I have been using the Devine Green line of paints for some time and I love them. The colors are great, the quality of the finish is fantastic, and the “Green Building Value” of the product excellent. Let me start this post by saying that the problems I have had are not a result of the paint, but something else entirely. I have run into a new problem with a house we completed some time ago. The paint on the walls is just barely attached to the surface in several places. It may be the result of fine dust in the house while the painting took place. There were tile setters and finish carpenters in the building a few rooms away. That could be the simple answer; however, in the process of my research on the subject I learned that if the plaster has not completely cured, the alkaline levels in the plaster can inhibit the paint from bonding to the walls.
Most plasters need about 28 days to fully cure. The biggest problem with this is that the time line usually does not allow for waiting 28 days before the paint is applied. Most critical paths assume that one trade will move quickly to the next. To put off painting would mean putting off cabinets, flooring, and everything else associated with the finish of the house until after the paint is completed. You will either have to plan for this in your critical path, or paint after all of the finishes are in place. Painting after the installation of the finishes is fine but it means a lot more prep work is in order to protect the finish materials. This is something to consider before you get running down the path towards home construction!
About the Author
Andrew Morison is a specialist in straw bale and green construction. He has shown thousands of people how to build their own straw bale projects through his comprehensive series of instructional straw bale, concrete foundation, and plastering DVDs. You can check these out at www.LearnStrawBale.com..
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November 13th, 2007 at 5:06 pm
Why would you paint a plaster wall, especially if it is new construction? I was under the impression that the color is put into the final coat of plaster called the “color coat.” I don’t get why you are painting your walls at all. Perhaps this whole problem should have been avoided in the first place.
Silvia
November 13th, 2007 at 5:35 pm
Silvia,
I don’t recommend that my clients use the color coat because if they ever have holes in the wall, like when they move a picture and leave a nail mark behind, it is all but impossible to match the wall color again. With paint, on the other hand, they can easily patch and paint any size hole with ease. I have found that the paint is a much easier wall finish to live with and when the details listed in the original post were addressed, I have not had any problems.
August 19th, 2008 at 7:10 pm
I have a new straw bale fence. I used Ash grove premix stucco to cover it. I found the color coat to cost more than I can afford. Can I prime and paint the stucco. A friend told me not to paint stucco over hay bales, something about the hay bales needing to breath ? I live in Wy. please give me any advice you can. Thanks Rhonda
August 21st, 2008 at 7:15 am
Hi Rhonda,
I sure hope you mean straw bales, not hay. I would agree with your friend to some extent; however, the right paint can be applied if it has a higher permeability rate than the stucco. In other words, if it breathes more than the stucco it won’t limit the vapor transfer.On a fence, it doesn’t matter anyway because the bales will likely rot away over time unless it is protected with a roof. That is fine because what you are looking for is the shape of the fence, not the insulation value of the straw. Consider the straw as a form work for the stucco and then the stucco as the actual fence material.
December 13th, 2009 at 2:50 pm
I just want to tell you that your blog is very interesting, bookmarked
March 10th, 2010 at 2:11 pm
Do you use this Devine paint on the interior only, or the exterior too? If not, what do you use on the exterior?
March 10th, 2010 at 2:17 pm
Only on the interior. I use integral color plaster on the exterior. In other words, the color is in the plaster itself.
March 11th, 2010 at 2:22 pm
Thanks Andrew for the reply. I’ll probably use a silicate dispersion paint from Eco-House for my exterior.
But I’d like to use this Devine Green paint for the interior surfaces of my straw bale wall. I talked to my local retailer, who immediately called her distributor. The distributor thinks I should use a primer to avoid the kind of separation problem you mention in this post. Do you use primer with this paint? If so, which primer do you use that doesn’t inhibit breathability?
March 11th, 2010 at 2:26 pm
My painter did use a primer although I don’t remember the name of it. It is specially formulated to work with plastered walls, taking into account their pH levels. Talk to your distributor and they should be able to let you know about what to use. In terms of breathability, I don’t worry as much about that on the inside of the house, I’d rather have a little extra vapor resistance on the interior than I have on the exterior since homes are pressurized from the inside out. In other words, if I can only move say 10 (random number and unit for clarity’s sake) amounts of moisture into my walls from the interior, but I can move 20 out through the exterior, this helps me insure my walls stay dry.
January 25th, 2011 at 9:05 am
I live in very wet country, northwest WA. I assumed that I would have to paint the exterior plaster to protect it from rain. After watching your DVD and reading some of the posts I’m beginning to wonder. Should I paint the plaster or not? And if I should paint any factors in the paint I should watch for?
February 13th, 2011 at 9:51 am
If you choose to paint the exterior of the house I strongly recommend that you use silicate paints as they allow vapor to pass through (from the inside out) but stop water from penetrating. If you use a “regular” paint like latex or oil based on the exterior, you will seal the wall and no moisture will be able to escape through the wall. This will trap moisture inside and potentially cause problems in the long term.