What Is Plaster; Its Origins and History
Plaster, just like cement, is a building material. Usually plaster is sold as a dry powder mix and has to be combined with water to be used. The resulting paste is then used on the building surfaces as a finishing material. When completely dried, it becomes hard. However, the beauty of plaster is that even post-drying it remains pliable, and therefore, is easy to manipulate with the help of sandpaper or metal tools. It is these very characteristics that make it suitable for finishing surfaces. Moreover, plaster is fire resistant and also helps reducing structural damage once the fire has been promptly extinguished. Other uses of plaster include medicinal (for mending broken bones), artistic (casting etc) among other things.The word ‘plaster' is a Greek word meaning ‘to daub on.'
Origins and a Brief History of Plaster
Considered to be one of the oldest building and handicraft techniques known to man, plaster was used by primitive man to protect his house from the elements. He used mud plaster instead of lime or gypsum plaster, on a framework of reeds/sticks to create an enclosure to protect himself from the external elements like the sun, wind, rain, cold etc.
Plaster was used for the very first time in ancient Anatolia and Syria some 9,000 years ago.
Egyptian Times
As a matter of fact, plaster was also used by the Egyptian Pharaohs for finishing their famous pyramids as well as their palaces. Despite aging for more than 4,000 years, the plasterwork and the decoration surfaces are still intact and in a durable state even today!
Egyptians used plaster made from ‘calcined gypsum' or creating gypsum powder by heating it. (The Egyptians heated gypsum in open-to-air fires and beat the burnt gypsum to powder. They then mixed this with water to create a jointing material to join the stone blocks to construct their monuments.) The plaster was also applied on reeds and hair was used to give strength to the plaster.
Research has shown that the principal techniques of plaster used by the ancient Egyptians are almost similar to the plastering techniques that are used today.
Grecian Times
While Egyptians were the first to use plastering techniques, Greeks weren't far behind. Studies on ancient Greek architecture have revealed that both plaster and stucco (plaster is used for interiors, while stucco is used for exterior surfaces) were used as finishing for various structures for very long.
Importance of Plaster in History
Even back in the early days, man knew the value of applying plaster to interior as well as exterior surfaces. Not only did plaster provide a smooth and clean surface, but it was also ideal for protecting the structure from the natural elements, while offering him a perfect surface to decorate on. As man experimented with plaster, the wisdom of using lime and sand to form mortar to cover the reeds and brick walls plus ceilings was discovered. The medicinal value of lime was beneficial in preventing the spread of diseases as well as pests.
From the 13th century through to the 16th century, plastering gained much importance, due to its Fire Resistant nature!
Gypsum Plaster
Right from the time plaster was first used up until the mid-19th century; plaster (lime and sand) was used to cover interior walls as well as ceiling but took around 2-weeks to harden and that too only under favourable conditions. However, gypsum plaster had a shorter setting period, but its cost was a major deterrent for those who had only simple requirements. Therefore, gypsum plaster gained popularity as a building material to be used for ornamental work as well as for producing ‘scagliola' or imitation marble finishes. This technique was developed by the Italians in the 15th century.
As technology improved, the early 20th century witnessed the replacement of lime with gypsum plaster, which led to better binding with sand. Furthermore, the setting time could now be controlled, allowing the plasterer to layer up plaster in just a few hours instead of days or weeks. Time of setting gained precedence and a major factor in the growth and development of the building technique.
England's Contribution to World Plaster
England's contribution to the world of plaster can't be ignored. Some of the major inventions such as - Portland Cement (Leeds bricklayer Joseph Aspdin, 1824); Keanes Cement, slow-setting, very hard plaster, (Englishman R.W. Keane, 1841) and Plaster board also known as gypsum lath (1890, England).
From developments like synthetic finishes of the 60's to exterior cladding to ‘exterior insulation of synthetic finishes or EIFS' to polymer stucco, the plastering industry is still creating history on a regular basis.
Please feel free to leave a comment about this page
Was this page useful? Do you have something to add? Do you disagree?
If your comments meet our
guidelines then we will publish them (you do not need to register!)
Or why not tell a friend and email
this
page to someone