ᐅ To paint lime plaster or not?

Some things only come to mind once the quotes start arriving.

New build, waterproof concrete shell (here it doesn’t really matter), precast concrete slabs, drywall in the attic. All brick walls and some concrete parts (staircase landing, etc.) are finished with lime plaster. Not a lime-cement plaster, but pure lime plaster.

The painter’s quote is huge. 1200m2 (12,917 sq ft) of surface to paint... honestly, I don’t want to do it myself either ;-)

Now my question is whether lime plaster actually needs to be painted. Of course, it’s not 100% bright white, but that’s not necessarily required.

The painter plans to use Keim Innopro (2 coats).

Questions:

1. Is it necessary?
2. Or is it like casting pearls before swine?

The entire house is built in a modern take on rustic style (wooden windows, travertine, etc.).

The precast concrete ceilings obviously need to be painted (here, spackling and painter’s fleece are planned). The only question is which color they should be to harmonize with the somewhat grayish walls.

Best regards

Andreas

a_v_s schrieb:
1. Is it necessary?

Only you can answer that for yourself. It’s like asking if you need floor coverings in the house. Necessary? No. But do you have the huge house anyway? No – but you go ahead and build it.

And for me, nothing is more boring than colorless walls.

a_v_s schrieb:
The whole house is built in a modern take on rustic style (wooden windows, travertine, ...)

Ah! Is it really necessary to install travertine? And then have monotonous walls throughout the whole house...

a_v_s schrieb:
Obviously, the delicate ceilings have to be painted

Why is that obvious here?

a_v_s schrieb:
The only question is what shade the walls should be to harmonize with the somewhat grayish walls.

Mouse gray, of course. So that everything equally weighs down the mood.

Enough irony and sarcasm. Once you actually live in the house, you’ll very quickly want to add color to avoid becoming depressed. So yes, paint the walls. Saving money there is saving in the absolutely wrong place.

nordanney schrieb:
Once you’re living in the house, you’ll quickly want to add some color to avoid feeling depressed. So yes, paint the walls. Skimping on that is saving in the wrong place.

Colored walls are out of the question anyway. The point is: lime plaster is naturally white (with a tint). Painting over it with white paint (also tinted)…?

That would be almost like painting brickwork with brick-red paint, wouldn’t it?

a_v_s schrieb:
Colored walls are out of the question anyway.

OMG – so white (light gray) like in a hospital? No emotion, no life. You can do that, but then you might as well skip the color altogether (although white isn’t really a color...).

a_v_s schrieb:
It would be almost like painting brickwork with brick-red paint, right?

No. Brickwork isn’t a pure red. It’s speckled, varying in tone, with joints in matching colors and texture. Plain plaster is lifeless.

You can rather compare it to a natural cotton T-shirt.

We are basically building just like you.
Brick + lime plaster + wood windows (larch) + natural stone flooring (Jura) + concrete ceilings (but formwork cast) + drywall ceilings on the upper floor.

I’m not a fan of colored walls in living areas either. I once thought that was "cool" in my student apartment, but I’m past that stage. At most, the children's rooms and bathroom will have subtle colors.

First question: Do you really have pure lime plaster? Or what is being marketed as lime plaster but unfortunately still contains cement? We plastered a few rooms ourselves, and the plaster from a different brand looks a bit different. The other rooms were plastered very uniformly by the professional, with a surface that is quite light but still a grayish beige. I’ll upload some photos for you (I can take more if needed).

I would consider painting for the following reasons:
- The texture is quite "rough"
- The transitions from ceiling skim coat to wall are too uneven
- At windows with corner profiles (not everywhere in our case), the profiles are partially visible through.

As for the color, I wouldn’t choose a bright traffic white either, but rather a shade of white that suits the house style.

familie_s schrieb:
We plastered a few rooms ourselves, so the plaster is from a different brand and looks a bit different.

Is that lime plaster with cotton fibers? Pure lime plaster is usually more like finely troweled render. If needed, it can be finished smoothly to Q3/Q4 level. A matter of personal taste.

familie_s schrieb:
- On windows with corner profiles (not everywhere in our case) the profiles are partially visible.

Honestly? It looks like rough construction – not fully finished. Personally, I find that absolutely horrible if nothing is done about it. But taste is subjective.

familie_s schrieb:
I also can’t do anything with colored walls in living spaces. I thought that was “cool” once in my student apartment, but I’m past that age now.

That has nothing to do with age, but rather with the effect of colors.