Malcolm Schweizer
06-20-2014, 10:04 AM
I wanted to share my experience with clay-based non-toxic paint. I am not affiliated with the company I bought it from. Just a happy consumer, and also hope to help others with rising damp issues, or who want a non-toxic paint.
I have an old home built from stone and brick. In the 1800's they didn't have vapor barriers and modern methods of keeping water out. The stone absorbs moisture and leeches it out. This is known as "rising damp." Many people try to solve rising damp by putting a moisture proof paint on the walls. That is the worst thing you can do because it traps the moisture in the walls. You need to let it breathe. When we bought the house, the previous owner had used latex paint on the walls and it was peeling badly. I had heard of clay paints, did some research, and ended up using this company: http://www.greenbuildingsupply.com/All-Products/Paints-Coatings-Paints-Primers/Bioshield-Clay-Paint-Venetian-Collection
The first thing you will notice about the paint is that it is very thick- like a thin stucco. It goes on thick and is the first paint I have ever seen that truly gives one coat coverage. It also doesn't smell bad. It smells like wet clay, (It IS wet clay!) and when dry it has no residual smell. You can use it on drywall, but I bought it specifically because it allows moisture to wick through the paint on my stone walls. It works beautifully. It does get darker where the moisture wicks out. You can see where the stones are outlined in the really damp areas. No big deal, because I want it to wick moisture, and the varied color looks cool and is actually true to the home, which originally had lime wash on the walls. If used on modern drywall it will not have this discoloration because there is no moisture in the walls. This is only because I have stone walls that wick moisture. By the way- there is a big advantage to the moisture wicking. My house stays about 5 degrees cooler than outside! Since I am in the tropics that is a good thing.
One good thing is your brush doesn't clog up with this stuff. If it gets dry, just sprinkle a little water- not like latex, which starts to clump up in the brush. One drawback is the only available finish is matte. No gloss or semi-gloss. Again, for me this was ok because it is period correct, but otherwise I am an "eggshell" kind of guy. Also the paint is not quite as durable as latex, and they say not to use it in showers or areas of a lot of moisture.
In the pics you can see where the moisture is wicking out (dark patches in the paint) and you can see the pattern of the stone. Another pic shows what lies beneath the stucco. By the way, the blue room is the old kitchen, and the angular thing is the old hood that was over the coal stove. It is made of brick that is stucco'd. The walls are 18" thick! My neighbor's house has walls 3 feet thick on the bottom level. They don't make 'em like that anymore!
I hope this helps anyone who has an old home with stone or brick walls and is dealing with rising damp.
I have an old home built from stone and brick. In the 1800's they didn't have vapor barriers and modern methods of keeping water out. The stone absorbs moisture and leeches it out. This is known as "rising damp." Many people try to solve rising damp by putting a moisture proof paint on the walls. That is the worst thing you can do because it traps the moisture in the walls. You need to let it breathe. When we bought the house, the previous owner had used latex paint on the walls and it was peeling badly. I had heard of clay paints, did some research, and ended up using this company: http://www.greenbuildingsupply.com/All-Products/Paints-Coatings-Paints-Primers/Bioshield-Clay-Paint-Venetian-Collection
The first thing you will notice about the paint is that it is very thick- like a thin stucco. It goes on thick and is the first paint I have ever seen that truly gives one coat coverage. It also doesn't smell bad. It smells like wet clay, (It IS wet clay!) and when dry it has no residual smell. You can use it on drywall, but I bought it specifically because it allows moisture to wick through the paint on my stone walls. It works beautifully. It does get darker where the moisture wicks out. You can see where the stones are outlined in the really damp areas. No big deal, because I want it to wick moisture, and the varied color looks cool and is actually true to the home, which originally had lime wash on the walls. If used on modern drywall it will not have this discoloration because there is no moisture in the walls. This is only because I have stone walls that wick moisture. By the way- there is a big advantage to the moisture wicking. My house stays about 5 degrees cooler than outside! Since I am in the tropics that is a good thing.
One good thing is your brush doesn't clog up with this stuff. If it gets dry, just sprinkle a little water- not like latex, which starts to clump up in the brush. One drawback is the only available finish is matte. No gloss or semi-gloss. Again, for me this was ok because it is period correct, but otherwise I am an "eggshell" kind of guy. Also the paint is not quite as durable as latex, and they say not to use it in showers or areas of a lot of moisture.
In the pics you can see where the moisture is wicking out (dark patches in the paint) and you can see the pattern of the stone. Another pic shows what lies beneath the stucco. By the way, the blue room is the old kitchen, and the angular thing is the old hood that was over the coal stove. It is made of brick that is stucco'd. The walls are 18" thick! My neighbor's house has walls 3 feet thick on the bottom level. They don't make 'em like that anymore!
I hope this helps anyone who has an old home with stone or brick walls and is dealing with rising damp.