I want to talk to you, you fundi and Site Masons in Kampala. You, the site engineer with a degree. You, who says LIME IS OUTDATED.
You are lying to Ugandans. And you are destroying our houses.
Walk in any estate - Naalya, Kira, Bweyogerere, even Muyenga, Naguru, Akright. 98% of houses just bought on market - look down. 0.5 meters from the floor slab, the plaster is peeling. Paint is swelling. Plaster is falling off like scabs on a wound or Chapati made in Mbulamuti Namasagali.
You call the painter. He repaints. After 3 months, it peels again.
You blame "dampness". You blame "bad paint". No! You are the problem!
You refused to use lime!
My Jjaajja Muguluma's house in Kifuuta, Kyotera, Buddu, was built in 1927. Almost 100 YEARS AGO. And Jjaajja Livingston Naidoo's house, built in 1949, Njeru, Nyenga. Go and see them today. The plaster is still intact. Still hard like a rock. No peeling. No map cracks. No "pop pop" sound like when you knock the doors of Komamboga and Mperelwe.
Why? Because those Muzungu and My Jjaajjas knew one thing you have forgotten: In Kiterede we have a Ekerezia built in 1908. It's Plaster is intact.
When I was giving my speech at the finals of Buganda Royal Regatta, Amaato Ga Kabaka, I told one named Doctor who has invested heavy in buildings but let down by a Fundi of future snoring.
CEMENT WITHOUT LIME IS A CURSE!
Let me educate you so you stop making people cry.
1. YOU BUILD IN A HOT COUNTRY BUT YOU PLASTER LIKE YOU ARE IN EUROPE
Cement alone shrinks. It dries too fast in our Ugandan heat. It cracks. Tiny invisible cracks. Water enters through those cracks during rain. That water is trapped because cement is not breathable.
Where does that trapped water go? It comes out at the bottom of the wall - 0.5 meters above the floor slab - and pushes your plaster off! That is why every new house peels at the bottom!
My Jjaajja's house used lime. Lime holds water and cures slowly. No shrinkage. No cracks. The wall breathes. Moisture evaporates outside, not inside your paint.
2. YOU SAY LIME IS OUTDATED. SO WHY DO THE REAL ENGINEERS STILL USE IT?
Go to any serious project - State House, Bank of Uganda, Serena Hotel. I built Green Park, Kafue Road, Lusaka, Zambia, in 2008. It's intact without peeling Plaster because i used lime during plastering, renovation - check their specs. 1 bag of hydrated lime MUST be in the mortar.
In England, they are now REMOVING cement and returning to lime for restoration. Because they learned cement destroys old buildings.
You, a fundi with a trowel you bought yesterday, you say lime is outdated? Outdated for who? For a shortcut?
3. YOU WANT TO SAVE MONEY BUT YOU ARE MAKING THE CLIENT LOSE BILLIONS
You tell the client, "Boss, lime is expensive, no need." You save 50,000 UGX on a bag of hydrated lime.
But 8 months later, the client pays 3 Million to hack off all the peeling plaster, buy waterproofing, repaint. And it will peel again!
Cement gives strength. Sand gives volume. LIME GIVES LIFE TO THE PLASTER.
Without lime:
- Your plaster is harsh - it doesn't stick. That's why it sounds hollow "pop pop" when you knock.
- It cracks - those hairline cracks you see after 2 days.
- It doesn't breathe - so it peels at the bottom.
- It dies fast - 5 years and it's gone.
With lime:
- It becomes buttery - spreads like margarine.
- It bends - no cracks.
- It breathes - no peeling.
- It heals itself - small cracks close alone.
- It lasts 50-100 years - like my Jjaajjas house of 1927 and 1949.
MY MESSAGE TO ALL ENGINEERS AND FUNDIS IN KAMPALA:
Stop this lazy work! Stop this "quick quick" plaster of pure cement and sand. You are not modern, you are ignorant.
The correct mix is, these are the things you will miss when am holding my legs eating only cassava without relish.
Inside: 1 Cement : 1 Lime : 6 Sand
Outside: 1 Cement : 0.5 Lime : 4 Sand
Use Hydrated Lime - not agricultural lime! Soak it overnight!
If you continue to plaster without lime, you are not a Fundi or a Site Engineer. You are a destroyer of people's life savings. Someone spent 200 Million building a house, you destroy it with bad plaster to save 50k.
Look at your own work - that peeling at 0.5 meters above the Plinth wall is your signature of ignorance.
Look at Jjaajjas house of 1927 and That 1949 of Livingston Naidoo - that intact plaster is the signature of wisdom.
The Oracles of Kifuuta say - We build to last, not to peel! Go and Peel Matooke and Balugu ne Minandi.
