Essential Natural Plasters
Description
Create Beautiful, Durable Finishes with Natural Plasters That Last for Generations Part of the Sustainable Building Essentials Series, Essential Natural Plasters is the definitive hands-on guide to working with clay, lime, and gypsum plasters for healthy, high-performance interior and exterior finishes. Learn how to create breathable, low-impact surfaces that regulate moisture naturally and deliver timeless beauty.
What You'll Learn
- Healthy, High-Performance Finishes: Use breathable plaster systems that manage moisture, improve indoor air quality, and contribute to long-lasting buildings.
- Materials and Recipes That Work: Source site soils, sands, fibers, and binders, and learn proven recipes for clay, lime, gypsum, and specialty plasters.
- Interior and Exterior Applications: Apply plasters in dry and wet environments, including durable exterior finishes and specialty plasters such as tadelakt for bathrooms.
- Substrate Preparation Made Clear: Prepare surfaces ranging from straw bale and cob to lath and drywall for reliable adhesion and durability.
- Step-by-Step Techniques: Learn how to set up a safe, efficient worksite and master mixing, testing, tinting, repairing, and applying plasters with confidence.
- Expert Recipes and Real-World Insight: Access coveted plaster formulas and techniques from leading practitioners across North America and Europe.
Richly illustrated and deeply researched, this guide functions as both a practical how-to manual and a trusted reference for ongoing projects. It is ideal for owner-builders, natural builders, designers, and professionals seeking beautiful, durable, and low-impact finishes.
Written by Michael Henry and Tina Therrien, respected practitioners with decades of hands-on experience, Essential Natural Plasters distills hard-won knowledge, experimentation, and best practices into a clear, accessible resource.
Explore the full Sustainable Building Essentials Series for highly illustrated, step-by-step guidance on natural materials, resilient construction methods, and high-performance building systems.
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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.
Content
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
