We are adding this page as a resource for ourselves (when memory fades!) and for others who may be interested in what works for us. If you are considering using any of these techniques and would like more information, please message us and we will be happy to share our experiences with you.
Key Ingredient: Lime
Lime is a vital natural building material. Very simply, it absorbs carbon dioxide as it goes off, rendering it carbon neutral. It does not wick water like concrete, and it 'breathes' so that humidity is regulated and natural materials aren't stifled.
In Greece we are lucky enough to be able to buy our lime as putty - very ready to use, in approx 7 kilo bags costing 2 euros each. Lime is still very much in use in this country, for everything from mixing with cement to seal roof tiles to washing the trunks of fruit trees to dissuade ants.
Our measurements are based around Lime bags. At the outset we weighed a lime bag and then established the equivalent weight of sand in a bucket. This gives us the lime-sand ratio described in various recipes below.
Lime Mortar:
To fix blocks of local limestone in the stem wall. We have to have a concrete ring-beam to meet local building requirements, so the stem wall creates a barrier between the concrete and the bales. The stem wall is high enough to prevent rain splashing up from the ground onto the bale or cob part of the wall.
1 part lime to 3 parts building (sharp) sand. Well mixed with water to a loose consistency.
Lime Plaster:
To coat the straw bales, inside and out, as soon as they are in the wall. Three thick coats for maximum weather protection. We use chopped straw for extra cohesion. Straw can be cut in handfuls with scissors between 1cm - 1 inch (mixed measurements!) long, or it can be put in a metal dustbin and chopped with a strimmer. Keep the batches small, and wear a mask. If the bin is over-filled, the strimmer won't cut the whole batch.
1 part lime to 3 parts building (sharp) sand. As it rotates in the mixer, add water to a squishy consistency and then gradually throw in four handfuls of chopped straw. Check the water after the straw has been absorbed. The plaster should be firm but spread easily off a trowel.
Limecrete:
This is the breathing version of concrete, for slab floors, for example. We laid a limecrete slab, then terracotta tiles in a lime mortar with a lime grout to finish, and a top coat of nanotechnology breathable terracotta protection - and ended up with a breathing, red wine-resistant, good-looking kitchen floor!
1 part lime to 3 parts sharp sand and 3 parts gravel. Water to mix. Can take up to 5 weeks to go off enough to lay tiles, so if it is in an area where avoiding foot traffic is inconvenient, add about 500g of cement. Too much cement will compromise the breathability of the slab.
Lime grout:
Experimental, but seems to be working so far. 1 part lime (we measured it out in yogurt pots for small quantities) to 3 parts very fine sand (we bought fine sand and then sieved it through a kitchen sieve). Water to mix, consistency able to squeeze through the nozzle of a grout bag (like a big icing bag - we made ours out of a lime bag with the corner cut off).
More to come ....
Key Ingredient: Lime
Lime is a vital natural building material. Very simply, it absorbs carbon dioxide as it goes off, rendering it carbon neutral. It does not wick water like concrete, and it 'breathes' so that humidity is regulated and natural materials aren't stifled.
In Greece we are lucky enough to be able to buy our lime as putty - very ready to use, in approx 7 kilo bags costing 2 euros each. Lime is still very much in use in this country, for everything from mixing with cement to seal roof tiles to washing the trunks of fruit trees to dissuade ants.
Our measurements are based around Lime bags. At the outset we weighed a lime bag and then established the equivalent weight of sand in a bucket. This gives us the lime-sand ratio described in various recipes below.
Lime Mortar:
To fix blocks of local limestone in the stem wall. We have to have a concrete ring-beam to meet local building requirements, so the stem wall creates a barrier between the concrete and the bales. The stem wall is high enough to prevent rain splashing up from the ground onto the bale or cob part of the wall.
1 part lime to 3 parts building (sharp) sand. Well mixed with water to a loose consistency.
Lime Plaster:
To coat the straw bales, inside and out, as soon as they are in the wall. Three thick coats for maximum weather protection. We use chopped straw for extra cohesion. Straw can be cut in handfuls with scissors between 1cm - 1 inch (mixed measurements!) long, or it can be put in a metal dustbin and chopped with a strimmer. Keep the batches small, and wear a mask. If the bin is over-filled, the strimmer won't cut the whole batch.
1 part lime to 3 parts building (sharp) sand. As it rotates in the mixer, add water to a squishy consistency and then gradually throw in four handfuls of chopped straw. Check the water after the straw has been absorbed. The plaster should be firm but spread easily off a trowel.
Limecrete:
This is the breathing version of concrete, for slab floors, for example. We laid a limecrete slab, then terracotta tiles in a lime mortar with a lime grout to finish, and a top coat of nanotechnology breathable terracotta protection - and ended up with a breathing, red wine-resistant, good-looking kitchen floor!
1 part lime to 3 parts sharp sand and 3 parts gravel. Water to mix. Can take up to 5 weeks to go off enough to lay tiles, so if it is in an area where avoiding foot traffic is inconvenient, add about 500g of cement. Too much cement will compromise the breathability of the slab.
Lime grout:
Experimental, but seems to be working so far. 1 part lime (we measured it out in yogurt pots for small quantities) to 3 parts very fine sand (we bought fine sand and then sieved it through a kitchen sieve). Water to mix, consistency able to squeeze through the nozzle of a grout bag (like a big icing bag - we made ours out of a lime bag with the corner cut off).
More to come ....
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