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Rating: 
Summary: The Bible on Natural Plasters
Review: I had been waiting for this book from the publisher for over half a year. While it has many helpful details on the nature of additives and why they would be used, and the application of plasters to different substrates, with emphasis on covering straw bale homes, there are no recipes. This really disappointed me, as I believe I could have figured out how to hold a hawk and trowel, and really, anyone building all or part of their house will likely have passed the point of getting useful information out of the first 84 pages by the time they get to need some eductation on plasters. Hopefully, a saving grace will be the resource guide in the back, but access to that could have been obtained by borrowing it from the library.
Rating: 
Summary: Almost Worth the Wait
Review: I had been waiting for this book from the publisher for over half a year. While it has many helpful details on the nature of additives and why they would be used, and the application of plasters to different substrates, with emphasis on covering straw bale homes, there are no recipes. This really disappointed me, as I believe I could have figured out how to hold a hawk and trowel, and really, anyone building all or part of their house will likely have passed the point of getting useful information out of the first 84 pages by the time they get to need some eductation on plasters. Hopefully, a saving grace will be the resource guide in the back, but access to that could have been obtained by borrowing it from the library.
Rating: 
Summary: Provide copies to your crew
Review: Is 'natural plaster home' a euphemism for 'mud hut'?
The following gives a sense of the mood conveyed by the authors:
"Mud Plasters are fun to work with!
Earthen plasters are easy to work with and fun to mix and apply. 'Once you've put your hands in that mud mix you don't feel like doing any other type of plaster'... For adults, working with earthen plaster seems like kid's play, for children it is play!"
At one point, we are advised that 'natural plasters' are low energy building material. The energy required can be measured in terms of granola bars.
I'm sorry: work is work. But, this curious enthusiasm for returning to nature is just a frill. The book has a lot of useful details on foundations, walls, and finish materials. It never gets past the introductory level, but all the key points are covered. Additionally, there is good coverage of design issues, with particular emphasis on avoiding water damage. Finishing walls is given 3 chapters: natural finishes, lime finishes, and gypsum finishes.
I was a bit disappointed in the lack of interest in power-tools, but getting one's hands muddy seems like too much fun to the authors. Additionally, more details on chemistry would have been helpful. At a certain level, I suspect this book is a good introductory lesson for volunteers assembling at a worksite with at least one master builder on hand. Working with mud may be fun, but it takes a large crew to get the whole house, barn or commune done in a single building season.
Rating:
Summary: The Bible on Natural Plasters
Review: This book was late in coming, but the wait was well worth it! There's nothing like this book on the market today...not even close! I especially like how thorough this book is. I really appreciated the clear and detailed explanations of all aspects of plastering -- from the design of homes (so they will be suitable for natural plasters) to wall preparation to testing, mixing, and applying plasters. The authors skillfully walk the reader through all of the steps required to plaster a natural home, anticipating mistakes you might make -- and telling you how to avoid them. Although the book focuses on plastering strawbale buildings, there's lots of good advice for plastering numerous other natural homes. This book attempts to develop a deep understanding of plasters. To do so, the authors begin by describing the components of plasters -- and what each one does. Knowing that subsoils are different at each building site, the authors give general guidelines for making plasters. They tell you how to test your soils and potential plaster mixes. No, you won't find recipes for plasters...that would be fruitless due to the variability of subsoils. But you will find some examples you can start with and good, solid explanations of the steps you have to take to make plasters using the dirt you have at your site! I was also very impressed by the extensive coverage of finish plasters and alises as well as the detailed resource guide and the excellent photos and drawings, although some were a bit small. Sometimes the text seemed a bit repetitive, but in retrospect that helped me memorize the details.
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