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I can't make mojitos with THAT! Less rum, more calcium; or, Understanding the lime cycle

posted 5 months ago

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This is a chronicle of my getting-to-know-lime journey. Anyone can reply to this thread with links to helpful content. i made it a wiki so any pollinator can add those links to the resource list near the end of this first post. Videos on the list will be embedded in future posts so we can watch them right here, and discuss what we're learning or questioning.

The “Too long; I am not reading that wall of words” version
background of a permaculture "Aha!" moment; enduring comfort in a home; a rabbit-trail of learning; hopes for this wiki; first video for introduction; editable resource list; more questions

Background
Thanks to thought-experiments (imagining houses in my mind) and John C Daley's share I'm enjoying a mini-obsession over historic construction practices lately.
In other words, I'm smack in the middle of a dawning permaculture "Aha!" moment. As usual, I’m along for the ride, waiting to see where it takes me.

Until recently my stance was closer to the "damp is the enemy, never-a-drop, seal it up tight" end of the construction spectrum. And then I’m reminded "buildings can breathe and somewhat take care of themselves if you build them to". Ohhhkay – what??

Now the cat's out of the bag, I can't unlearn this, and my spectrum of "ways to attain enduring comfort" expanded from point A right in front of me to point z = a + ib waaaaaay over there.

Therefore, I'm fascinated by centuries-old structures still functioning as residences. I focus on British Isles examples (Escape to the Country, anyone?), and read about Roman construction techniques.

And so, lime.
I'm familiar with its potential usefulness around the homestead -
exterior wood finish
interior wall finish
egg preservation
soil amendment
and more.

But why is it so useful in construction?
Listening to an audiobook recently, I stumbled on a reference to a lime kiln demonstration filmed for BBC’s “Edwardian Farms”. Tracking that down started me on a rabbit-trail of YouTube videos full of answers. The info ranges from pop-culture consumable to more in-depth technical instructions.

Intro to lime
The video that got me started. It’s perhaps lighter on specifics, designed to keep you interested. Hey - it worked on me!

Resource List
Videos (embedded in later thread posts)
Lime Kiln 3/3
An Old Lime Kiln Roars Back to Life After Decades Idle
This 2,200degF Ancient Lime Kiln Runs for 60 Hours Straight
Lime Mortar for Old Home - Chemistry, Conservation, and Why It Still Works
Lime Mortar Types Explained: Essential knowledge for older UK buildings
Full Playlist: Which lime to use? Talking Conservation Lime Series

Part 1: Building & Pointing Old Brick and Stone

Part 2: Plasters & Renders for Traditional Homes

Part 3: Floors, Chimneys, & Exposure Areas

Non-video Resources
A Short History of the Use of Lime as a Building Material - Beyond Europe and North America (pdf)
Mortars, Renders, & Plasters (English Heritage Practical Building Conservation marketing spread
Helpful post from "Lime Terms ... oh so many names.. Trying to keep it straight." (permies thread)

Questions remain!
Some of my questions I think are better posed in the cider press. Essentially, I wonder:

Is lime inevitable in my climate-context?

Are there less-processed alternatives - either substances or methods - that achieve what lime does?

COMMENTS:

Sara Hartwin

pollinator

Posts: 291

Location: SE USA, southern Piedmont Uplands, zone 8b

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posted 5 months ago

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The companion video to the one posted in the intro: the firing is finished and the lime is gathered. There's a neat close-up of the finished product reacting to water.

Aspirations: She seeks wool and flax, considers a field and buys it, girds herself with strength, opens her mouth with wisdom, and does him good all the days of her life. (pieces of Proverbs 31, NKJV)

Sara Hartwin

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Posts: 291

Location: SE USA, southern Piedmont Uplands, zone 8b

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posted 5 months ago

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An Old Lime Kiln Roars Back to Life After Decades Idle
Part 1 of 2
Link to original German-language film, Part 1

This video and the next are slower paced and show much more of the process. I'm impressed by the skill and attention used to fill the kiln.

Sara Hartwin

pollinator

Posts: 291

Location: SE USA, southern Piedmont Uplands, zone 8b

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posted 5 months ago

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This 2,200°F Ancient Lime Kiln Runs for 60 Hours Straight
Part 2 of 2
Link to original German-language film, Part 2

Sara Hartwin

pollinator

Posts: 291

Location: SE USA, southern Piedmont Uplands, zone 8b

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posted 5 months ago

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Lime Mortar for Old Homes -- Chemistry, Conservation, and Why It Still Works

This illustrates the lime cycle so clearly!

Sara Hartwin

pollinator

Posts: 291

Location: SE USA, southern Piedmont Uplands, zone 8b

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posted 5 months ago

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Lime Mortar Types Explained: Essential knowledge for older UK buildings
Part 2 of Talking Conservation's Lime Series

By this video I was deep in the rabbit hole. They discuss air lime, natural hydraulic lime, pozzolans, and hybrid lime mixes. With bonus fermentation analogy!

Sara Hartwin

pollinator

Posts: 291

Location: SE USA, southern Piedmont Uplands, zone 8b

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posted 5 months ago

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This video deals with how lime is used as a mortar in brick or stone buildings.
A key concept brought out here:
in general, the mortar is best mixed to be "weaker" (softer) than the brick or stone being used. The video explains why.

Stephen also helpfully compares and contrasts cement mortar with lime mortar mixes.

Sara Hartwin

pollinator

Posts: 291

Location: SE USA, southern Piedmont Uplands, zone 8b

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posted 3 months ago

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Rich Aylesbury said

"Plasters do need to do a bit more than just look good. They're not just a decorative finish to the room; they also help to regulate the internal environment."

Takeaways to entice you to watch
Vapor permeability! Capillarity! Hygroscopic! Durability! Alkalinity! Lime plaster has all that, and this video explains it wonderfully. There's even a helpful spectrum.
Did you know gypsum plaster is salt-sensitive? And therefore it reacts with paints over time?

Structures must withstand wind-driven precipitation, freeze/thaw cycles, maybe movement and structure flex.
This of course begs the question - it does! really! -
Would you rather wear a woolen overcoat or a plastic bag in damp weather?

This is it, y'all - the kernel that's got lime tripping all my nerd triggers.
Feel free to be amused at my expense (I am!

) while I attempt to explain my over-abundant excitement:

Here we have a single construction component that, once installed, will interact with its environment to make me more comfortable for longer inside my home.
No blower motors.
No duct work.
No moving parts.
No switches.
No noise.

Just one thing -
one material
one component
that sits there (for years!)
silently improving my life
SIMPLY
because of its chemical and physical properties.

Aaaaand... people knew this a very, very long time ago.

Wow.

So now my mind explores:
What other traditional or natural or historical construction components and concepts are available to me which will similarly make my dream castles more luxurious for longer? And is there anything even better than lime?

Note: I picked on modern HVAC systems merely to contrast simplicity versus complexity. Probably the "simplicity" of lime is relative, too - given difficulty of installation, time to dry, maintenance, and probably other ways I'm still ignorant of.
I don't think that lime is a 1:1 substitute for heating/cooling systems. But maybe utilizing it (or other materials) would help me simplify those systems, or decrease my dependence on them.

John C Daley

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Location: Bendigo , Australia

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