Learning to Live Peace: Moroccan Plastering, Check!

Ever since I heard about this beautiful Moroccan technique, TADELAKT, I knew it was going to be something I'd eventually specialize in :)

I'm sure I came across it many times in Morocco, but I never knew what I was looking at... until now.

I can't wait to go back and learn more!

Tadelakt is a Moroccan lime plaster technique that produces a waterproof, smooth, lustrous surface. Moroccans have been utilizing tadelakt for thousands of years in their bathhouses and palaces. It was originally used as a finish that allowed them to store water in cisterns. Tadelakt is a Berber word that means "to rub" (you'll understand why this technique is named that as you read on...) I've also seen the word translated to massage or caress.

Once I heard about it, I bought a book that describes the process and then I set about finding someone to teach me. I contacted Ayla Challenger, who had recently learned the technique in British Columbia, and asked her if she would be interested in taking on an apprentice. She was! So, in mid-December, I went up there to learn the process and help out with two jobs that she had arranged.

The first job was a bathtub surround. This is a great place to use tadelakt because it is naturally anti-fungal, waterproof, durable, and beautiful.

Lime substrate on area around shower head

Ayla had applied a lime plaster substrate the week before we arrived to do tadelakt. After applying the lime plaster, she drew lines through it to allow an area that the tadelakt would later key into (or attach).

Tadelakt ready to be applied

Ayla had also previously mixed the tadelakt plaster. It is a combination of limestone sand or fine marble, slaked aged lime, and earthen pigment. The client had chosen a yellowish burnt umber pigment. It ends up lighter after it dries than the color at application.

Colors before and after drying

Ayla plastering the shelf

We wet the lime substrate and added a 1/8 inch layer of tadelakt plaster. Once that was pretty dry, we added a second layer the same thickness over that. This application is a specialized skill. Mastering troweling takes time. My background in art and the experience I'd already had with earthen plasters gave me a head start in the learning curve, but I'm sure I'll gain speed every time I do it.

Applying the first layer of plaster
(photo by Ayla Challenger)

Second layer over the first

Plastered walls

Plastered walls
with color samples

If we stopped there, it would be a traditional lime plaster, but next is what makes this process so unique...

After the second layer is a very particular level of dryness (this is why learning in person is so important...), we compressed every inch of it with a metal trowel. It loses a noticeable amount of depth during this process. This is also what makes the wall smooth and shiny. Waiting for this perfect timing is a trying experience... imagine waiting for water to boil, but for hours...

Polishing stone (Photo by AC)

Next came the burnishing. This is the longest and most tedious part of the process. I also think this is the reason that more people don't utilize this technique... We slowly and carefully burnished the entire surface 6 times with a flat stone less than 2 inches wide (larger stones could and were sometimes used, but smaller stones are better for details). During the last five burnishings, we rubbed increasingly concentrated amounts of olive oil soap into the plaster. This soap is what gives the tadelakt it's lustrous feel and look and what makes it waterproof.

Burnishing (Photo by AC)

Ayla burnishing

Micro fissures

After compression, micro fissures (or tiny cracks) start to show up (another one of tadelakt's unique and beautiful qualities). During the burnishing, we carefully rub the stone along the lines of the cracks to close them and maintain the waterproof surface. The cracks add a beautiful decorative and ancient element to the end product. This is also why some people called tadelakt "poor man's marble." Unlike marble, the materials for this process are not expensive. Tadelakt instead demands intense time and effort.

After all that (about 70+ hours from the tadelakt application through burnishings), the MAGIC happens! After burnishing, the lime plaster reabsorbs carbon dioxide from the air (it was removed when the limestone was heated and made into quicklime) and hardens back into limestone! This process takes a very long time to complete, so it is recommended that after application, the shower not be used for at least one month to make sure the process is well underway.