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Natural Plaster Resource Guide This resource guide begins with the most relevant resources, that is, those that cover the main topics discussed in our book, natural plasters. The second portion covers important natural building resources, many of which provide information on natural plasters. Earthen Plasters and Clay Finishes Silicates, Natural Paints, and Finishes Chiras, Dan. "Perfect Plaster: A Homeowners Guide," Mother Earth News, Feb./March, 2003, pp. 64 - 71. Describes all plasters, but focuses on natural plasters Innes, Jocasta. Applied Artistry: A Complete Guide to Decorative Finishes for Your Home. Boston: Little, Brown, and Company, 1995. A delightful, informative, and beautifully illustrated book on many different types of plasters. Building Advisory Service and Information Network. Mud Plasters and Renders. No additional bibliographic information. This publication can be obtained from Taylor Publishing (listed below). MacDonald, Alex C. An Historical Digest of Plastering. The California Plasterer, 1931 - 1937. A 28-article series on the history of plasters, available from Taylor Publishing. Stagg, William. D. and Brian. F. Pegg. Plastering: A Craftsman's Encyclopedia. City, State: BSP Professional Books, 1989. Detailed coverage of conventional plastering. Taylor, J. B. Plastering. Longman Scientific and Technical, 1990. Van Den Branden, F. and Thomas L. Hartsell. Plastering
Skills. City, State: American Technical Publishers, 1984. General reference
on conventional plastering.. As you can see, there aren't many published resources on earthen plasters. Be sure to check out books on various natural building techniques and materials. Many of them contain chapters on plastering. Also, be sure to check out the workshops listed in this Resource Guide. Chiras, Dan. "Get Plastered," Natural Home, May/June, 2002, pp 48 - 53. General description of natural plaster options, including the pros and cons of each one. Crews, Carole. "Earth Plasters" in Alternative Construction: Contemporary Natural Building Methods, Lynne Elizabeth and Cassandra Adams, Editors. New York: Wiley, pp. 255 - 263. 2000. Brief overview of earthen plasters. Crews, Carole. "Earth Plasters and Aliz" in The Art of Natural Building: Design, Construction, Technology, Joseph F. Kennedy, editor. Kingston, NM: Networks Productions, 1999. A brief, but useful article on alizes by one of the world's experts on the subject. Crews, Carole. "Alis, A Natural Polish; Clay finish for adobe structures," Adobe Journal , pp. 36 - 38, Issue 7, Autumn, , 1992. Taylor, Charmaine. "Clay: The Eternal Stuff of Building. Clay for Plasters and Decorative Finishes," Earthworks Magazine, pp. 19 - 22, July/August, 2000. Great resource. Wanek, Catherine (editor). Plasters. The Last Straw: The International Journal of Straw Bale and Natural Building. Issue 33, Spring, 2001. A complete issue of TLS dedicated to the topic of plasters, mostly earth plasters. Silicates, Natural Paints, and Finishes Hermannsson, James. Green Building Resource Guide. Newtown, CT: Taunton Press, 1997. A goldmine of information on environmentally friendly building materials, including casein paints. Homes, Dwight, Larry Strain, Alex Wilson, and Sandra Leibowitz. GreenSpec: The Environmental Building News Product Directory and Guidelines Specifications. Another goldmine of information on environmentally friendly building materials, including casein paints. Reto Messmer as transcribed by Crews, Carole. "Natural Paints with Reto Messmer" in The Art of Natural Building: Design, Construction, Technology, Joseph F. Kennedy, editor. Kingston, NM: Networks Productions, 1999. Notes from Reto's presentation at The Natural Building Colloquium in Kingston, New Mexico. Annie Sloan and Kate Gywn. Classic Paints and Faux Finishes. London: Collins and Brown, 2001. Great reference on natural paints. Ross Spiegel and Dru Meadows. Green Building Materials: A Guide to Product Selection and Specification. New York: John Wiley and Sons, 1999. The newest entry into the green building materials books. Brenna, Rory. "Working with Lime Plaster," Traditional Building, November/December, 1998. Describes applicaton of lime to Mt. Vernon, George Washington's home. Devon Earth Building Association. Appropriate Plasters, Renders and Finishes for Cob and Random Stone Walls in Devon. Devon Earth Building Association, Devon, England, 1993. A brief but fact-filled guide on lime plaster for cob and stone walls. Holmes, Stafford and Michael Wingate. Building with Lime: A Practical Introduction. London: Intermediate Technology Publications, 1997. A more advanced treatise on the use of lime, including lime plaster. Hunter, Kaki and Doni Kiffmeyer. "The Discovery and Use of Carbide Lime," The Last Straw: The Grassroots Journal of Straw Bale and Natural Building, Issue 33, pages 17, 2001. Nice overview of carbide lime and its use in lime-sand plaster. Jones, Barbara. "Working with Lime in England," The Last Straw: The Grassroots Journal of Straw Bale and Natural Building, Issue 26, pages 22 - 25, 1999. Excellent resource on lime plasters. Maxwell, Ingval. Lime Technology Workshop on Rendered Facades. Edinburgh, Scotland: Historic Scotland, 1998. Detailed information on maintaining and refinishing lime plasters. Schofield, Jane. Lime in Building: A Practical Guide. Crediton, Devon, England: Black Dog Press, 1994. Good resource for those interested in learning more about lime plastering. Schofield, Jane. "An Introduction to Lime." Structural Survey 13(2), pp. 4 - 5. 1995. A brief, but informative survey of lime and its benefits. Steen, Bill and Steen Athena (editors). Lime Plaster. The Last Straw: The Grassroots Journal of Straw Bale and Natural Building, Issue 29, Spring, 2000. An entire issue dedicated to lime plasters. A must-read publication for anyone interested in learning about lime plaster. Taylor, Charmaine. All About Lime: A Basic Information
Guide. Eureka, CA: Taylor Publishing, 1999. A fairly detailed and comprehensive
booklet with lots of good information. Organizations National Lime Association, 200 Glebe Road, Suite 800, Arlington, VA 22203. Tel: (703) 243-5463. Sells books on lime plastering. National Park Association. P.O. Box 25287, Denver, CO 80225. Tel: (303) 969-5440. Dozens of technical articles on building restoration including the use of lime plasters. Books Dorn, Gary. "Gypsum Plaster on Straw Bales," The Last Straw: The Grassroots Journal of Straw Bale and Natural Building, Issue 33, page 28, 2001. Organizations Gypsum Association, 810 Pine Street, NE, Suite 510, Washington, DC 20002. Tel: (202) 289-3707. Www.national-gypsum.com. Offers information on gypsum plaster.
Building for Health Materials Center. Offers a
complete line of healthy, environmentally safe building materials. Specializes
in straw bale construction products and natural plastering products including
bulk clays, mica, pigments, lime putty; natural paints, oils, stains,
and finishes; sealants, and tools, including trowels, stucco pump and
texture guns. Offers special pricing for owner-builders and contractors.
Address: P.O. Box 113, Carbondale, CO 81623. Tel: (800) 292-4838 or (970)
963-0437. E-mail: crose@sopris.net. Environmental Building Supplies. Green building materials outlet for the Pacific Northwest. Carries a wide assortment of products including casein paints. Address: 1331 NW Kearney Street, Portland, OR 97209. Tel: (503) 222-3881. Environmental Construction Outfitters. Sells an assortment of green building materials, including casein paints. Address: 44 Crosby Street, New York, NY 10012. Tel: (800) 238-5008. Environmental Home Center. Offers a variety of green building materials, including casein paints. Address: 1724 4th Ave. South, Seattle, WA 98134. Tel: (800) 281-9785. Planetary Solutions. Offers casein paints, natural oils, and an assortment of green building materials. Address: 2030 17th Street, Boulder, CO 80302. Tel: (303) 442-6228. Charlotte Underwood. Distributes natural pigments (sixteen ochres and oxides) imported from Europe. Address: Shannon Building, Suite B, 606 Commercial Avenue, Anacortex, WA 98221. Tel: (866) 289-0800. Mike Wye and Associates. Traditional and ecological building products in the United Kingdom, including lime putty and lime plaster. Contact them at Tel: 0149 281 644 or at their Web site: www.mikewye.com. Plaster and Natural Building Books-Publishers and Suppliers The Black Range Lodge/Natural Building Resources. 119 Main St., Kingston, NM 88042. Tel: (505) 895-5652. Videos and books on natural building. Building for Health Materials Center. Hundreds of books on natural building and natural plaster. See listing above. P.O Box 113, Carbondale, CO 81623. Tel: (800) 292-4838. Chelsea Green. P.O. Box 428, White River Junction, VT 05001. Tel: (800) 639-4099. Web site: www.chelseagreen.com. Publishes a wide assortment of books on natural building. DAWN/Out on Bail by Mail. 6570 W. Illinois St., Tucson, AZ 85735. Sells numerous books on natural building. Earthwood Building School, 336 Murtagh Hill Road, West Chazy, NY 12992. Tel: (518) 493-7744. Sells a variety of books on natural building, especially cordwood. New Society Publishers. P.O. Box 189, Gabriola Island, BC VOR 1XO Canada. Tel: (250) 247-9737. Web site: www.newsociety.com. Publishes books on straw bale construction, natural building, healthy building, and, of course, our book on natural plasters. Solar Survival Architecture. P.O. Box 1041, Taos, NM 87571. Tel: (505) 751-0462. Web sute: www.earthship.org. Taylor Publishing, P.O. Box 6985, Eureka, CA 95502. Tel: (707) 441-1632. Www.dirtcheapbuilder.com. Sells hundreds of titles on natural building, including numerous books, pamphlets and articles on lime plaster. Workshops on Natural Building and Natural Plasters Below are a list of major workshops in natural and plaster and natural building. For a listing of when workshops are offered by these and other folks, consult the most recent issue of The Last Straw journal. Natural Plasters
CRG Design - Designs For Living offers plastering and natural building workshops led by Cedar Rose Guelberth. P.O. Box 113, Carbondale, CO 81623 Tel: (970) 963-0437. North American School of Natural Building, P.O. Box 123, Cottage Grove, OR 97424 Tel: (541) 942-3021 or (541) 942-2005. Ianto Evans and Linda Smiley offer workshops on natural building and earth plastering. OKOKOK Productions. Workshops on earthbag earthen and lime plasters. Doni Kiffmeyer and Kaki Hunter, 256 E. 110 S., Moab, UT 84532. Tel: (435) 259-8378 Bill and Athena Steen, The Canelo Project. Offer
earthen plaster and lime plaster workshops. HC 1, Box 324, Elgin, AZ 85611
Phone: (520) 455-5548 Sustainable Systems Design. Offers limited number of workshops on natural plasters and finishes and straw clay construction. Dan Chiras, 9124 Armadillo Trail, Evergreen, CO 80439. Tel: (303) 674-9688. E-mail: danchiras@msn.com. Natural Building (General) Build Here Now. This week-long annual affair at the Lama Foundation in northern New Mexico offers a variety of workshops on natural building with several workshops on earthen plaster, alis, and lime plaster. Contact the Lama foundation at:P.O. Box 240, San Cristobal, NM 87564. Tel: (505) 586-1269. E-mail: info@lamafoundation.org. Web site: www.lamafoundation.org. CRG Design - Designs For Living offers natural building workshops led by Cedar Rose. See contact information in previous listing. DAWN/Out On Bale By Mail. Books and workshops on natural building. Contact them at: 6570 W. Illinois St. Tucson, AZ 85735. Tel: (520) 624-1673 E-mail: dawnaz@earthlink.net.Web site: http://www.greenbuilder.com/dawn/. Real Goods Institute for Solar Living. Offers a
variety of workshops on natural building techniques, including natural
plaster and some general workshops that cover several topics. Solar Energy International. Their natural house building and solar design workshop covers several natural building techniques. P.O. Box 715, Carbondale, CO 81623 Tel: (970) 963-8855 Shay Solomon, 1050 S. Verdugo, Tucson, AZ 85745. E-mail: wbhwbhwbh@aol.com. Workshops on straw bale construction. SunEarth Construction. Periodically has offered
a general workshop on natural building techniques and other important
topics. Keith and Tracy Lindauer, P.O. Box 113, Rico, CO 81332 Straw Bale
Rammed Earth Building
Earthships and Packed Tire Homes
Adobe Workshops
Cob Workshops
Straw/Clay Workshops Robert LaPorte. Workshops on straw clay and timber frame construciton. P.O. Box 864, Tesuque, NM 87574. Tel: 505-989-1813. Earthbag Building Workshops
This section contains important resources natural building, many of which provide information on natural plasters. Natural Building (General References) Chiras, Daniel D. The Natural House: A Complete Guide to Healthy, Energy-efficient, Environmental Homes. White River Junction, VT: Chelsea Green, 2000. The best-selling guide to natural building by the co-author of this book. Contains a wealth of information on natural building and a good overview of plastering. Chappell, Steve K. (ed). The Alternative Building Sourcebook. Fox Maple Press: Brownfield, ME, 1998. Lists over 900 products and professional services in the area of natural and sustainable building. Elizabeth, Lynne and Adams, Cassandra. Alternative Construction: Contemporary Natural Building Methods. New York: Wiley, 2000. A compilation of articles on numerous natural building techniques with a little information on natural plasters. Kennedy, Joseph F., Michael G. Smith, and Catherine Wanek (editors). The Art of Natural Building: Design, Construction, and Technology. Gabriola Island, B.C.: New Society Publishers, 2002. Contains an assortment of articles on natural building, including natural plasters and alises, from experts in the field. Minke, Gernot. Earth Construction Handbook.: The Building Material Earth in Modern Architecture. Southampton, England: WIT Press, 2000. Contains a great deal of technical information and a good section of earth plasters, called loam plasters by the author. Magazines Natural Home, 201 E. 4th Street, Loveland, CO 80537. Tel: (800) 340-5486. Web site: www.natural homemagazine.com. Covers a wide range of topics vital to healthy, natural building.
Books Eisenberg, David. Straw Bale Building and the Codes:
Working with Your Code Officials. Tucson, AZ: DCAT, 1996. Valuable resource
for those whose building departments have never approved or heard of straw
bale construction. To order a copy: Http://www.zianet.com/blackrange/br_pages/order.html. Haggard, Ken and Scott Clark (editors). Straw Bale Construction Details: A Sourcebook. Angels Camp, CA: California Straw Bale Association, 2000. Available from CASBA, P.O. Box 1293, Angels Camp, CA 95222. Tel: (209) 785-7077. Contains many important details on straw bale construction but no information on plastering. Kemble, Steve and Carol Escott, C. How to Build Your Elegant Home with Straw (manual and video set).: Bisbee, AZ: Sustainable Systems Support, 1995. To order contact authors at:: Sustainable Systems Support, P.O. Box 318, Bisbee, AZ 85603. Web site: www/bisbeenet.com/. King, Bruce. Buildings of Earth and Straw. Sausalito, CA: Ecological Design Press, 1996. A great book for the technically minded reader. Contains a wealth of information on tests run on straw bale structures. Lacinski, Paul and Michel Bergerron. Serious Straw Bale: A Home Construction Guide for All Climates. White River Junction, VT: Chelsea Green. Contains a great deal of information on building with straw bales and plastering in cold and wet climates. Detailed coverage of lime plaster.
Myhrman, Matts and S.O. Myhrman. Build It with Bales (Version 2.0): A Step-by-Step Guide to Straw-bale Construction. Tucson: Out on Bale, 1998. A superbly illustrated and recently updated manual on straw bale construction. Contains a fair amount of information on wall preparation, plasters, and plastering. Steen, Athena S., Bill Steen, David Bainbridge, and David Eisenberg, D. The Straw Bale House, White River Jct., VT: Chelsea Green, 200?. Updated version of the 1994 best-selling book that helped fuel interest in straw bale construction. Contains a wealth of information on straw bale construction, wall preparation, and plasters. Straw Bale Testing documents. Hard copy reports on code testing of straw bale walls. May be essential to help your building department understand what you are doing. A must read for architects and builders and building department officials. To order a copy of all three reports: Http://www.zianet.com/blackrange/br_pages/order.html.
The Last Straw. Quarterly journal containing the
latest information on straw bale construction. Annual resource issue contains
a gold mine of information. Publishes articles on natural plasters. This
is an absolute must for all straw bale enthusiasts! Address: Joyce Coppinger,
2110 South 33rd St., Lincoln, NE 68506. Tel: (402) 483-5135. Web site:
www.strawhomes.com. Austrian Straw Bale Network, A-3720 Baierdorf 6,
Austria. Web site: www.baubiologie.at The Canelo Project, Founded and run by Athena and Bill Steen, coauthors of The Straw Bale House. They offer workshops, videos, and books on straw bale construction as well as information on building codes and results of tests on straw bale homes. Address: HC 1, Box 324, Elgin, AZ 85611. their website: http://www.deatech.com/canelo/. Center for Maximum Building Systems. Working at the cutting edge of building materials, systems, and methods. Led by Pliny Fisk III. Contact: 8604 FM 969, Austin, TX 78724. Tel: (512) 928-4786. Development Center for Appropriate Technology,. Offers a variety of services including consulting, research, testing, assistance with code issues, project support, instruction, and workshops. Contact them in care of David Eisenberg P.O. Box 27513, Tucson, AZ 85726-7513. Tel: (520) 624-6628. Web site: http://www.azstarnet.com/~dcat/. European Straw Bale Building Network. Contact them
through strawbale-1@eyfa.org. Japan Straw Bale House Association, 8-9 Honcho, Utsunomiya, Tochigi, Japan 3200033. Web site: www.geocities.co.jp/NatureLand/1946/. MidAmerica Straw Bale Association. Publishes a quarterly newsletter and calendar of workshops. Offers hands-on-training, tours, and much more. Contact them at: 2110 South 33rd Street, Lincoln, NE 68506. Web site: www.strawhomes.com/sban. E-mail: jc10508@alltell.net Natural Building Resource Center. Assists and supports owner-builders interested in straw bale, cob, and earthbags. Contact them at: Rt. 1, Box 245B, Mauk, GA. Web site: http://www.gnat.net/~goshawk. Norwegian Straw Bale Building Organization, Waemhus, N-1540 Vestby, Norway. E-mail: arild.berg3@chello.no Straw Bale Association of Nebraska. Active in promoting straw bale construction. Contact at: 2110 S. 33rd St., Lincoln, NE 68506-6001. Tel: (805) 483-5135. Straw Bale Association of Texas. Sponsors monthly
meetings, publishes a newsletter, and provides a host of other resources.
Contact them at: P.O. Box 4211, Austin, TX 78763. Tel: (512) 302-6766.
Web site: http://www.io.com/~whtefunk/sbat.html/. Straw Bale Building Association of Australia. Contact
at sbaoa@yahoo.com.au. Cob Building Books
The CobWeb. The only cob-focused periodical. Published twice yearly by The Cob Cottage Company listed above. Videos Building with the Earth: Oregon's Cob Cottage Co. Great resource. Obtain from The Cob Cottage Company, P.O. Box 123, Cottage Grove, OR 97424. Web site: www.deatech.com/cobcottage/ Organizations Center for Alternative Technology. This educational group in the United Kingdom offers workshops on earth building and natural finishes, among other topics. Address: Machynlleth, Powys SY20 9AZ. Phone and fax: 01654 703409. Check out their web site for a list of offerings at http://www.cat.org.uk/. Adobe Books Magazines
King, Bruce. Buildings of Earth and Straw. Sausalito, CA: Ecological Design Press, 1996. Another essential reading for anyone interested in building a rammed earth home. Middleton, G. F. Earth Wall Construction. Bulletin
#5. North Ryde, NSW, Australia: CSIRO-DBCE, 1995. A manual on rammed earth
showing a unique forming system. Appendices contain structural and insulation
calculations.
The Rainaissance of Rammed Earth. This 31-minute video features David Easton and serves as an excellent introduction to the subject or a companion to The Rammed Earth House. Available from Chelsea Green. Organizations The Earth Building Foundation, Inc. See description listed in adobe section. Earthships and Tire Homes Books Reynolds, Michael. Earthship: Build Your Own. Vol. I. Taos, NM: Solar Survival Press, 1990. A must read for those wanting to understand the basics of early Earthship design. This book contains some outdated information, however, so be careful. Be sure to read the more current volumes and check out the Earthship Chronicles for up-to-date information. ______. Earthship. Systems and Components. Vol. II. Taos, NM: Solar Survival Press, 1990. Explains the various systems such as graywater, solar electric, and domestic hot water. Essential reading for all people interested in sustainable housing. _____. Earthship: Evolution Beyond Economics. Vol. 3. Taos, NM: Solar Survival Press, 1993. Presents many of the new developments. Latest information, however, is always to be learned in workshops, tours of new houses, and the Earthship Chronicles. Magazines and Newsletters Earthship Chronicles published by Earthship Global Operations, P.O. Box 2009, El Prado, NM 87529. Tel: 505/751-0462. Pamphlets issued periodically to disseminate new information. You will find pamphlets on graywater, catchwater, blackwater, mass vs insulation, and equipment catalog. Solar Survival Newsletter. Available from Solar Survival Architecture, P.O. Box 1041, Taos, New Mexico 87571. Web site: Solarsurvival@earthship.org.
Building for the Future. This is a video about the building of my house. It explains the how it was built and many green building products. Contact me at 303) 674-9688 or via e-mail at: danchiras@msn.com. Dennis Weaver's Earthship. Shows contruction of actor Dennis Weaver's Earthship. Well done and very informative. Helpful in securing building permits. Available from Solar Survival Architecture at their on-line store at https://verde.newmex.com/earthship/literature_services.htm. The Earthship Documentary. Describes the history of Earthship construction, the underlying philosophy behind this unique structure, and building techniques. Available from Solar Survival Architecture at their on-line store (listed above). Earthship Next Generation. A look at new Earthship
designs and constructions. From the Ground Up. Takes you through the process of building an Earthship. Available from Solar Survival Architecture at their on-line store (listed above). Books Hunter, Kaki and Doni Kiffmeyer. Earthbag Building:
The Tools, Tricks, and Techniques. Moab, Gabriola Island, BC: New Society,
2004. Detailed book on earth bag construction with information on plastering.
Informative, and well organized. Organizations CalEarth, California Institute of Earth Art and Architecture. Offers information on earthbag construction, including an online newsletter. Address: Nader Khalili, CalEarth/Geltaftan Foundation, 10376 Shangri La Avenue, Hesperia, CA 92345. Tel: (760) 244-0614. Web site: http://www.calearth.org. Straw-Clay Books Laporte, Robert.. MoosePrints: Holistic Home Building.:
Santa Fe, NM: Natural House Building Center, 1993. The only published
source on straw-clay construction. Contains some excellent illustrations,
but contains only a fraction of the information you will need to learn
this technique. Long, Charles. The Stone Builder's Primer: A Step-by-Step Guide for Owner-Builders. Widowdale, Ontario, Canada: Firefly Books, 1998. Contains the most complete instructions on stone home building of the books I've read or reviewed. McRaven, Charles. Stonework: Techniques and Projects.: Pownal VT: Storey Books, 1997. Covers the use of stone to build walls, paths, ponds, steps, and much more. Vivian, John. Building Stone Walls. Pownal, VT: Storey Books (1986). A small, well illustrated and well written book that focuses primarily on stone wall construction. |
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