Clay or Lime?

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Any builders or self builders here have any experience with rendering or building with lime or clay?

Starting to take cement render off my walls and Im wondering what is the best material to use to replace, clay is the truer material but lime may have more benefits.
 
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Giz a clue, what is the building now, what is it's envisaged use, whats it made of etc. etc. etc...pinenot
 
Bit of a long read:

//www.diynot.com/forums/your-projects/cottage-reconstruction.350112/

Short story its made out of unfired earth bricks and stone, mortar is a clay/mud mortar. Rolling the clock back after the previous nob leathered it in cement and concrete, locking in moisture and causing damp.

Research from variety of sources says old houses need old techniques, clay and lime. Breathability and ventilation. I know the UK has a tradition of cob cottages so was wondering if anyone here might have hands on with this old style of building technique.

The house is for permanent living.
 
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You could go down the road of hemp render/insulation. This is traditional lime render with hemp shives mixed in, give it a google.
Benefits - moisture breathing, insulating, protection.
But you need to clarify some things, is this building in the Czech Republic, here in Britain or where, and so forth...pinenot :unsure:
 
Bit of clarification:

Its in Czech Rep. Im British originally but live here. My Czech language level isnt technical enough to learn about materials and building so Im learning from English books, websites and forums about self building and old techniques. Im in IT so Im not really a builder type but as I said in the big project spiel, house conservation isnt as advanced here as in UK so even from my level Im still probably further along then most Czechs in how to handle old houses.

Judging by the previous owner and many other houses Ive seen now on the market, builders practicing old techniques are very rare yet most houses here are pre war. There are two companies here practicing old ways but I could buy a new Finnish style wooden house for their re-construction charges, so Im on my own.

Research here shows that this and most 100+ yr old houses are made out of unfired earth bricks, a sort of packed earth brick thats been baked in an oven. The Missus uncle is 87 and owns an old mill of similar construction. He knows a bit but in his day it was make do with what you had, as you say Pinenot with your hemp and other stuff like sheeps wool, reed beds old technology has moved on into a sort of modern old technology.
 
You could go down the road of hemp render/insulation. This is traditional lime render with hemp shives mixed in, give it a google.
Benefits - moisture breathing, insulating, protection.
But you need to clarify some things, is this building in the Czech Republic, here in Britain or where, and so forth...pinenot :unsure:

Those hemp shives sound boss. :D

Ive heard of cellulose(as in old newspapers compressed) as an insulation material and treated against fire. Insulation is not an issue as the walls are 80cm thick and this earth brick is like an accumulation heater brick, absorbing and releasing heat when cold or hot, two winters here now and temperatures of -30 so Im not worried about insulation.

Im in a very wet ecosystem, damp forest and streams running by so reading these hemp shives with moisture absorbtion properties in addition to lime's breathability sounds very promising, fireproof too.
 
All good stuff that mate, thanks.

Ive managed to source a provider of hemp building materials only an hour away. They have sheeps wool and flax as well, I was thinking of sheeps wool for loft insulation.

Ive been more in favour of lime for a while and have experimented with a couple of sacks I had, its easy enough to use its just like cement but the slaking is the killer. Its just that now Im scraping off render and found that the house is bonded and rendered in clay mortar. Even if clay is the more true material Im thinking lime seems more breathable and versatile.
 

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