[Cob] Gena's Lime Render

[Bill Wright]

Gena,
Just to be clear. . . Does your lime render have any clay in it? Is it simply a lime:Sand mix? How many layers of lime:sand did you use? What is the thickness of each layer?
You said it's on straw bales, right?
Many  Thanks!
Bill

Bill Wright, L.Ac., DNBAO
Wright Acupuncture and Massage
251 Auburn Ravine Rd., Ste. #205
Auburn, CA 95603
530-886-8927
"There is no path to healing, healing is the path" 


> On Feb 26, 2017, at 10:37 AM, Bill Wright <bill at auburnacupuncture.net> wrote:
> 
> HI Gena,
> All the responses have a bit of gold in them.
> Thank you!
> Bill
> 
> Bill Wright, L.Ac., DNBAO
> Wright Acupuncture and Massage
> 251 Auburn Ravine Rd., Ste. #205
> Auburn, CA 95603
> 530-886-8927
> "There is no path to healing, healing is the path" 
> 
> 
>> On Feb 26, 2017, at 10:35 AM, Gena Arthur <genaarthur at hotmail.com> wrote:
>> 
>> Hello,
>> 
>> I have a small strawbale cottage and when the prevailing winds blow rain into the lime render it does appear wet as well. Not sure if that is helpful or not. 
>> 
>>> On Feb 26, 2017, at 2:01 PM, "coblist-request at deatech.com" <coblist-request at deatech.com> wrote:
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>>> Today's Topics:
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>>>  1. Re: Lime Render - FAILURE (Shannon Dealy)
>>> 
>>> 
>>> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>>> 
>>> Message: 1
>>> Date: Sun, 26 Feb 2017 14:56:44 +0100 (CET)
>>> From: Shannon Dealy <dealy at deatech.com>
>>> To: coblist at deatech.com
>>> Subject: Re: [Cob] Lime Render - FAILURE
>>> Message-ID: <alpine.DEB.2.11.1702261456150.25248 at nashapur.deatech.com>
>>> Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII; format=flowed
>>> 
>>>> On Wed, 22 Feb 2017, Bill Wright wrote:
>>>> 
>>>> https://www.dropbox.com/s/2657yta5fpeyec2/Photo%20Feb%2021%2C%208%2000%2037%20AM.jpg?dl=0
>>>> 
>>>> DISCUSSION OF PHOTO:
>>>> You can see in the photo that the lime-containing render is getting saturated 
>>>> with the water from rains blowing onto the building where the prevailing 
>>>> winds are doing their work. IS THIS PROOF that the mechanism at play here is 
>>>> water making its way through the lime-containing render into the earthen 
>>>> brown coat below, and the swelling action of the deeper middle layer cracking 
>>>> the lime-containing outer render? It appears that way to me.
>>> 
>>> I'm afraid that all this really tells us is that the wet surface looks 
>>> significantly different from the dry surface. It doesn't tell us anything about 
>>> the depth of penetration. There are similar differences between wet and dry 
>>> areas on the outside of three buildings I have which are just bare cob walls 
>>> (over 10+ years exposure on all three buildings). Of course since I haven't 
>>> plastered there is no outer layer for the water to get beneath, however, my 
>>> bare walls are far more absorbant than the plaster mix you describe is likely 
>>> to be.
>>> 
>>> I'm afraid the only way I can think of to get more information is to pick a 
>>> spot in a wet area without any nearby cracks, dry the surface of the 
>>> surrounding area with a towel, cut a hole through the plaster with an
>>> old chisel and see how deep the moisture goes. You should also be able to tell 
>>> how well the plaster is bonded to the wall in this area.
>>> 
>>>> The question I'm sitting with. . . Will lime-putty in the cracks, and a lime 
>>>> wash on top of that be the best fix?
>>> 
>>> This would certainly be my approach, though I would use a lime-sand mix with 
>>> fine sand rather than straight lime putty to fill in large cracks
>>> (sand reduces/prevents shrinkage). Ideally you want your patch mix to match 
>>> your surface as much a possible and refloat the surface to blend the patch in. 
>>> The lime wash is a good idea, but will not hide any significant differences in 
>>> the appearance of different areas of the wall (that takes time and multiple 
>>> coats).
>>> 
>>> One thing I just realized, you didn't mention any kind of fiber in your plaster 
>>> mix. While plasters can be done without fiber, using fiber can greatly reduce 
>>> the chances of cracking, particularly fine cracks.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Shannon C. Dealy               |       DeaTech Research Inc.
>>> dealy at deatech.com              | Biotechnology Development Services
>>> Telephone USA: +1 541-929-4089 |      USA and the Netherlands
>>> Netherlands:   +31 85 208 5570 |          www.deatech.com
>>> 
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>>> End of Coblist Digest, Vol 15, Issue 9
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