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Welcome, this site is going to introduce the best part of Optiroc France’s products to you... |
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1. Paste matter, or thick liquid, used to cover a surface. Coarse filler. Apply filler. This filler will protect from the rain. The varnish is a sort of filler. Layer of preparation between a support and a layer of paint. Filler for frescoes, for oil painting. 2. Construction. Covering in plaster, mortar, cement, stucco, that is spread over the surface of a construction to protect it from the damp and to level it.
In Dictionnaire de l’Académie Française 9ème Èdition 1992. |
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Through this definition, we can better understand the double meaning of the word filler. It can designate a covering of preparation or priming before the finishing, but, used superficially it can also include a function of decorating or dressing outer walls.
Thus, between the different materials necessary to compose it and the diversity of its uses throughout time, there is not a history of the filler, but of fillers in the plural. |
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A Little History
Already to be found in ancient times, as a means of decoration, the appearance of the filler is closely linked to the evolution of housing and techniques of construction.
Stemming directly from the materials used in primary masonry, the appearance of filler indoors could logically be traced back to the time when constructions became "permanent". Its function then being not so much decorative as linked to people’s comfort : heat insulation, water-tightness, aspect and hardness of the covering.
Once the walls became more or less level, and that the materials were better chosen and constructions became more and more permanent, walls took up once again their ancestral role of communication support (as was already the case in prehistory), first of all with a religious and informative vocation, then simply decorative. There are several examples in antiquity: superb frescoes have been found in the Roman ruins of Pompeii, whereas at Petra or in pre-Columbian America, lime-based wall decorations can still be seen.
However, and until relatively recently, peasant housing did not integrate these criteria, the people having other priorities. Decoration was reserved rather for furniture, crockery, and curtains.
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The Materials
We can distinguish three main types of component mixed up to make a filler :
- mineral binders (lime, plaster and cement) are ever present products in the techniques of construction and of finishings. Their role is to ensure the homogeneity of the mixture. Each one, with its respective qualities, has a different effect and needs a different way of working. If plaster is the oldest, lime distinguishes itself by the beauty of its result. It has always been throughout history the most used material and is once again becoming a must nowadays.
- mineral loads (sand, powdered marble, powdered stone,....) give body to the filler. Chosen for their colour, their fineness and the aspects they give to the filler, they are a determining factor in fixing the structure of the mixture.
- the pigments give the filler its chromatic tonality. There is ochre of course, coloured earth from diverse quarries, oxide, ... There are now several synthetic substitutes to all these natural materials, but none can really equal the richness and the pleasure you get from working with the real thing.
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Customs and Techniques
It is difficult to summarise in general terms the techniques used over the years, first of all because there are a very great deal of them, and secondly because the materials used vary according to the region and the country. Last but not least, weather conditions also dictate different choices.
The best we can say is that in popular European housing, the custom was to stop the biggest holes with pisé or cob, the composition of which depended on the available resources (clay, straw, animal’s fur...).
To find out more on these subjects, we invite you to consult our list of links regularly.
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Optiroc is part of Saint-Gobain group, the world leader in the habitat and construction market, for designing, manufacturing and distributing building materials. Copyright © pix-m 2004 |
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