Carlos, Plaster is a name for any plastic material that hardens in place. It is a type of composite (aggregate needed). You would need Calcium Carbonate (lime) and an aggregate (binder). You would need burnt lime to start you would then hydrate with water. This makes it pliable and consistent. You would also need to add an aggregate. You could use horse hair, stones (sand), etc. These act as the binder of the plaster. After it is mixed it can be worked. It is then starts to harden afterwards. If you use sharp textured sand (almost microscopic) it it more durable but harder to work, smoother sand less durable but easier to work. A combination is good.

Attach lath to your framing, (small wooden strips) and then apply the plaster with a trowel. You need several different layers. Starting with a rough etched layer and proceeding to a fine finish. The plaster protrudes through the lath, hardens and mechanically binds itself.

Disclaimer: I am no plasterer. However I know some. I had to recite from old notes. Plaster is a material that takes time to work the right way. I don't have any ratios for the mix. If you do intend to use plaster, I can get you some more specific information via email. let me know. By the way Calcium Carbonate (limestone) is all over the world (dead sea life).

Mo

I'd love to get some mixture ratios from you if you've got them...

carlossettle@hotmail.com

Carlos

Hi Carlos

This is one area that I can help in

Your plaster mixture if you are looking for the historical mixture is 3 shovels of sand and 1 of slacked lime. You would use this for the scratch coat (first coat) also if you do not have hair to mix into the mixture as a binder, you can use hemp just take manila rope on a wooden horse and and axe and cut short pieces 1 to 2 inches long it will resemble hair in the mixture, and will provide the keys with strength.

The next layer would be the above mixture without the binding agent, and this layer was usually the levelling layer and would begin the process of smoothing up the wall and removing any irregularities. Please scratch the surface very lightly only

The third and final layer is usually just a thin layer of the putty lime mixture, (sometimes a hardening agent is introduced) This layer is trowelled with a steel trowel and should ring out like a bell and be smooth enough to be shiny after hardening.

We sometimes used just river sand for the sand part of the mixture free from organic contamination or pebbles or stones.

I hope this helps you out. the whole thing isnt as easy as I make it out to be, but if you are handy with a trowel and a float you can master it. Another idea is to make a small mockup of wall complete with wood lath and experiment before going to a larger surface

good luck

NH

Is it really that easy? I may try this on a small wall. Is there any chemical reactions involved, cautions? Maybe I am thinking of Lye. What tool do you use to scratch the 2nd coat? Tim

C,

the guys have hit on the usual, spacers followed by drywall inserted in the gap btwn the post outer face and the wall material inner face. In your climate, with all the materials on site you could drywall to the posts directly and follow by the siding as has been suggested. If you can get longer drywall (12' or 20') put it up horizontally so the seams go across.
You still have the problem of how to run your electric. Have you considered any of the plastic raceways for hiding and neatness ?
The roof material I would use would be metal, not tile. This also gets you some airflow brwn the roof and the shed interior.
Good luck,
Deralte

scratching the surface is accomplished by taking a wood float and driving in some small nails on the underside and leave the heads protrude slightly, a dozen or more should do the trick.

directions for use--

After you are happy with the surface just take the float and make a few passes in a circular motion all over the surface that is going to get another coat. The scratches will give the next layer something to grab ahold of rather than a smooth surface.

NH

Timbeal:

Slacking the unslacked lime is extremely dangerous, the mixture can catch fire eventhough you are working in a trough with water.

You probably will not be able to get unslacked lime today because of its flamable properties. Years ago I worked with unslacked lime and have seen the problems above, once you have worked the "fire" out then the slacked mixture can be stored for long periods of time and has unbelievably wonderful properties about it.

I have used hydrated lime that is available in stores, and in the mixture above I added 1\2 shovel full of white portland cement, in other words the mixture would be ---"3.5 shovels full of sand, 1 shovel full of slacked hydrated lime, and 1\2 shovel full of white portland cement"--

You have to be very careful not to make the mixture too rich with the white portland cement, because it will set up very quickly and be hard to apply.

The pioneers constructed crude lime kilns, in which they burnt lime stone and produced their own lime ready for slacking. The trick was to keep it very dry after burning because the addition of water to the dry powder would immedately set of a chemical reaction that could not be stopped easily.

NH

NH, at The TTRAG meeting we witnessed the power and magic of unslacked lime and other related techniques. I picked up 2 books on the subject and am going to try and make lime from a source here on the Maine coast, clam shells. It is unbelievable. Tim

Hi Timbeal

That is just great--please post the results I am very interested in your resulting unslacked lime, I really had never thought about using clam shells but they should be an excellent source of lime.

I pushed to have a demonstration of burning lime stone at UCV to produce a source of unslacked lime, but the powers above seemed to think that it was too dangerous of a process to undertake.

Now it is too late for me, I guess it is up to people like you now to carry the flame of experimentation forward.

NH

NH, I am going to the clam shucking factory today to inquire on the availability of shells and their quality. Whole shells are best. Than I need to dry the brush/twigs which I have they just need some dry time, they may be snowed in as well. I was inpressed by the power of slacked lime, with all things powerfull I am cautious.

We do dangerous things every day like drive hunks of metal down the road at high speeds, and climb tall buildings in a few bounds, and we aren't super heros. A local builder had a experience with OSHA the other day after a worker fell of some staging(snowy conditions), not a big fall but broke some ribs and brused lungs which were bleeding. So I am stating to hang on for the ride, here comes OSHA.