Kreidezeit oil-based lazure protects the shingle covering the Castle of Lut Fairy Valley

The Fairies' Valley Clay Castle in Porumbacu de Sus, in Sibiu county, is already a well-known place, visited by many visitors from the country and abroad. Its special fairytale-like appearance attracts both young and old alike. Everything here, down to the smallest detail, is handcrafted by skilled craftsmen with a love of craft and beauty. I have already told you about the playground made some time ago by Nicu Ivănescu from scrubby trees. here. Now, Lut Castle is under renovation, but it is not closed to the public. The shingles are corroded, the walls aren't as white as they once were, and the pandemic is providing the conditions for the original project - a boutique hotel - to become a reality. All the materials used for the renovation are natural, and the shingles are made of Kreidezeit oil coloured with natural pigments, supplied by Naturalpaint. About these works and future plans, we talked to Răzvan Vasile, one of the people who thought of this project. Find the discussion at the end of the article.

Fairy Valley Clay Castle

Lut Castle Fairy Valley is the dream of Gabriela and Răzvan, born and raised in Bucharest, but irretrievably in love with nature. A few years ago they decided to leave the capital and move with their son to Porumbacu, near Sibiu. They set out with the idea of building a "natural fairytale house", a project that has since become Lut Castle Fairy Valley.

From the very beginning they wanted everything to be built traditionally and by hand by craftsmen skilled in such work, using only natural materials. The shapes were designed to be organic, fluid, in harmony with nature. The walls, 60 cm thick, were built from cob, a mixture of clay, straw, sand and water. They were covered with a special lime plaster, more resistant and open to vapour on the outside. The "castle" was covered with shingleand the towers were built of stone.

The "Castle" was designed to be a hotel with a difference. It has 2 floors, 10 rooms, 2 towers and 50 windows. Because it aroused interest from the start, the castle was opened to visitors. Initially it could also be visited inside, the owners had set up a room to see details of the construction of the walls. The pandemic forced them to stop visiting the interior, leaving only the exterior open to visitors and photographers.

Gabriela and Răzvan hope that next year the hotel can be inaugurated. But there is still work to be done and things are not going as fast as they would like, because everything is done by hand and skilled and hard-working people are not easy to find.

Natural products from Naturalpaint fit the concept perfectly

The shingle with which the "castle" is covered was originally coated with natural water-based varnish. Apparently this was not the best solution because soon the varnish cracked and began to peel. They left things like that for a while, and the rain and wind helped clean the shingle. To make sure all the varnish was removed, the shingle was washed with a special natural solution that also provided protection against moss, lichens and fungi.

As the shingles had to be protected, they thought about what would be the most suitable with the natural materials used to build the castle. And so they came up with Kreidezeit natural oils, which are much more suitable because of their high elasticity. To achieve the right colour, they used larch lazure, transparent lazure and natural orange pigment.

Kreidezeit lakes contain linseed oil and tung oil, a very good combination for wood protection. Linseed oil has a thinner molecule which allows it to penetrate deep into the wood, protecting it from the inside. Tung oil has a larger molecule, which helps it protect the surface of the wood, forming a very thin but tough and super-elastic film. Kreidezeit has found the perfect balance between the two oils so that their blend protects the wood both inside and on the surface.

Kreidezeit pigments are mixtures of dyes from nature. They contain no added chemicals or other auxiliaries. No heavy metals in their composition, only natural materials that are safe for health are chosen. Pigments are in powder form and mix easily with oil. The range includes 26 pigments in a variety of colours. The pigment used is obtained from rocks and iron-containing minerals from France. The colouring substance is iron hydroxide.

Watch the following discussion with Răzvan Vasile in the fairytale setting provided by Castle of Lut.