This really isn't natural building, so I have been reluctant to share some of my techniques here on Permies, but I have decided that less than perfect is sometimes good enough. I experiment with combining ancestral techniques with modern industrial products on my own home in order to work out the bugs before doing any job professionally. I am a restoration contractor, so I always have a bottom line. I installed drywall on the stud wall, then plastered that with a greenguard certified all purpose joint compound then top coated with type s hydrated lime aged 1 month mixed with brick slurry from a brick saw, application by 6 inch brush and immediately trowel burnished, dried leather hard and then local goat soap dissolved into warm water is painted on with the same 6' natural bristle paint brush and burnished with a cut piece of local limestone.

Inherently water-resistant and durable, Tadelakt can be used on a variety of exterior and interior.

A modern interpretation of that system is what you see in the first photo. Tadelakt finish is a unique blend of marble dust, fine marble aggregate, slaked aged lime and other materials, designed to create a beautiful smooth, medium to high polished finish that blends perfectly in multicolored applications. The predominant plastering system in homes 100 to 150 years old is lime render, gypsum plaster and then colored lime top coat, so this is what I mostly use in my restoration work. They behave too differently and this resulted in cracks appearing at the seams between the sheets of cement board. In retrospect, I would not use any OPC based products with any kind of lime plaster. Siu-yu man wrote:Bill, curious, in retrospect, how would you do this differently? what did not work?

Tadelakt plaster