Finishes for hempcrete - The Hempcrete Topic: Designing and Building with Hemp-lime - page 414

Figure 12. The correct orientation of mesh at stress points.
Beads and other details
Plastering beads or alternative details are used for various reasons: to reinforce the plaster
or render finish where required, to seal the finish to other surfaces, and to create 'drips' to
shed water away from the building.
Natural plasters and renders are softer and more flexible than modern cement-based
renders and gypsum plasters, and are able to move slightly with the substrate. For this reas-
on, anything that is included within them should also be able to tolerate movement. If very
stiff beads were used, this could cause local stresses and potentially lead to cracking of the
plaster. Highly flexible glass-fibre mesh beads are widely available, and these are suitable
for use within natural finishes. As with reinforcing mesh, it is important when using these
to make sure the openings in the mesh are larger than your aggregate (see previous page).
There are also some natural alternatives to synthetic beads, which work just as well (see
Figures 13 and 14, opposite and on page 246 ) .