The use of insulating lime plasters provides both thermal and acoustic insulation for both interior and exterior applications, with the goal of energy savings and improved home comfort. Lime plasters are vapor permeable, which helps prevent moisture problems and creates a healthier indoor environment. An important advantage of insulating lime plasters, especially in historic buildings, is that they fully preserve the original appearance of the property. Unlike thick exterior wall insulation packages, which can alter or even hide the characteristic appearance of a historic building, lime plasters adapt to the existing structure. This means that the authentic facade is preserved without compromising the aesthetic and historic value of the building. They are often formulated with natural hydraulic lime (NHL) as the binder and insulating fillers such as recycled glass beads, cork or hemp fibers.
Insulating plasters with cork offer natural insulation and are completely renewable. Cork plasters are vapor permeable, which helps prevent moisture problems, and they offer excellent acoustic insulation. This makes them ideal for environmentally conscious projects. However, availability can vary, and since the majority of cork comes from Portugal, its overall carbon footprint may make it a less favorable choice for projects in the Benelux region.
Hemp fibers are a sustainable and environmentally friendly material that grows quickly and is completely biodegradable. Lime and hemp-based plasters are vapor permeable, which helps prevent moisture problems similar to cork. Although hemp fibers may have less mechanical strength compared to other insulating plasters, this is often not a problem in applications where heavy loads are not applied to the plaster, such as interior and exterior plasters. In addition, hemp fibers naturally have fire-resistant properties and are highly resistant to insects and mold, which makes them especially suitable for sustainable construction. This makes lime and hemp-based plasters a robust, safe and environmentally conscious choice, especially in environments where increased durability and safety are desired. In addition, the use of hemp contributes to a lower carbon footprint, making it an attractive option for environmentally conscious projects.
Perlite is a lightweight material with excellent fire-resistant properties and good thermal insulation. This makes perlite plasters easy to work with and well suited for applications where fire safety is a priority. Although perlite is vapor permeable, it does not offer the same level of breathability as natural materials such as cork or hemp.
Glass beads are a promising type of insulating material used in plasters because of their excellent thermal properties. These plasters are an environmentally friendly choice because they often use recycled glass beads. They offer good thermal insulation and have a low density, which means they are lightweight and easy to apply. The lower the density of an insulating plaster the better the insulating ability of this material.
Making an insulating plaster yourself
You can make your own insulating plaster by combining natural hydraulic lime (NHL) with insulating fillers such as recycled glass beads, cork or hemp fibers.
BATICHANVRE is based on natural hydraulic lime from Saint-Astier®, specially formulated to make mortars and concrete with ISOCANNA (Hemp). Specially designed for hemp mortars, this lime mortar complies with French standards LMDC N° ET/09.172e. The standard ratio for making an insulating plaster is 2 bags of Batichanvre (25kg/bag) and 1 bag of Isocanna (20kg).
For this, always contact our technical advisors with us to obtain the correct insulation value.
Ready-made solutions
We also offer a ready-to-use insulating plaster, namely the leading NOVASKIN® range. The range consists of an insulating under-plaster on the one hand, and an ultra-fine finishing plaster on the other.
NOVASKIN® Thermo Plus is a lightweight thermal and acoustic insulating primer in powder form for both interior and exterior applications based on Natural Hydraulic Lime (NHL) from Saint-Astier® according to EN 9981-1.
With an objectively proven insulation value of the plaster of (λ)0.0793 W/m-K one obtains an R-value of 1.26 m²-K/W at 10 cm thickness. Due to its low density, we arrive at a consumption of only 0.35 kg/m²/mm thickness, which is considerably lower than traditional lime plasters. This plaster can be finished with NOVASKIN® Coating.
R-Values of NOVASKIN® Thermo Plus
NOVASKIN® Coating is an ultra-fine finishing plaster for both interior and exterior applications based on Natural Hydraulic Lime (NHL) from Saint-Astier®. The plaster has excellent adhesion to NOVASKIN® ThermoPlus, but can also be used on EcoMortar R100 or Ecomortar R50.
For more information about insulating plasters or for price and sample requests, contact us using our contact form. We will be happy to help you find the best solution for your construction or renovation project.
