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BREATHABLE WALL SYSTEMS
USING NATURAL MATERIALS

- Controlled Humidity

- Toxin Free (No VOC's)

- Antibacterial, mould free

- Negative Ion Inducing

HEALTHY INTERIORS

ENERGY EFFICIENCY

- Warm in winter, Cool in     Summer

- Thermal Insulation

- Acoustic Insulation

 

PRESERVING THE FABRIC

- Low Maintenance

- High Durability

- Flexural Strength

- Vapour permeable

- Damp free, Dry walls

For a building to function efficently the appropriate choice of materials is fundamental

THE BREATHING 

BUILDING

THE SICK 

BUILDING

HEALTHY INTERIORS 

Clean Fresh Air

 

Controlled humidity - One of the reasons we have to heat and cool our houses so much is that the humidity                   (moisture) holds temperature, so its taking the temperature with it, creating an unstable interior air situation

 

- Lime & Clay plasters are hygroscopic which help to regulate internal humidy by absorbing high concentrations

  of moisture in the air in to the cell spaces & then relinquishing that when the himidity diminishes, creating 

  equilibrium, for a more constant stable interior temperature 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Antibacterial - Lime's high alkalinity inhibits the development of bacteria, a natural protection against mould. Oxygen kills bacterior & where oxygen is allowed a free passage through the cell spaces of lime & clay plaster, their surfaces and the air quality is kept bacterior free. Also an insecticide (woodworm hate it) - hence its wide usage on farm buildings. 

 

Free of Toxins  - VOC's - Volatile organic compounds. Solvents shoot them off. Traditionally in glues, carpets, Paints, 

                                             apholstary etc. Some VOCs are dangerous to human health. Harmful VOCs typically are not                                                    acutely toxic, but have compounding long-term health effects.

                             - PVC - Is contained in paints and modern synthetic plasters, one of the most toxic chemicals that 

                                          humans manafacture. Natural materials contain no chemicals or synthetic ingredients

 

Free from Odors  - The very smell of a new house (paints, carpets, varnishes, plastics etc) is the VOC's. Natural materials have no VOC's or synthetic components, the way nature intended. Breathable walls allow free passage of Oxygen which kills odurs and the alkalininty of lime prevents the build up of germs & thus odurs on its surface. The smells of natural mineral based lime & clay plasters is a very clean fresh natural smell.  

 

Buffering EMF's - (Electromagnetic Fields) Given off by electrical devices. Essentially inducing positive ions which can make you feel jumpy, nervous & anxious. Earth and stone helps to buffer that, so coats of clay or lime will help to buffer the EMF's

 

Antistatic - Clay plasters are anti static, meaning dust falls to floor to be hoovered up. Beneficial for people with dust allergies.

 

Negative Ion Inducing - Materials Influence the composition and the type of ions in a room. Lime & clay plasters can help to create lots of small negatively charged ions which are positive for our health. The same ions you get in the atmosphere in the mountains or by the sea. These are health enhancing ions making us feel good.

              

 

Lime & Clay plasters help to maintain the optimum zone for Relative Humidty 

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Lime & Clay plasters help to prevent condensation 

ENERGY EFFICIENT

Warm in Winter Cool In Summer

 

Hard Dense Materials  - The problem with hard dense materials (cement, modern gypsum & dense stone) is once they get up to a certain temperature they stay there for a long time. If a material is very dense, its taking the cold or the heat right thru the density of that material. In the same respect that if the material is damp it will conduct the heat & cold through.

 

- Buildings using dense stone, modern cement & gypsum coatings are not energy efficient buildings being very cold in   the winter and very warm in the summer, requiring costly heating and ventilation systems to stabilise internal   conditions. 

 

Cold Bridging  - Sand and cement render being a poor insulator promotes the formation of condensation. In modern cavity wall construction we then need some insulation (a sheet of mineral wool, polystyrene or foam) between layers of these materials. Often the cavity collects debris from above bridging the cavity & furthermore external penetrating damp encouraged by dense materials cracking, can leak through soaking the insulation, bridging the cavity and with that bringing the temperature with it & the damp. 

 

Cost Efficiency - Using the wrong materials means the internal conditions created will then need to be controlled by other means, such as costly ventilation systems, additional heating, air freshners, which all need installing, servicing and replacing.

 

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PRESERVING THE BUILDING FABRIC

Low Maintenance

 

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Vapour Permeable & Breathable  - This does'nt mean your walls are going to leak. Vapour is not the same as water. Vapour or moisture turns in to water when it condenses on impermeable surfaces, creating damp.

 

Very important today with the emphasis on air tight buildings, where if you fill that space with toxic plaints, plastics, varnishes and floor finishings, you've then got a harmful toxic environment

 

Damp Proof - Sand and cement render being a poor insulator promotes the formation of condensation. Vapour must be allowed to be able to get in and out to keep the insides of the walls dry, preventing the formation of damp. It is a case of regulating moisture, not illiminating it. 

 

Soluble Salts - All masonry, cement & gypsum contains salts, which are stable when dry. Once in solution capillary action wicks salts thru porous building materials where at junctions surfaces and voids they are free to re crystallise through the water evaporating. If trapped beneath a surface of plaster or decoration their growth exerts a steadily increasing pressure that may lead eventually to the spalling of plaster coats. At a micro level plaster is weakened and broken by the expansion of the crystals. Vapour permeable plasters & paints allow salts to pass thru, crystallising on the surface where they can be brushed away, without harm, rather than causing crystalisation damage behind the paint layer.

 

None Flammable & None Combustable - After a disastrous fire in 1210, King John ordered that all houses on the thames be lime plastered & limewashed within 8 days to prevent another such catastrophy 

 

Absorbing structural movements - What makes lime unique over modern cement & acrylic binders, is its flexural strength. Lime comes in to its own in this respect being able to withstand stresses & movement without fracturing, as visible on so many cementicous coatings where expansion joints are required. 

 

Withstanding thermal cycles - All building materials expand & contract with temperature fluctuations with inherant moisture content. Dense impermeable materials are prone to cracking or delaminating (blowing), potentially creating penetrating damp and unsightly defects. Lime has an inhearant flexural capacity to move with adjacent materials.

 

Natural waterproofing capability - Natual olive soaps appropriatly used on fresh lime plaster undergo a reaction which fir up the pore structure creating an integral hydrophobic surface. Used correctly breathability can be maintained with this system. Natural wax's can also be used to create a waterproof water resistant barrier. 

 

 

 

 

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