Building industry

 

Mortars and Plasters

 

 

Lime has always been used as a binder. Although slower in curing than pure cement mortar, lime (or bastard) mortar has advantage to enhance plasticity and thus easy application.

 

Furthermore, masonry work with lime mortar has tensile strenght, but is more water tight, more flexible and less subject to cracks.

 

Building materials

A wide array of building materials require the use of lime and calcium carbonate:

Paints, colorants, varnishes and fillers

 
  • lime-sand bricks, which combine lime and silica sand;

  • cellular concrete, light and insulating, obtained from a gasified mortar based on silica sand, lime and cement;

  • yellow or salmon-coloured decorative bricks, obtained by decolouring the iron oxide of the clay by means of micronised calcium carbonate.

  • all forms of concrete are made smoother, more aestetically attractive by the addition of micronised calcium carbonate.

 

Lime has been used since ever as a basic product to whitewash walls, thanks to such qualities as its resistance to rust, humidity and fire, as well as its natural whiteness and disinfecting role. But lime is also used to produce white pigments, such as White Satin.