Reeds for lime plaster ceilings

[biffvernon]

I called in at Geoffrey's the other day. Some may remember he posted some pictures of his reed and plaster ceiling that he was repairing. He used reed mats from Womersley's.
I noticed in my local garden centre this afternoon an identical product sold as 'Natural Screen'. Various similar products are available, made from split bamboo, willow and a material called 'natural thatch' which, I suspect, was from a plant not native to the British Isles. All versions are bound into sheets with thin galvanised wire. The cost is around £5 per square metre.
I suspect that each version, reed, willow, bamboo, and 'thatch' could find their place as supports for lime plaster in walls and ceilings. Here's an example from a random garden centre website

 

[RobT]

Hi,

just to add to Biff's post that if you use a lime putty & chalk mix with plenty of hair, in conjunction with the reed/thatch plastering background, a novice could undertake small scale plastering jobs.

I've plastered some areas in the past with a single coat.

regards

Rob

 

[middi]

Funny you should mention these " mattings" Biff, I went wondering a couple of weeks ago around garden centres looking for cheap shade screens and a similar thought entered my brain.

I wondered if these " gappy" screens (which appear to be made from all sorts of natural materials and fibres) could eventually make their way into plaster ceilings as substitutes for laths.

That would put the edge of a spanner in the works for future historians.