Natural hydraulic lime: Not just for straw bales anymore

For a variety of reasons, natural hydraulic lime and straw bales make a perfect couple. First of all, using a few of coats of natural hydraulic lime plaster on top of earthen plaster is a brilliant and easy way to give your straw bale home a "finished" look. It's also a way to add color to the exterior of your home without using traditional paint, which can be full of unhealthy VOCs. Like earthen plasters, natural hydraulic lime is highly breathable, meaning condensation is able to move freely out of the straw bales—a huge benefit that greatly reduces the potential for mold growth. Natural hydraulic lime is also about 2 to 3 times more elastic than concrete, which is incredibly important when it comes to straw bale walls, because they like to settle.

But, don't be fooled: You don't have to build a straw bale home to reap the awesome green benefits of natural hydraulic lime plaster. No, this stuff is a fabulous exterior finish choice for a number of wall types, not just straw.

Natural hydraulic lime can be used in renovation as well as new building; it can and has been used on wooden lath, metal lath, straw bales, adobe and cob, and masonry.