So you’ve built your green house and about to decorate with natural paints? This site is all about looking for more natural alternatives that are not just kind to the planet, but to your health and pocket. And also helps to support those who seek to make a living from good inventions, rather than bad ones! Modern plasters for houses are not the most eco-friendly, although most are not as bad as the top brands of household paint. But there are better alternatives, if you are plastering a green home. The main choices are:
Clay is a popular plaster that lets walls breathe. Cornish company Clayworks was founded by two natural plaster experts, and is sold in a wide range of colours, so you can plaster and paint at the same time. The company offers training and certificates for decorators and plasterers, that use their brand. Although not suitable for wet rooms, it’s good for all dry areas.
Clay is a great plaster to regulate humidity inside, and can also absorb moisture, for human comfort and less chance of mould and airborne bacteria and viruses (good for people with asthma). They are kind of ‘natural air conditioners’, and are very easy to apply by hand or machine.
Lime is often used to plaster straw bale houses, and is a mix of minerals and clay, with pigment for colour. It’s particularly good for brick and stone, and also reduces damp, to make a healthier house. However, look out as some are mixed with acrylic, so a big ‘greenwash’.
Tadelakt is an ancient Moroccan plaster made from lime too, but this time with olive oil soap. It’s been used for thousands of years in hot climates, and is particularly good for kitchens and bathrooms, although it can stain.
