Using Natural Finishes

This book is about using 'natural' finishes based on lime and earth.

An in-depth guide with step-by-step instructions on how to select, mix and apply lime- and clay- based plasters, renders, paints and washes. With the increasing awareness of eco-building techniques alongside the desire to make our homes healthier, the historical benefits of using natural renders and paints are being rediscovered. Clay and Lime Renders, Plasters and Paints is a detailed guide to the selection, mixing and application of lime- and clay-based plasters, renders, paints and washes. It provides step-by-step instructions for applying lime- and clay-based plasters, renders and paints, and information on the benefits of natural finishes for personal health, the environment, and for buildings. The book draws on traditional methods & materials for using lime & clay finishes on new and historic buildings, and also includes a comprehensive and up-to-date online resource guide to suppliers, practitioners and courses. Easy to follow DIY projects guide the reader through all aspects of using these natural finishes, with beautiful photographs of techniques and examples from the UK and abroad.

A veritable cookbook of natural plaster recipes and techniques for beautiful, durable finishes Natural plasters made of clay, lime, and other materials mixed with sand are beautiful building finishes. Fun to work with, low-impact, and allowing infinite creativity, they are high performance and provide proven, centuries-long durability. Yet until now there's been no resource that has pulled together the best North American plaster recipes and how-to into one place. Essential Natural Plasters covers it all: Sourcing and selecting materials, including site-soils Clay, lime, and gypsum plasters as well as fibers and amendments Interior and exterior use and specialty plasters such as tadelakt for bathrooms Preparing substrates, from straw bales and cob to lath and Sheetrock How to set up a safe, efficient worksite Mixing, testing, tinting, repairing, and applying plasters Coveted recipes from leading plasterers in Ontario, Vermont, New Mexico, France, and New Zealand. Richly illustrated and deeply researched, Essential Natural Plasters is the must-have resource for owner-builders and professionals alike.

Building with Cob shows how to apply this ancient technique in a wide variety of contemporary situations, covering everything from design and siting, mixing, building walls, fireplaces, ovens and floors, lime and other natural finishes, and gaining planning permission and building regulation approval.

For more than 18 years, Bob Flexner has been inspiring woodworkers with his writings and teachings on wood finishing. Now, from this best-selling author comes the long-awaited and completely updated second edition of UNDERSTANDING WOOD FINISHING-the most practical, comprehensive book on finishing ever published. The first edition of UNDERSTANDING WOOD FINISHING has sold hundreds of thousands of copies and is widely regarded as the bible of wood finishing. "We use UNDERSTANDING WOOD FINISHING as the textbook for our students training to go into the furniture industry," says David Miles, wood technology professor at Pittsburg State University. "It's the best written, most accurate, and most thorough wood finishing book in print-by far."

Taunton's Complete Illustrated Guide to Finishing features advanced techniques on controlling and adjusting color, disguising defects, and repairing finishes.