Lime is an ancient building material with huge benefits and wide applications. Its applicability in flood resilient buildings due to stability in water, historic buildings due to its compatiblity with historic materials and buildings with sustainable materials such as hemp and straw due to vapor permeability are alluring.
Calx is the Latin name of lime from which the element Calcium was derived. There are two types of lime: Hydrulic and Non-hydraulic.Hydraulic lime sets by hydrolysis so it has the ability to set under water and Non-hydraulic lime sets by calcination. Non-hydraulic lime can be used in three different forms: Quick lime, Hydrated Lime and Lime putty.Lime can be used as:
- Mortars
- Plasters
- Renders (Stuccos)
- Whitewash
Here at SW Nepal, we have prepared a total of 150 test samples of lime stabilized soil to determine its strength for use in different parts of building and to check the hydraulicity for its use in flood prone areas.
In addition to all of this, lime has no environmental impact as the carbon dioxide produced while manufacturing is re-absorbed during curing process. Therefore, it can potentially play a huge role in carbon reduction as well.