•Pierre Laurent, a builder in France, now the owner of Decopierre s.r.l.a., believed that with modern tools, he could increase the volume of application, but the challenge still remained that the product set too quickly only allowing small vertical sections to be worked at a time.
•In collaboration with the major limestone repair company, laboratory and field test were done to develop a formula that would retard the “natural” curing process or “cycle” of limestone from a crushed state back to hardness. After 3 years this was accomplished with purity of over 95% natural limestone. We could now create a “window” in the natural cycle that is wide enough to apply larger areas of coverage, carve and pigment, and then allow natural curing process of limestone to continue on the vertical surface it was applied to. (see limestone cycle)
•The product is now a ready mixed bag that when added to water begins to hydrate (same curing process as cement) and carbonize (absorbing and reacting to carbon dioxide and carbonic acid), which is unique only to natural limestone. The window lasts approx. 6-10 hours depending on weather conditions, and the final result is a decorative wall coating that is one solid piece of carved limestone.
