[Cob] Cob: Washington, DC: Lime plaster

[Charmaine Taylor]

Hi Ed, sounds like you are having fun with the lime.  The plaster should not be
watery...is should stick to the trowel a little bit, and not slide off too fast
when you go to apply it.

It may not hurt the overall job, as the water will just evaporate, or hurt the air
carbonation of the lime.

If plaster feels too dry you can just "beat" it on a big scrap board, OR just use a
paint stem mixer on a drill  to get it creamy. if you need to ad water add just a
tiny amount of lime water from the  soaking bin.

I would leave the watery plaster OPENED to the air in a cool moist area overnight
and remix before using again.

Wish I was closer  it sounds like a nice fun job to help with!


www.northcoast.com/~tms/render.html   <<< has info on lime plasters

Ms. Charmaine  Taylor/ Taylor Publishing
http://www.dirtcheapbuilder.com


Raduazo at aol.com wrote:

> I will be putting lime plaster on the inside surface of my wall this week. if
> anyone would like to see how it goes on. This is the third finish layer, the
> scratch coat was clay/straw, the brown coat was clay/sand/horsemanure, this is
> the color coat which is one part lime and two parts white sand.
>     I have done about half of the wall just learning how to do it and I am
> still not sure what the water content should be. The first two batches were
> pretty watery, but other than not staying on the trowel when you tip it vertical
> it seems to be going on well.
>     I have discovered a new tool which seems to help in plastering concave
> surfaces like wall niches. It is called a "SHUR-LINE" and is a thin plastic tool
> designed for painting window and door frames. I find that I can load it up
> with plaster then bend it to match the curvature of the surface being plastered
> to apply a smooth, thin, concave surface layer.
>     In applying, I spray the dry cob with water, apply plaster, leave the
> surface undisturbed for about two or three hours, then spray it again and smooth
> out all lines and depressions.
>     I will be repeating the entire plastering process on the exterior part of
> the wall sometime in May when the weather warms up a little. Also, I still
> need to provide three layers of plaster and color on the children's playhouse at
> Green Spring Gardens Park, so there will be more chances for people who
> missed out on the first series of plastering steps.
>     Anyone interested give me a call.
> Ed @ 703-360-2316
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