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CCAT Natural Exterior Wall Plaster & Paint, part 2
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== Important Note on Working with Lime == Lime plasters and washes require constant moisture over at least a few days, preferably a few weeks, to cure properly. To this end it is necessary to mist plastered and washed areas several times a day after application. This I returned between two and three times a day for three weeks to achieve; which together with Arcata mists ought to have amounted to a fair cure. At least a couple days, but up to a couple months of such a treatment will improve the lime-cure.<ref>'''Guelberth, Cedar Rose & Dan Chiras. The Natural Plaster Book: Earthen, Lime, and Gypsum Plasters for Natural Homes. Gabriola Island, BC, Canada: New Society Publishers, 2003.'''Of all the books I read through, only one did I find myself drawn back to over and again.... This book seemed to have, compared to others, the most agreed upon and middle-of-the-road recipes; I derived all my basic formulas from it and barely scratched the surface.</ref> === Equipment & Training === {| class="wikitable" ! Item and notes ! Cost |- | 1 gallon apple cider vinegar | $3 |- | plastic float with sponge blade | $5 |- | trowel | $4 |- | plastic mud pan | $5 |- | 2 3 inch brushes | $8 |- | chemical resistant gloves | $9 |- | notched trowel | $4 |- | notched spreader | $1 |- | construction sponge | $5 |- | nice 3 inch brush for finish | $15 |- | 35 gal metal trash bin | $26 |- | organic wheat flower | $4 |- | thrift store sheets for drop cloths | $8 |- | pigments from ceramics shop | $12 |- | paint roller and 3/4 inch nap cover | donated by CCAT |- | straw bale | donated by Miles Danforth |- | 4-5 ripped bags type S hydrated lime | donated by Hensel's Supply, Eureka, CA |- | about 50 gal mixed grade construction sand | donated by Piersons Lumber, Eureka, CA |- | about 25 gal manure | donated |- | protective goggles | donated by CCAT |- | burlap, mason jars, 5 gal buckets, plastic window, screws and driver, rags, hand drill, shovels | donated by CCAT |- | chemical resistant cover-alls and jacket, previously owned, bought used (damaged from rough wear but still serviceable) | $35 |- | heavy work boots- previously owned (nearly destroyed during project) | $115 |- | gasoline for multiple supply runs | $15 |- | Sustainable Nations Natural Plaster and Paint workshops | $40 |- class="sortbottom" ! Total ! $313 |} Thanks also to the CCAT garden which I was invited to graze from. === Labor Hours === Construction was just over a months work for one person, not counting all the during semester research and experimentation. Many days were short because it took about 5 hours to apply a coat to one side, no time to do the rest until next day, you need to plan logical stopping places. Much time was used measuring and hand mixing plasters, etc. A cement mixer could have worked wonders, the hand drill mixer lacked enough torque to move the heavy mixes, mixing was therefor heavy bent over back taxing labor. Also spent a lot of time cleaning lime off my protective gear, stayed wet a lot and had a cold about half the project. Just doing simple prep tasks like cutting straw, cooking wheat-paste in my kitchen, and screening clay ate up days of time for one person. There were also the many 'quick' runs across town to mist the lime surfaces, following for weeks after 'completion'. Since I lacked money for gas these runs were not usually quick, though I might just be on site for 5 minutes or so. I figure it's real hard to figure how long this would take with a proper mixer and a few extra bodies, efficiencies would improve dramatically, I therefor don't feel my experience merits much discussion by way of timelines for it's too hard to guess-timate if 'done right'. Unless you are a die-hard do-it-yourselfer, take my advice and apply the team-work I could only spend my days imagining. 1 person mixing, 1 cutting straw or measuring mixes, 2 plastering would have created comparatively awesome efficiencies, for just one alternate labor formula. Having had a person with truck tasked with supply runs and off-site tasks like wheat paste cooking by itself would have saved a work week, possibly more. Didn't help that Arcata weather is often uncooperative, though as an uncontrollable factor the weather is neither here-nor-there; still, one more thing to keep in mind if planning a similar project.
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