Customer Reviews

Using Natural Finishes: A Step-by-Step Guide

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Buy this book, and use it to the point where the pages are smudged with clay, pigment, and lime. Adam Weismann and Katy Bryce are at the forefront of a new generation of builders that are continuing and perpetuating vernacular practices and crafts, while innovating by bringing together natural methods, materials, and techniques from a range of traditions. Using Natural Finishes, Lime- & Earth-based Plasters, Renders & Paints: A Step by Step Guide follows on their earlier book, Building with Cob: A Step by Step Guide. These books are unique in that they capture and convey both the art and the science of natural plasters and wall construction in such a way that the novice and the professional will find inspiration and technical advice. Using Natural Plasters will find its way onto the bookshelves of owner-builders, architectural historians/restoration specialists, and professional contractors. It begins with a basic discussion of wall substrates and the dynamics one needs to be aware of when planning to apply a plaster on these surfaces. A general discussion of tools, preparation, and application techniques is followed by detailed chapters outlining how lime- and earth-based plasters, renders, and paints work, how to prepare them, and how they should be applied. The final chapter highlights traditional finishes and practitioners from regions around the globe. In addition to all of the well-written text are several hundred gorgeous photographs. I recommend this book to all of my students and colleagues. Buy this book!

This book is a must for everyone's library! Not only does it apply to vernacular architecture such as adobe and reed mat, but modern architecture such as concrete and brick as well. While the focus of the book is finishes, it begins with information on wall systems and preparation and ends with samples of international finishes. The chapters on plasters, renders and paints are packed with recipes for making your own finishes, sidebars containing interviews with hands-on professionals, even laboratory and on-site test data--everything to make your project rewarding and enjoyable. "Using Natural Finishes" truly is step by step, using both illustrations and clear, well written text to enable the reader to discover the wonder of natural ingredients. You definitely cannot go wrong with this purchase!

This beautiful, practical book, filled with inspiring pictures and helpful instructions, encourages all of us to reclaim building practices that have been sustainable across many cultures for millennia. In first "Building with Cob" and now this book--both tributes to those who have gone before them perfecting natural building and finishing--Adam Weismann and Katy Bryce draw ancient wisdom into the 21st century, making it accessible for us all.

I have just received my copy of "Using Natural Finishes" and I have not put it down since opening it. It is a stunning book. Filled to the brim with easy to follow "how to" instructions and great ideas for beautiful natural finishes. It's hard to believe, when seeing the photos of what others are doing with all natual products, i.e., the gorgeous pigments from nature and the soft organic curves created by natural plasters, AND very importantly, the health and economic benefits of using natural finishes, that more home builders in the U.S. are not building truly "green". Adam's and Katy's first book, " Building with Cob", and now their latest, "Using Natural Finishes", are great resources for the natural building revolution in this country.

As a new home owner, that wants my inner-space to reflect my values of nature and beauty, this book is my bible. I am planning on putting up clay paint in the bedroom, a first step to mastering the materials before attempting to do the more difficult clay plastering in the living and dining rooms.

This book covers everything from traditional (and in one case waterproof) lime plaster finish from Italy, to the most organic finish of clay over either adobe or straw. It has enough of the structural science to make an engineer wag happily, while not making the non-engineer's eyes glaze over. The reader is told how, what and why for a variety of surface treatments, extensive resources, and very clear photography.

All in all, this is a must have book for any home owner wondering if there is more to life than egg-shell finish latex paint!

This is a beautiful book. Very detailed and instructive. I bought this book because I was looking for alternatives to tile in a bathroom. However, this book is geared more for the professional or someone who wants to learn this technique because they have many rooms they want to paint, or they want to become a professional. There is to much involved for me to learn to do it for the two rooms in my home. But the education and the information is very extensive and will be useful to those who want to learn this process. It helped me to understand why the cost of this process is high, but for me the environmental benefits outweigh the cost. I think the process is fabulous and I will use it in my bathrooms as it provides a great moisture barrier which means I don't have to tile the entire room.