The use of insulating lime plasters provides both thermal and acoustic insulation for both indoor and outdoor applications, with the aim of saving energy and improving home comfort. Lime plasters are vapour permeable, which helps prevent moisture problems and creates a healthier indoor climate. An important advantage of insulating lime plasters, especially in historic buildings, is that they completely retain the original appearance of the building. In contrast to thick exterior wall insulation packages, which can change or even hide the characteristic appearance of a historic building, lime plasters adapt to the existing structure. This means that the authentic façade is preserved without compromising the aesthetic and historical value of the building. They are often formulated with natural hydraulic lime (NHL) as a binding agent and insulating fillers such as recycled glass beads, cork or hemp fibers.
Insulating patches with cork offer natural insulation and are fully renewable. Cork plasters are vapour permeable, which helps prevent moisture problems, and they offer excellent acoustic insulation. This makes them ideal for environmentally conscious projects. However, availability may vary, and since most of the cork comes from Portugal, this may make it a less favourable choice for projects in the Benelux due to the overall CO₂ footprint.
Hemp fibers are a sustainable and environmentally friendly material that grows rapidly and is fully biodegradable. Lime and hemp-based plasters are vapor-permeable, which helps prevent moisture problems, similar to cork. Although hemp fibres may have less mechanical strength compared to other insulating plasters, this is often not a problem in applications where there is no heavy load on the patch, such as indoor and outdoor plasters. In addition, hemp fibers naturally have fire resistant properties and are highly resistant to insects and fungi, which makes them extra 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 CO₂ 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 process and very suitable 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 due to their excellent thermal properties. These plasters are an environmentally friendly choice because they often use recycled glass beads. They offer good thermal insulation and are low in density, which means they are lightweight and easy to apply. The lower the density of an insulating plaster, the better the insulating capacity of this material.
Make an insulating plaster yourself
You can make an insulating plaster yourself by combining natural hydraulic lime (NHL) with insulating fillers such as recycled glass beads, cork or hemp fibers.
BATICHANVER is based on natural Saint-Astier® hydraulic lime, specially formulated to produce mortars and concrete with ISOCANNA (Hemp). This lime mortar is specially designed for hemp mortars and complies with the French standards LMDC N° ET/09.172e. The standard ratio for preparing an insulating patch is 2 bags of Batichanvre (25 kg/bag) and 1 bag of Isocanna (20 kg).
To do this, always contact us at our technical advisors to obtain the correct insulating value.
Ready-to-use solutions
In addition, we offer a ready-to-use insulating plaster, namely the leading NOVASKIN® range. The range consists of an insulating underlay on the one hand and an ultra-fine finishing plaster on the other.
NOVASKIN® Thermo Plus is a lightweight thermally and acoustically insulating powder primer for both indoor and outdoor applications based on Saint-Astier® Natural Hydraulic Lime (NHL) in accordance with EN 9981-1.
With an objectively tested insulation value of (λ) 0.0793 W/m•K, an R-value of 1.26 m²·K/W at a thickness of 10 cm is obtained. Due to the low density, we only consume 0.35 kg/m²/mm thick, which is considerably lower than traditional lime plasters. This plaster can be further finished with the NOVASKIN® Coating.
NOVASKIN® Thermo Plus R-Values
NOVASKIN® Coating is an ultra-fine finishing plaster for both indoor and outdoor applications based on Saint-Astier® Natural Hydraulic Lime (NHL). The patch 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, please contact us contact form. We are happy to help you find the best solution for your construction or renovation project.
