A study on the use of "sweet plaster" in traditional anotolia houses

Abstract

Gypsum is predominately used as interior and exterior plaster material especially in the traditional houses of various Central Anatolian towns. Various plaster samples have been collected from traditional houses in the cities of Amasya, Tokat, Çorum and Sivas in Turkey and these samples have been subjected to physical, chemical, X-ray diffraction and thermogravimetric analyses to evaluate the general features and production techniques of the material. The purpose of these analyses is to use the plaster, locally known as "sweet plaster", "sweet lime" and "mortar of cas", depending on the region it is used, in the maintenance and reparation of traditional houses appropriate to their original characteristics, to cherish this tradition under modem conditions, to utilize local resources appropriately within the resource environment and to explain the production techniques of lime material in different cities. The findings of the experiment have revealed that the binding material of roughcast and finish plaster in Qorum and Sivas houses is gypsum and the binding material of plaster in Amasya and Tokat houses is lime. © IDOSI Publications, 2012.