Plaster is an extremely versatile material that has numerous advantages, which make it a wonderful choice (over other materials like drywall) for people when building homes. Homes built with plasters stay strong for decades, if not centuries! There are many types of plasters, too; here, we’ll be looking at those types of plasters and help you decide which type of plaster is best suited for your home.
Lime Plaster
Lime plaster is composed of sand, water, and lime. It is a commonly used material for building homes. Compared to common cement plaster, lime plaster is extremely durable, less brittle, and crack formation is very unlikely.
Due to the presence of lime, it has a high pH level, which helps prevent the formation of molds on lime plastered walls. Therefore, it is very useful for exterior applications as it can easily withstand the elements of nature like moisture, heat, etc.
Because of how well lime plasters deal with moisture, they are also commonly used for interiors like bathrooms, where moisture will always be present. Plastering in Auckland offers services that take care of both interior and exterior plastering, depending on your needs.
Cement Plaster
It is also a commonly used plaster for both interiors and exteriors as it is very durable, water-resistant, and offers very good protection to walls from wind, rain, and pollution. It is also resistant to moisture like its lime counterpart.
But as good as it is, it is not as durable as lime plaster. Therefore, cracks can form over time, especially if the plastering isn’t done properly.
And though it is water-resistant, it shrinks with the effect of sunlight, and due to its low pH, it is also vulnerable to the formation of molds, which can cause damage to walls.
Gypsum Plaster
Gypsum is a compound that contains hydrated calcium sulfate. Due to its advantages over traditional cement plasters, its usage is increasing all over the world. It is commonly used for lightweight construction. Some of the advantages it offers over cement plaster are:
- Compared to cement plaster, which can take about three weeks to cure, Gypsum cures in 3 DAYS! This helps rapidly speed up construction projects.
- It is also very eco-friendly. How come? The curing process in cement plasters requires a lot of water to be used. But Gypsum does not require such amounts of water for its curing, and therefore, especially in regions where water scarcity is an issue, Gypsum might be the best solution.
- Gypsum plaster is extremely lightweight and can, therefore, be used in a false ceiling, etc. as they provide a longer-lasting life for the ceiling and offer better protection in the events of earthquakes.
- Like most of the other plasters, Gypsum is also fire resistant as it has a lot of water content in it.
Seeing and comparing the different types of plasters that are commonly used, we can see that each type of plaster has its own advantages and disadvantages. Hopefully, this read has helped you understand each type better and decide on which plaster is best suited for your needs.
