Lime plastered interior, in process of curing

Earlier in the year, April and I decided that we would re-plaster the bottom four feet of wall in the house in lime to help with mold prevention. (Lime is, after all, highly alkaline and inhibits mold growth.) We had our opportunity to do so last month, and although we haven’t put the finishing touches on, this is what it looks like thus far.

We started by tracing a chalk line on the wall to designate our design. Then, I took a shovel and machete and hacked away at the area underneath the chalk line, making scoring marks so that the lime plaster would adhere to the wall better.

Scratching the wall for better adhesion

Next we thoroughly wet the walls with a pressure sprayer and applied our lime plaster (2 parts sand, 1 part lime). It was a little tricky to get the edge just right, but scoring the chalk line made it easier to accomplish cleanly.

I’m quite happy with the aesthetic results. We still have to lime wash the new plaster, which will brighten it even more, and then plaster all of the little nooks and bookshelves for contrast.