Lucious Lime
After my ‘introduction to lime’ course I have a great fear that I may be joining the ranks of sustainable / healthy / traditional / vernacular building fanatics - those guys who, have a glint in their eye (perhaps caused by a small fleck of caustic lime) and a passion in their speech when discussing lime mortars, white-washes, sheep’s wool insulation …
The course was at Ty Mawr Lime just outside Brecon in South Wales. The day started with an overview of Ty Mawr, its background and aims and products. This was followed by a history lesson - the application of lime throughout history, which proved very interesting. Then a demo of slaking (water added to dried lime or lime putty to make it ready to use) and some other aspects of lime analysis, handling and preparation.
Following lunch, we got dirty. First some hands-on tuition at pointing, then plastering. During both sessions the tutors were knowledgeable, informative and helpful. Then a coffee, a quick quiz (14 out of 15 - who’s got a big brain!) then home.
A great and informative day, in beautiful surroundings - thoroughly recommended for anyone who fancies developing their fanatical side!
More on what I learnt about lime coming soon……
If you enjoyed that post, then read these...
White-washing? on January 10th, 2008
One solution I'm considering for the seemingly porous stone gable-end wall is to repoint and dub-out the joints between stones where necessary then whitewash it to provide a greater degree of rain protection.
Building Progress ~ March 2008, week 1 & 2 on March 16th, 2008
We've now arrived at the stage where I need to get start getting services installed into the fabric of the building - first fix electrics and plumbing.
Attention to detail... on November 4th, 2007
So, as we have started work, we need to think about all those details that I've put to one side until we had a builder.
Gas Pipeline Woes on June 23rd, 2007
A rainbow rose over the pipeline today!
I must admit I loathe the thing.
Building Progress ~ November 2007, week 1 and 2 on November 22nd, 2007
Let the games begin.
Posted in Journal of my barn conversion |












