produce a wide variety of colours. See for example a couple of the bathrooms at the fabulously bohemiem Riad El Fenn in Marrakech”

“We are in the process of building an exclusive villa community, L’Amandier, in the foothills of the Atlas Mountains . Our British architect set out to blend a contemporary design with the traditional Moroccan materials and he chose Tadelakt for all the interior walls. He was absolutely right, because in my opinion, Tadelakt gives an overall impression of depth and warmth. It seems to both reflect and absorb the light and gives the feeling that the walls have somehow organically grown into the design of the house”

Assuming it is skillfully applied, Tadelakt is durable (although be careful of corners; rounded edges advised), waterproof, and stunningly beautiful…

Interior Vancouver Tadelakt Wall Finish

Authenticlime — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 23:40:06 +0000

So after 3 months of collaboration with Francois Naudi of Mainland exteriors,a week ago today the largest Tadelakt project ever to be tendered in Vancouver was secured …phase 1 will be a whopping 25,000 + square feet of Stucco Italiano’s Tadelakt lime plaster .Watch this blog for video and photo updates of this exclusive residence receiving the wall finishing treatment of Tadelakt .

Now the real reason for this boring blog post…..We will be offering 3-5 positions of real hands on, on site Tadelakt training ,this will comprise finishing of actual wall surfaces, you will learn the process of installing Tadelakt lime plaster,you will learn tricks of the trade in running a decorative plastering crew. Add to this, we will teach you the concepts behind the estimating side of the venetian plaster business, you will complete a portfolio of 8 finished Tadelakt samples to show your clients.

"Tadelakt Training Course"

This on-site Tadelakt class will encompass 3 1/2 days of intense job site training

This on-site Tadelakt class will encompass 3 1/2 days of intense job site training,with the last half day being a discussion hosted by Aaron Cohen of Stucco Italiano inc. from Seattle, the focus of the discussion will be on real-life installation situations and color theory, helping you to progress beyond the sample board and into the successful completion of the most challenging Tadelakt projects.

You will then be well on your way with your new business venture, installing Stucco Italiano Tadelakt lime plaster.

This Tadelakt application course is open to all levels of plastering skill including the DIY’ER… for more information please use my contact page for email, or leave a comment below to be contacted with details.

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.

Making lime plaster and mortar,a lost art

Authenticlime — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 04:24:07 +0000

The World is our Oyster

Check out this video from the Colonial Williamsburg video library showing the building and history behind a lime rick .

As the rick burned, temperatures of at least 1800 F were were obtained. This is essential if the conversion from calcium carbonate to calcium oxide is going to occur. Ricks were constructed with several tiers of logs supporting layers of smaller logs then covered with the oyster shells.

There are worldwide examples of historic Lime ricks, these were found in close association to shell middens, which are strewn along the eastern seaboard of the USA, with some examples here in western Canada,with further examples worlwide.

The world-over you will see the use of the sir name “Lime-burner” or points of interest called “Limeburner point” “Lime burner bay” or pubs called “The lime burner” or “Limeburners Arms” these are all in reference of the old trade of burning limestone or in this case oyster shells to make lime plaster, mortars, tabby cement and concrete.

Shell or lime middens are a whole different topic to which I am no expert,but I find the subject interesting none the less.

Shikkui Plaster ( Shirokabe) the traditional Japanese lime plaster, is manufactured in much the same way, from the millions of pounds of oyster shell produced from the consumption of oysters in Japan….albeit in a more modern type of lime kiln.

Shikkui Plaster is made of slaked lime , seaweed extracts and natural plant fibers and other aggregates. Has been widely used throughout Japan for both internal and external wall and ceiling finishes of houses, temples and castles, for over one thousand years.

The hydraulic lime used in the technique of Tadelakt plaster was/is manufactured in much the same way ,in ground pits or pit kilns, with palm fronds as fuel to burn the limestone local to Marrakesh.

The renewed interest in the use of Lime Plasters,Venetian plasters and lime based mortars and paints is beginning a revolution.

Lime Plaster, high in alkalinity and very breathable provides healthy environments, excellent luminescent, reflective light, and simply a beautiful surface wall finish for any home.

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.