Lime Plaster Floor

Lime plaster has been used for building since before the use of cement.

Lime plaster floor.

Lime plaster can be made in two ways but it does require a fair amount of time and hard work to make it properly. Then came the wait. Lime plaster is a type of plaster composed of sand water and lime usually non hydraulic hydrated lime also known as slaked lime high calcium lime or air lime. The plaster used in this process is simply a mix of type s mason s lime limestone sand and water.

So think of it this way if a stone floor is a 10 an oak plank floor a 7 to 8 then a cob floor is about a 3 to 4 in the way of hardness. Concrete s not a pretty project it s sloppy and it made a mess of both a floor and me. One more thing to note. Be mindful however that gypsum plaster floors may well contain some later cement repairs.

To this are added retardants such as keratin natural or sodium citrate manufactured. When set lime plaster becomes an extremely hard and solid mass that is extremely durable. First i slapped up two coats of concrete so there would be a inch seamless base for the lime plaster to build upon. This involves absorption of co2 from the air and it happens faster when the lime is damp not soaking wet.

If you add lime to it in the proportions you suggest you will probably only get a 4 5 or 5 where an actual lime masonry floor is a 7 5 to almost 10. Thickness used in this house it s possible to sculpt outside corners to give a softer look to what will become rock hard walls. If it s the original lime plaster it s nearly 130 years old so it may be wiser to take it back to brick start with a blank canvass if you do go back to brick don t forget to wear a respirator mask for the dust jack make sure there s plenty of ventilation also. It is very nearly liquefied rock that is troweled onto the walls.

The elevated ph of the lime in the plaster will also act as a fungicide. Lime plaster and mortar hardens by carbonation. Even in the 1 4 in. Lime ash is generally no longer available so repairs and reconstruction are usually done using a mixture of lime putty coal ash gypsum class a hemi hydrate fine casting plaster unburnt loamy clay and burnt crushed tile.

A gypsum plaster floor as does a suspected pre0th century date see figure 2. Compared to cement plaster lime plaster is less brittle and cracks much less requiring no expansion joints as a result. So to get a durable floor you may need to cure it for some period of time with controlled moisture levels and avoid letting it dry out completely. Finally after all that it was time to do what i love best the plastering.

Mold will not grow in lime plaster or on nearby wood. Ancient lime plaster often contained horse hair for reinforcement and pozzolan additives to reduce the working time. Traditional non hydraulic hydrated lime only sets through carbonatation when the plaster is kept moist and access.