[GSBN] latex paint on lime or cement plastered straw bale walls

[Rikki Nitzkin]

Hi Jim, 

you say "I occasionally see is latex paint on the interior of plastered straw bale walls”. 

not on the outside?

I have never used latex paint on SB walls, but i do know it is LESS (not saying “not at all”) problematic to have the inside of the house sealed with a vapor barrier- since this keeps the moisture inside the house, instead of the walls. As long as the outside plaster is more vapor-permeable than the inside, it should not be a problem. I even know a guy in Germany who made a SB sauna. Inside completely sealed to vapor and moisture, and outside a very permeable earthen plaster.

I would be more worried if the paint/cement was on the outside.

Rikki