Whether you can DIY an Earthaus finish depends on which finish you choose. Some Earthaus finishes are genuinely beginner-friendly. Others are not. This guide gives you an honest assessment of what each finish demands so you can decide whether to do it yourself or hire a professional.

Four things separate a beginner finish from an advanced one:

1. Number of steps and coats. Limewash is 2–3 brush coats. Tadelakt is 6+ steps across multiple days (primer, base coats, finish coats, burnish, soap seal, wax seal). More steps means more opportunities for timing errors.

2. Timing sensitivity. Burnished finishes (Tadelakt, Marble, Stone) have a narrow window where the plaster is firm enough to compress but soft enough to polish. Miss the window and you get a chalky, matte surface instead of a sheen. Limewash and Sand have no critical timing windows.

3. Consequences of mistakes. A bad Limewash coat? Apply another one over it. A failed Tadelakt shower? You might be tearing it out and starting over. The cost of error scales with the finish complexity and the application (wet area vs. dry wall).

4. Tool skill required. Brush application (Limewash) is intuitive for most people. Trowel application requires consistent thickness and even pressure — skills that come with practice. Burnishing requires reading the plaster's drying state in real time.

Limewash. The most accessible Earthaus finish. Applied with a block brush in thin, overlapping strokes. No troweling, no burnishing, no timing windows. If a coat looks uneven, you apply another one.

What you need to know: Use an X-pattern brush stroke for the characteristic mottled depth. Let each coat dry 12+ hours before the next. That's basically it.

Tools: Block brush, limewash pan, mixing paddle. No hawk or trowel.

Practice needed: Minimal. Your first wall might not be your best, but it won't be ruined.

Limewash Sample Kit

Lime Slurry. A thick, brushed lime coating applied over existing surfaces like brick, stone, or concrete. It has a fine sandy, micro-textured matte finish and is opaque — it follows and reveals the structure of whatever is beneath it rather than leveling it flat. Low coat count, simple process, very forgiving.

What you need to know: Brushed on like a thick paint (it can also be troweled for a different texture). Works well over textured substrates where other finishes would require extensive prep, because it embraces the underlying texture rather than hiding it.

Tools: Block brush or trowel, limewash pan, mixing paddle.

Practice needed: Minimal.

Lime Slurry Calculator

Sand Finish. Trowel-applied with a rustic, granular texture. The textured surface is forgiving — small inconsistencies in thickness or trowel marks become part of the look rather than flaws.

What you need to know: Apply evenly at credit-card thickness (1/32"). The texture hides minor imperfections, making it more forgiving than smooth finishes. No burnishing required.

Tools: Hawk, finish trowel, pool trowel, detail knife.

Practice needed: If you've never troweled plaster before, practice on a scrap board first to get comfortable with consistent thickness and pressure.

Sand Calculator · Sand Sample Kit

Base Finish. A standalone finish using Base Plaster as both the structural and decorative coat. Trowel-applied, simple system, but requires even coverage since it's a single-product finish.

What you need to know: Essentially the same trowel skills as Sand, with a smoother final texture. Good for DIYers who want a clean, minimal look without the burnishing step.

Tools: Hawk, finish trowel, pool trowel, sponge float.

For full instructions, see the Base Finish Application Guide article.

Stone Finish. Smooth, trowel-applied finish inspired by Italian Marmorino. Two coats applied "wet-on-wet" (second coat goes on before the first dries). Optional burnishing with Olive Oil Soap Sealer for a subtle sheen.

What you need to know: The wet-on-wet technique means you need to work efficiently — the first coat can't dry before the second is applied. If you choose to burnish with Olive Oil Soap Sealer, timing matters (see the troubleshooting section on burnishing). Without burnishing, Stone stays matte and is more forgiving.

Tools: Hawk, finish trowel, pool trowel, detail knife, roller for Olive Oil Soap Sealer.

Practice needed: Recommended. A Stone Sample Kit gives you enough material to practice the wet-on-wet technique on 8 sq ft before committing to your walls.

Stone Calculator · Stone Sample Kit

Marble Finish. The smoothest, most polished Earthaus finish. Requires straining the plaster before use, precise trowel work, and timing-critical burnishing to achieve the characteristic polish.

What you need to know: Marble Plaster must be strained through a paint strainer to remove coarse particles — this is not optional. The polishing window is narrow: too early and you drag the surface, too late and the trowel skips. Working in small sections helps, but you need to read the material's drying state in real time.

Tools: Hawk, detail knife (primary application tool for Marble), paint strainer, mixing tub, roller for Olive Oil Soap Sealer.

Practice needed: Yes. Work through a Marble Sample Kit to learn the straining process and find the polishing window before starting your project.

Marble Calculator · See also the articles "Why Do I Have to Strain the Marble Plaster?" and "I Can't Get It to Polish — What Am I Doing Wrong?"

Tadelakt (dry areas — walls, fireplaces, kitchens). A multi-step burnished finish: 2 base coats, 4 finish coats, burnishing with Olive Oil Soap, then Beeswax sealing. Beautiful but demanding.

What you need to know: Each of the 4 finish coats is applied at credit-card thickness (1/32"). The burnishing step requires precise timing — the plaster must be firm but still soft enough to compress. The full process takes several days. It's significantly more complex than Stone or Marble because of the coat count and multi-material sealing process.

Tools: Full Tadelakt tool set — see the article "What Tools Do I Need?"

Practice needed: Yes. Earthaus recommends completing the process on a practice panel before starting an actual project. A Tadelakt Sample Kit gives you material for 5 sq ft of practice.

Tadelakt (wet areas — showers, bathrooms). Everything above, plus the waterproofing of your shower depends on getting it right. The substrate must be waterproofed with cement board and membrane before you even start plastering. The Olive Oil Soap burnishing step is what creates the water-repellent seal — if it's done incorrectly, water gets behind the finish and causes long-term damage.

What you need to know: This is the most demanding application Earthaus sells. Earthaus strongly recommends hiring a trained professional or completing at least one full Tadelakt system on a minimum 25 sq ft practice panel using tile backer board before attempting a shower. Timing errors, improper sealing, or substrate prep mistakes can result in having to tear out and redo the entire shower.

Practice needed: Mandatory. Not optional. Practice the full system (base coats, finish coats, burnish, soap, wax) on backer board before touching your shower.

Consider hiring a pro: This is the one finish where we genuinely recommend professional installation for most DIYers. See the article "How Do I Find a Professional Installer? (Artisan Referral Program)" — Earthaus can provide a personal introduction to a qualified artisan experienced in Tadelakt.

Tadelakt Calculator · See also the article "I'm Not a Plasterer — Can I Do Tadelakt Myself?"

Sample Kits aren't just for choosing colors — they're your practice run. Each kit contains enough material to complete the full application process on a small area (5–8 sq ft depending on the finish). This is the cheapest way to learn the system before committing to your walls.

Use the sample kit to:

Sample Kits are available for all finishes: Order a Sample Kit

If you're unsure whether you can handle a specific finish:

For customer support, email support@earthausplaster.com or text 1-800-917-2414.