How to Plaster a Ceiling for a Straw Bale Home
Straw Bale Home - A Community Member Question Answered
How do I go about plastering the ceiling?
- Strawbale Community Member
Plastering the ceiling is very similar to plastering the walls of a straw bale home. The most significant difference is that you need goggles and a big hat!
Okay, that’s not entirely true. You will likely drop a LOT of plaster during the plastering process, so good eye protection and a hat are a must!
Another significant difference is that the ceiling will only be a finish coat of plaster as it will be drywalled, not baled.
If you use Natural Hydraulic Lime (NHL) for the finish coat, increase the amount of lime in the mix to make it a little bit stickier. You don’t have to do much. If you removed two shovels full of sand per bag of NHL, that would do it.
If you are using the premixed finish NHL, you may want to run a bit more water in it to make it more workable. In other words, it spreads further.
If you are using a different plaster, like earth or gypsum, the key is experimentation. Take notes as you go so that once you settle on a mix you like, it will be easier to replicate it.
You want the mix to be sticky, that is for sure.
Be sure to use some joint reinforcement at the ceiling edges. This could be paper or fiber drywall tape embedded in the wall plaster and mudded to the ceiling.
Consider doing the ceiling before the final coat on the straw bale walls but after the scratch and brown on the walls to avoid having to mask/protect or damage the finish on your walls.
Natural Plastering is a huge topic with lots of nuances. Ask lots of questions, read books, come to a workshop, and keep an eye out for new on-demand learning courses from us.
We want you 100% confident to move forward on your plaster plan!
If you have questions or want to shortcut your learning curve, book an hour of consulting with Timbo - he’s great at breaking it down into actionable steps and troubleshooting with you. There are no dumb questions with us!
