An introduction to lime - The Hempcrete Topic: Designing and Building with Hemp-lime - page 49

Over the last few decades there has been a reawakening of interest in the use of lime in
traditional buildings. This has led to an increased awareness of the qualities of a range of
different building limes, and an understanding of why these are so important - not only in
traditional buildings but also in natural building today. There is now a wide range of topics
on this fascinating and sometimes complex subject, from introductory practical guides to
detailed technical manuals, and on the history of building limes (see Bibliography for some
examples).
For those wanting to work with lime for the first time, we strongly recommend not only
further reading but also an introductory training course (at the very least), since the applic-
ation of lime mortars and plasters often differs significantly from that of equivalent modern
materials. A wide choice of training courses focusing on building with lime is now avail-
able across the UK: contact the UK Building Limes Forum (see Resources ) for advice and
information about courses and workshop events.
The various types of building lime available on the UK market today have a range of useful
properties. Certain types of building lime are used when building with hempcrete - in the
hempcrete binder itself and usually also in the wet finishes, both internally and externally.
The following is an overview of the different types of lime.
Lime in building
Limes have been used in building for many thousands of years. Their importance as a con-
stituent of bedding and pointing mortars, renders and internal plasters, and in the construc-
tion of floor slabs, not only underpinned the construction and survival of the great build-
ings of antiquity but also accompanies the story of technological developments in con-
struction over the last 250 years or so.