Red wall almost finished

Natural clay finish plasters add an unparalleled beauty to any home, and it was exciting to apply these plasters to Canada’s Greenest Home this weekend.

These skim coat plasters can be applied over any wall surface. In this project, we used them over clay base coat plasters and over drywall.

The plasters are mixed on site using widely available and affordable materials. Clay, sand, calcium carbonate, pigment, flour paste and water are mixed together and applied to the wall by trowel in a single, thin coat (~1/8 inch).

Our typical formula is 10 parts clay, 4 parts sifted sand, 1 part calcium carbonate, 1 part flour paste (a natural glue/hardener) and ~3.5 parts water. Natural pigments are added to this mix by weight, based on trial samples made in advance. As with baking, the dry ingredients are mixed together and then added into the water, flour paster and pigment that have been blended.

The clay in this case is Tile 6 Kaolin, from a pottery supply store. We’ve used other kaolins and ball clays with similar results. Calcium carbonate is finely ground limestone, from Omya in Perth, Ontario. Flour paste is cooked by boiling 4 parts water and adding a mixture of 2 parts cold water and 1 part flour and boiling until thick. Our natural pigments come from Kama Pigments.

Helping us with the mixing and application was our good friend Mike Henry, a plasterer with Camel’s Back Construction. His attention to detail helps bring out the best in the clay plaster.

There is nothing like the depth, richness of colour, sound attenuation and warmth of a natural clay finish plaster!

Join us on Saturday, March 9, 10am – 4pm!

Canada’s Greenest Home nears completion

 

One of the great difficulties of building a sustainable home is figuring out what products are really “green” and which are just greenwashed versions of less-than-sustainable products.

Installing the FSC maple flooring

The hardwood flooring we’ve installed at Canada’s Greenest Home comes from The Nadurra Wood Corporation in Toronto, and Nadurra is one of those companies that we know we can trust to sell only products that meet the highest standards. The company was formed by people with long involvement with sustainable forestry initiatives, and they take an active interest in ensuring that all their products come from well-managed forests.

Their line of hardwood flooring is certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), the most widely respected third party certification in the world. Their hardwood collection is also harvested regionally, with forests in the northeastern US, Ontario and Quebec.

The finish on the floor is a factory-applied, UV-cured urethane that is VOC-free.

Bedroom finished with FSC maple flooring

We chose a “rustic grade” of maple in natural colour (no stain). This grade makes use of wood that would not normally be chosen for flooring due to variation in colour and the presence of some knots. This ensures that more of the available wood from the tree is used, and brings a natural variation and beauty to the floor.

The installation of the flooring is the first step in the final finishing of the home’s interior.