Posted on 04/03/2018 2:06:46 AM PDT by SunkenCiv
Depends on the site — York in England was for a few centuries a Viking town (it was British tribal, then Roman Eboracum, then Anglo-Saxon for a minute, then Norse/Danish). The Viking era was probably the most prosperous and exciting, a real “it” place to be — and in less than 1000 years, it wound up buried under at least eight feet (often more), apparently from the river silting stuff up. Same happened at what is now called Ostia Antica, the tony suburb of ancient Rome.
Whatever the plaster, you would want something that does not easily absorb water after it dries. Otherwise your wall coating may just weaken and slide off.
A mud with high clay content would work. Horse dung (mixed with a bit of clay?) might work due to its high fiber content.
It seems as though this would be a rather high maintenance structural material needing to be replenished regularly much like a thatched roof.
I’m not sure what they used, but basically they whitewashed the exteriors. The buildings went up fast, were dirt cheap (literally), warm in cold weather, tight as a drum, and easy to fix when needed.. :^) Same goes for thatch roofs, which were still widely used even 200 years ago.
>Same goes for thatch roofs, which were still widely used even 200 years ago.
I’m afraid my memory does not serve me as well as I would like in this case but I recall reading about a large structure somewhere in the British Isles that was having it’s roof re-thatched and the article quoted a price tag in the neighborhood of $10,000 or so.
It you really wanted it to last you add blood to the mix.
People who thatch are thatchers. They are now complaining that modern thatch grown with agricultural chemicals only lasts about 1/2 the time organically grown thatch would last. I have noticed the same problem with modern cotton thread. After 20 years clothes start to come apart. I am now replacing a cedar roof I installed 20 years ago. The shingles are in worse shape than some old parts that were on the roof in the mid 1970s. I presume that modern cedar sources are no longer organic.
Modern commercial timber is grown in optimal conditions (space between trees) to obtain the fastest growth.
This leads to a wider wood grain and a softer less dense wood.
This is what I would say is the cause of your cedar not lasting as long.
Another factor could be where on the roof your old shingles are located. Shingles that are exposed to the sun for longer periods of the day may suffer more UV damage. Shingles that are not exposed to the sun as much may suffer damage from mold or moss growth.
Thanks for the info. I’ll have to check out the grain. The two roof areas are on the west side of the house, but the lower porch roof was under acacia tree shade and leaf debris and there was considerable mold and moss growth.
There are spray on applications to retard or prevent mold and moss growth on asphalt shingles. Probably available for cedar.
Use a garden sprayer.
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