Essential Natural Plasters: A Guide to Materials, Recipes, and Use

Michael Henry has researched plasters and plastered his way across Ontario for the past decade, plastering for Camel's Back Construction and Straworks. His attention to detail and mad-scientist plaster experiments have made him a noted expert in the field and a sought-after workshop leader on plasters at the Endeavour Centre. Michael is co-author of Ontario's Old-Growth Forests, and he lives in Peterborough, Ontario, with his wife and two children. He shares his plastering knowledge at thesustainablehome.net. Tina Therrien started plastering in 1997 as part of Camel's Back Construction, the first straw bale building company in Ontario. One of the founding members of the Ontario Natural Building Coalition, Tina has made numerous contributions in the natural building world and has plastered in France and Haiti. Passionate about food, gardening, and chickens, Tina lives in a modest timber frame home with her spouse, daughter, their flock of chickens, and their slowly expanding gardens. She is co-author of More Straw Bale Building, and she operates Shelter By Hand, a timber framing company, with her spouse. She lives in Low, Quebec.

Chapter 1: Introduction Chapter 2: Natural Plaster Ingredients Chapter 3: Planning and Preparation Chapter 4: Mixing and Application Chapter 5: Earth Plaster Base Coats Recipe: Project Karyne Base Coat from Site Soil Recipe: Easily Workable Base Coat Using Bagged Clay Recipe: Straw-Clay Mud Recipe: Lime-Stabilized Base Coat Using Bagged Clay or Site Clay Recipe: Straworks' Baseball Diamond Mix Recipe: La Couche de Corps Recipe: Super Sticky Upside-Down Mix Chapter 6: Earth Plaster Finish Coats Recipe: All-Purpose Finish Plaster Recipe: Pigmented Finish Plaster with Fiber Recipe: Silty Subsoil Dolomite Sand Top Coat Recipe: Fat Plaster Recipe: Finish Coat with "Mayonnaise" Recipe: Finish Coat Using Bagged Clay Recipe: Glen's Wet-Burnish Plaster Recipe: Finish Clay Plaster with Shredded Paper or Cellulose Recipe: Polishing Clay Plaster Recipe: Starch Paste Recipe: Rice or Corn Starch Paste Chapter 7: Lime Plasters Lime Recipe: Simple Hydrated Lime Plaster Lime Recipe: Traditional Lime Putty-Based Scratch Coat with Hair Reinforcement Lime Recipe: Multi-Functional Hemp Lime Coating Lime Recipe: Lime Plaster with Manure Lime Recipe: Lime Plaster with Paper Pulp Lime Recipe: Tadelakt Lime Recipe: Stuc/Chevy Tadelakt Lime Recipe: Hot Mixed Lime Mortars Lime Recipe: Harling, Rough Cast, and Pebble Dash as External Lime Plastering Finishes Lime Recipe: Homemade Hydraulic Lime Base Coat Chapter 8: More Binders Chapter 9: Finishes and Aftercare Recipe: Carole Crews' Favorite Alis Appendix 1: Coverage Estimates and Conversions Appendix 2: Resources Contributors Index About the Authors A Note About the Publisher