Across Ukraine, many houses, shops and office buildings wear an unusual coat. Their outer walls are covered in a rough, bristly layer of plaster known locally as a "fur coat." Up close, the surface does look like the woolly lining of a sheepskin coat.
The traditional method needs few tools: a bucket of wet mortar, a stiff brush or short broom, and a rod. The mortar is usually one part cement to three parts sand. The worker dips the brush into the bucket and strikes it sharply against the rod, held a short distance from the wall. Each blow throws small drops onto the wall, where they stick. Blow after blow, the drops build up into the rough "fur."
Builders have practical reasons for choosing this finish. The materials are cheap, the wall needs little preparation, and the bumpy texture hides an uneven surface that smooth plaster would show. The finish also stands up well to weather. Some workers add patterns, marking out shapes and filling them with darker and lighter cements.
Instead of a brush, some workers use a hand-cranked machine. Mortar goes in the top, and turning a handle spins blades that fling it out as spatter. Similar thrown finishes are found elsewhere. In the Austrian Alps, a Tyrolean finish is flicked on with a similar machine, and in Scotland, builders have thrown lime mortar at stone walls since at least the 1500s to keep out rain. In each place, throwing wet mortar has been a simple answer to rough walls and bad weather.
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