Greenbuilding

LIVING COMFORT

GREEN BUILDING
CONCEIVED BY CVR
bioedilizia

In recent years, new principles have inspired a new way of conceiving and building: bioarchitecture, compatibility and sustainability have gradually become familiar concepts that have led to respect for the environment and the improvement of quality of life, without, however, binding the architectural and aesthetic design or affecting the implementation phases.

Home is the place where we spend almost a third of our existence; it can no longer just be "physical space" but must be redesigned and considered as "biological space".

Building homes "perfectly healthy", safe, reliable over time, with very high energy efficiency, respecting the needs of man and the planet: this is our goal.

The norm NHL 456-1

The evolution of hydrated lime or lime putty is natural hydraulic lime. This comes from the firing of limestone containing a small percentage of clay. The strength of this binder is to guarantee the porosity and transpiration requirements typical of hydrated lime, while at the same time achieving significantly higher mechanical resistance. The UNI eN 459-1 norm, which regulates all limes used in construction, provides for a distinction between hydraulic limes in: NHL - Pure natural hydraulic lime derived exclusively from calcareous or siliceous natural stones, without the addition of other components. There can be three types: NHL 2, NHL 3.5 and NHL 5; NHL - Z - Natural hydraulic lime with added hydraulicizing materials or pozzolanas; HL - Artificial hydraulic lime obtained by mixing hydrated lime and hydraulicizing materials or pozzolanas.

The lime cycle

IThe word lime comes from the Latin word calx, calcis and the Greek word kaliks meaning pebble. It is precisely through the firing at about 900°C of pure, white, compact limestone that the reaction that transforms CaCO3 limestone into CaO (calcium oxide or quicklime) + CO2 (carbon dioxide) takes place. Then the calcium oxide is hydrated in water, an operation known as quicklime quenching. This process develops a vigorous exothermic reaction that produces heat and leads to a significant increase in the volume of the fired stones until their complete disintegration, called pulping. The slaked lime or hydrated lime Ca(OH)2 (calcium hydroxide) becomes lime putty which, as the name testifies, is a pure white, fat paste with a greasy appearance. The ageing of the lime plays a very important role in obtaining a high quality binder. The longer the ageing and curing time, the better the quality of the lime and therefore the performance of the mortars in which it is used. Hydrated lime or lime putty is defined as an airborne binder because it only sets and therefore hardens in the presence of air, unlike the so-called hydraulic binders that can set and therefore harden even when constantly immersed in water. As the water in the mixture evaporates, air begins to penetrate and, with it, carbon dioxide. This is the reaction with which hydrated lime (Ca(OH)2 calcium hydroxide) combines with carbon dioxide CO2 to form again the initial material, the starting stone: Calcium Carbonate (CaCO3). It is a circular process where the beginning and the end coincide and merge. The stone becomes indeed a paste that can be worked, shaped, moulded; that can join, bind, weld, grout, protect, finish, embellish, decorate other stones and then return itself to stone.

From ancient times, a sustainable future

Lime is one of the first binders used in construction since ancient times. The Romans, the main users of this material, had begun to use lime by mixing it with sand to form a mortar with binding properties. Already Vitruvius, in his work De architectura of 25 B.C., describes its production starting from "white stones" of pure limestone, "fired in special vertical ovens where they lose weight" (today we know as a consequence of the release of carbon dioxide).

Lime, being an airborne binder, only hardens when in contact with air. Experience over time showed that, if mixed with pieces of fired clay or pozzolana, it would have resulted into a mortar with hydraulic characteristics capable of setting and hardening, even in damp environments or with constant presence of water. This mixture brought a strong innovation in construction, thanks to new mortars with significantly higher performance for mechanical resistance and durability.

Enabling the creation of majestic, thousand-year-old works that have survived to the present day almost intact. Tangible proof and teaching of how simple technologies, wisely refined, can win the challenge of time thanks to the right balance between quality and affinity of the materials used.

Natural, stable, long-lasting, active, sanitizing materials: a new concept of building, living and well-being. A new product concept: environment-friendly, recyclable, from inert to reactive, comfortable and healthy.

Applying the winning technologies of the past, enhancing and improving their effectiveness: this is the challenge we have set ourselves.

The solution by CVR is called Fior di Calce

Fior di Calce is a line of natural, healthy and environment-friendly products obtained thanks to the use of valuable raw materials such as pure quarry carbonates, fine marble powders, selected crystalline sands, bound exclusively by pure hydrated lime together with natural hydraulic lime NHL 3.5.

Mortars, plasters, levelling coats and paints constitute a complete line of mineral products exclusively based on lime, designed for the restoration of historic buildings and ideal for green building.

The products of the Fior di Calce line are obtained using virgin raw materials of natural origin only and do not contain cement, re-dispersible polymer resins or synthetic fibres.

Green building is not a fashion or a trend for us, it is a real philosophy, a concrete way of operating.

  • entirely natural
  • green and environment-friendly
  • made from quality materials
  • porous and transpiring
  • naturally sanitizing
  • ideal for living comfort