Venetian Building Restoration Master answers “Yes!”
Mr Naldo Busato is a Venetian Building Restoration Master Craftsman, the last link of a multi-generation guild tradition of Venice. Leading researcher of Roman Architecture and Roman building materials.
We will frequently update you on the magnificent skills and lime based solutions we learn from him.
How to make a lime finish water repellent for your bathroom?
This method can be applied in shower cabins or above the bathtub to make a freshly lime plastered wall water repellent.
The process is simple and the mixture can easily be prepared, just like the Romas did: two parts natural soap and one part olive oil are thoroughly mixed together, and worked into a smooth lime plaster finish. The process is repeated a day later. When the wall dried the result is a lovely water repellent finish.
Its maintenance is also very simple: If the wall doesn’t seem to perform as expected, you just repeat the procedure and work the mixture into the lime again.
What lime products shall we use in extreme humid environments?
Naldo’s suggestion is Cocciopesto Deumidificante , based on the original Roman recipe.
Cocciopesto stands for “crushed bricks.” As the name suggests, Cocciopesto lime plasters are produced with a large percentage of crushed brick aggregates.
While many great building materials and lime plaster recipes were developed by famous Roman architects, such as Vitruvius, these Cocciopesto plaster recipes were actually inherited by the Romans from the Phoenicians (2500 BC – 64 BC).
Why Romans adopted it has to do with the fact that this lime plaster mix is the ingenuity of simplicity. When porous brick and lime mortar structures are plastered with a brick and lime plaster mix, the result is the perfect harmony between the building and the plaster. Same breathability, same thermal expansion, same flexibility. It means no cracks and no detaching plaster, no unwanted side effects. The building and the plaster become one.
On top of that, Cocciopesto plasters tolerate extreme heat as well as extreme humidity.
The Coccopesto Deumidificante plaster is the improved version of the above ancient recipe, to maximise its humidity regulator capacity. As a result it improves the air quality of cellars, shower rooms and other humid environments.
