American Clay Natural Earth Plaster
Written by Euphrasia Carroll
American Clay’s Natural Earth Plasters are not only award-winning, their formulation is now patented. The patent was issued on February 3, 2009, and provides the company exclusive rights for making, using, selling, or importing their invention from that date. American Clay’s CEO and co-Founder Croft Elsaesser is the creator of the unique formulation using natural clays, recycled and reclaimed aggregates, and vibrant natural pigments – all sourced in the U.S.
Elsaesser’s avid interest in developing natural materials began when he launched into home construction and plastering 13 years ago. A press release announcing the new patent says that “before creating American Clay, Elsaesser suffered from chronic headaches and breathing problems, symptoms of what experts started to realize was due to toxic substances in finishes, and finally dubbed ‘sick building syndrome’.” Now, with the creation of the all-natural earth plaster, people can work and live in healthier environments.
American Clay Natural Earth Plaster is one of Builder News’ 2008 Best Products. Placing in the Luxury category, Builder News’ feature on award-winning products says, “Celebrating innovation by manufacturers across five categories, the products all reflect the contributions manufacturers are making to homebuilding in the U.S. by raising the bar on current limits for technology, efficiency, affordability, and environmental concerns. Earth Plaster, by American Clay, is a natural clay and recycled marble dust plaster that can give any surface the traditional feel of cob-earth and adobe-style houses. Earth Plaster is made in the U.S. with non-toxic domestic ingredients.”
Earth Plasters are non-dusting, mold and fade resistant, repairable, and moisture controlling. They are also easily adapted to Do-It-Yourself projects. Creating American Clay surfaces is made easy by the company, which is presenting workshops for advanced application skills at various locations in the U.S. Detailed information about these workshops is available on the American Clay website.
A photo gallery showing different finishes and applications features a variety of beautiful projects. You can also discover answers to common questions about Earth Plasters in a segment of the website devoted to providing more information about topics including Colors and Samples, Surfaces, Cleaning and Repairing, Fireplaces, and more. You can also pose questions to the company’s experts and read an interesting list of Open Questions – this feature shows questions other people have asked about the use and application of Earth Plasters.
A blog and newsletter make company news readily available. In an illustrated tidbit in a recent blog entry, you can see examples of the new color and finish samples, now available in large 8” x 10” sheets to give customers a better sense of what Earth Plasters look like.
What others have said
A great product that is definitely better than cement anytime. You can’t beat the warmth that clay gives and I’m sure it’s also better at keeping heat inside.
Earth homes have a wonderful sense of comfort and solidness that is not often found in the traditional brick veneer. The ability to apply your own interior design is such an easy task when the natural materials, such as in this photograph, mean little is required in order to present a beautiful room.
This is a really cool option for interiors. Especially because it looks good but is practical. Looks good around the windows too.
Continuing with my earlier comment. I will also add that you can disguise any wiring and plumbing when building the walls. This ensures the home presents in a natural as possible design.
This clay looked like it was a part of one of the cottages that was listed in the blog. How is it non-dustable? That sounds amazing to me!
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Clay just makes a house look way more exotic and rustic! Just a fun fact, if you are ever in need of shipping cars anywhere around the world, look up Auto Shipping Network. They did a great job for me!