Natural DIY Lime Plaster in a 70’s Build

Hi all!

We recently purchased the house we had been renting for 6 years and I am attempting to turn my 70’s build into an old French country style home. I want to let these walls breathe and work like the farm we have!

I caught onto this forum through a thread here on covering latex walls to lime plaster but the poster seems to no longer be participating and I am left with so many questions mid-process!

First of all- We live in the pacific NW on a farm with 9 kids. We’re not rich, we are huge DIYers and we’re more or less into self sufficiency.

I am not looking for companies who offer a 30lb bag of premix lime plaster for $120- I am looking for ways to inexpensively mix our own lime plaster.

The problem I have encountered is the vast array of opinions on what to use. Some people say use Portland cement, some people say use sand- others brick dust and others ash.

In the thread here on converting latex walls to lime, he doesn’t mention the use of sand in the lime mix and just used lime and joint compound over the prepared wall-but I’m beginning to wonder if he used a Limestrong mix that had added sand?

I have my type S hydrated lime, I have my joint compound I just need to know if I have to use sand and which kind I should use and from where? Home Depot has all sorts of bags of things.

I also am looking to do a tadelakt system in our bathroom and I was hoping someone has an actual olive oil soap recipe I could use to make my own oil soap?

The Limestrong company has a lot of non- natural sealers etc, which is not how it’s done historically.

I’ve been browsing all the lime topics here but everything seems to round back to the same issues I’ve been having finding a natural recipe for lime plaster that can go over my prepared gypsum walls.

-Jyn

Here are some threads about olive oil soap:

https://permies.com/t/125303/personal-care/purity/Sources-Beginning-Soapmakers

https://permies.com/t/48586/Soap-making-oils-choose

Some threads about lime:

https://permies.com/t/166230/Interior-walls

https://permies.com/t/152582/Lime-plaster-questions

https://permies.com/t/170071/ideas-renovating-house-mediterranean-homesteading

I hope these will help answer your questions.

Hi Anne!

So, my situation is quite different than Cobb because we aren’t using a cobb but an internal lime plaster smooth effect from materials they used to be made of and the soap is particular for the Tadelakt. I have found that KissMyFace soap is a great alternative, but I would like to find out why?

My issues mainly are finding the right sand and even if I need sand for the main room!

I have talked to some plasterers locally and sand suppliers and… it’s very sad, really. The plasterer I talked to said he didn’t ever put sand in his mixes. 👀

The sand supplier mostly said they don’t offer unwashed limestone sand for lime plaster… and didn’t even direct me to where I might find it.

Everywhere I go and research people say,” Add this kind of sand…” (of none I can find sources in Portland, Oregon) “… and use this kind of lime…” (off which I found one resource for it). Or they say, “Buy *OUR* brand -it’s the best- and has everything added already it’s only $150 for a 25lb bag!!!”

And here I am sitting in my new bathroom with greenboard walls begging for a covering feeling frustrated.

Anne Miller wrote:Here are some threads about olive oil soap:

https://permies.com/t/125303/personal-care/purity/Sources-Beginning-Soapmakers

https://permies.com/t/48586/Soap-making-oils-choose

Some threads about lime:

https://permies.com/t/166230/Interior-walls

https://permies.com/t/152582/Lime-plaster-questions

https://permies.com/t/170071/ideas-renovating-house-mediterranean-homesteading

I hope these will help answer your questions.

Jyn said, "And here I am sitting in my new bathroom with greenboard walls begging for a covering feeling frustrated.

I am sorry that you did not find any of the links I offered on lime plastering helpful.

Our forum has what a category we call "Zero Replies".  I typically go through those Topics and look for the ones that have not had any replies in several days.

Your topic caught my eye several times so when it had not received any replies after 2 or 3 days I offered some threads on lime plaster.  I am sorry none of these were of value to you.

This leads me to believe that you may not find the answer you are looking for.

As to your question regarding the Kiss My Face soap:

I have found that KissMyFace soap is a great alternative, but I would like to find out why?

I would suggest looking at the ingredients listed.

Happy hunting and maybe by bumping this thread once again there will be someone that will reply with some information that you feel is helpful.

While searching for the answer to someone else question I found these that I thought you might find interesting:

https://www.wconline.com/articles/88086-the-history-of-plaster-in-architecture-the-ancient-and-classical-periods

https://permies.com/t/35033/Natural-Plaster-Book-Dan-Chiras

Jyn, I've never done tadelakt or tried to plaster over gypsum board walls, but I  checked a book I have on natural finishes (Weismann and Bryce).
For the tadelakt the sand used needs to be fine - graded to less than 1mm. I believe marble sand can be used (more like the Italian marmorino), or limestone sand to replicate the silica impurities in Moroccan lime. Maybe a cheap source of marble sand could be the waste byproducts from a local monumental mason or someone doing marble countertops?
I'm not really sure the sand type is all-important, more important is particle size. A suggested mix is 1 part NHL 2 or NHL 3 lime to 2 parts sand, but sensibly they recommend testing on a small area first as depending on the lime and soap, the ratio may need tweaking. It's a UK book, so I'm not sure of the US equivalents.
This book also recommends using a sanded priming coat on this sort of building board before applying lime plaster, suggesting a homemade version of wheatflour paste and sand.

Best wishes for your ambitious project! Would love to see how it turns out!

Thank you Jane!

I’ve found some more information and because I’m sure I’m not the only one who will be looking for this, I’ll document it and update in my original post as I go.

In Oregon (nw) there seems to be few sources for the sand. I was told there may be one in Vancouver, Wa across the border but I did find a source of quartz from a pool and spa supply company that uses it as a pool filter. It’s $17 for a 50lb sack.

I also found a very helpful UK video ( https://www.mikewye.co.uk/guidesheets/tadelakt-application-maintenance/)  on how to apply it. They do have their own premix- I did email them to ask if they ship to the US or if they would kindly tell me what else I would need to add to my lime putty to achieve similar results.

We bought a bunch of 50lb sacks of Type-S hydrated Lime from Home Depot and mixed them into buckets with water to help cure already.

The Tadelakt tutorial suggest using a fiberglass mesh to help with shrinkage so I have to source that.

I am planning on ordering some Kiss-My-Face soap as was suggested by a plasterer.

I broke my back a few weeks ago painting so my husband is probably not going to let me on a ladder anytime soon- and I need to get with it!

That solves somewhat my Tadalakt issue- for my landing I am considering using the lime putty and sand- I just don’t know if I need to use Portland cement or not?

Ouch on your back. Hope you recover quickly. The extra time will mature your lime putty some more.

Sounds as if things are coming together with gathering more information and finding sources.

The book I have suggests just using lime and sand, no cement, but hopefully those with more lime experience will chime in.

I know this is an old thread and Jyn has probably solved the problem, but here’s what I use for lime mortar, whether interior or exterior…

3 parts masonry sand…
1 part hydrated lime
1/2 part diatomaceous earth (or whatever pozzolan you have available, brick dust, metakaolin, VCAS, volcanic ash, etc., but diatomite is easy to find and results in a really brilliant white plaster that glazes well and doesn’t adulterate pigments)
For lathe coats, add some nylon fiber

The pozzolan isn’t absolutely necessary for a number of reasons, but it will give the plaster some hydraulic curing and much more early strength.  Hydrated lime is calcium hydroxide, which reacts with silicon oxides and water to form tricalcium silicate hydrate, which is the crystal lattice that provides most of the early strength in the hydration of Portland cement.  The reaction is much slower with lime plaster and you may never notice any exothermic heat, but there will be a large difference in strength after 48 hours.

I have done some experiments with acrylic fortifiers and it does result in something a lot more like Portland cement concrete after about 10 days (holding water in the plaster keeps the tricalcium silicate hydrate reaction going longer) but it will also REALLY slow down your operations.  If you want a less permeable surface, like for a countertop, then an acrylic may be a good admixture decision, but otherwise I wouldn’t bother.

Practice before you start on a surface that matters.  Put some lathe over a sheet of plywood and experiment to see what works.  It will be a worthwhile investment of time in your learning curve.

I know this is an older post, but thank you to everyone who weighed in this.
It is really helpful.

I'm trying to cover some older surfaces in an eighty year old house and add lime plaster to new walls that we plan on building.
In addition,  this answered a lot of questions I had about Tadelakt.

Jyn, how did it go?

Will you please pictures?