Limecoat calculator

Formma does not calculate a product: it calculates a system. You choose the product —and the grain, fine or textured, for Limestucco—, enter the surface area and the substrate, and choose whether the substrate is even or uneven: neither option is preselected. If it is uneven, the system adds Limeprimer; plasterboard always takes it. For Limewash on an uneven substrate, one base coat of Limepaint or Limedolomite is also added, in the base colour that corresponds to the chosen colour. From these inputs the calculator returns a build-up —preparation, finish and, where applicable, protection— with the number of coats Formma establishes for that combination.

The direct water contact box is the only case in which the calculator may ask whether the area is interior or exterior, and it only asks when the answer changes according to the finish’s suitability: currently, only with Limestucco Fine. For the others, the block appears directly. Indoors, only Limestucco Fine is calculated, with its direct water contact system; outdoors, no finish in the Limecoat Line is validated and the route is to consult Formma.

The consumption of each layer is its surface area multiplied by the number of coats and divided by the coverage per coat. Each layer is then converted into containers separately, distributed across the sizes available for that product. The criterion seeks the smallest surplus but also weighs the number of containers: each additional container counts as half a small container of surplus, so as not to multiply small sizes when a large one supplies the job better. Only purchase sizes are used. Trial containers —1 L for Limepaint, Limedolomite and Limewash, 1.5 kg for Limestucco— are for testing colour and application on the project substrate and are not included in the material calculation; they are requested from each product’s colour chart.

The number of coats is not a parameter the user adjusts. Reducing it would lower the calculated quantity, but not the quantity required: what is being calculated is the recommended system, not a free arithmetic operation.

Actual consumption varies with the absorption and evenness of the substrate, the application technique, the tool and site conditions. Limetech is not included: it works as an installed system and is quoted per square metre.