Heat Resistant Plaster is a construction material that has been used throughout history, it has been found on buildings in Pompeii and despite all the stresses associated with the demise of that particular city it has survived. Plaster is a strong, durable and very efficient material that is invaluable in current building construction, it can also be decorated with various mosaics and shapes pencilled into the material before it sets. Heat resistant plaster is currently used to ensure that homes are protected from fire and heat damage.
The first thing to understand about is that there are three main types of plaster currently used in building construction. The types are; gypsum plaster, lime plaster and cement plaster. Gypsum plaster, also known as plaster of Paris, is the one that is most commonly used in modern construction because it is a very easy method of fireproofing the structure of a building; it can be sprayed onto the structure of a building and then manipulated using hand tools even after it dries. Lime plaster is created via a combination of limestone and water but due to recent advances in dry wall design it is used less in construction than it used to be. Cement plaster is created by adding plaster, sand, Portland cement and water and is mainly used to strengthen the outside of buildings and bridges.
Heat resistant plaster is used in fire proofing due to the nature of the material itself, as when the plaster is exposed to flame or heat water vapour is released from it and it can slow a fire down by up to two hours although the time is dependent on the thickness of the plaster itself. Heat resistant plaster is also used to create a barrier between the fire and the structure of a building, plaster is usually sprayed onto the metal supports of the building during construction to prevent heat from melting and distorting the structure of the building. This is extremely important as the plaster acts as a way of stopping the supports from breaking and thus collapsing the building itself.
Heat resistant plaster is so good at keeping heat contained and fires at bay due to the process that creates the plaster itself, gypsum plaster is created through a process in which the gypsum is heated to a temperature of 150 degrees Celsius. Once plaster is added to water an exothermic reaction occurs in which the heat is released from the solution, the plaster and water eventually hardens into a solid block although it does remain quite soft.
Heat resistant plaster has to be used with extreme caution as the exothermic reaction is extremely hot, if you were to place your hands into a bucket full of water and plaster then your hands may suffer from severe burns unless they are very well protected. It is advised that when using plaster you use only thin strips and allow time for the strips to cool between each application. The reaction gives the plaster its strength during a fire but it also makes heat resistant plaster extremely dangerous to use without proper precautions being taken.
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