A coarse mixture of plaster and sand applied to masonry or lath to build up wall thickness and create a flat, even surface. It gets its name from the traditional brown color of the sand and hair mixture used in older plastering systems. Once the browning coat cures, it provides a solid substrate for the smooth white finish coat.
Heard on the job
We need to get the browning on those interior brick walls so it can set up over the weekend.
Insider tip
In traditional three-coat plastering, the browning is the second layer, sandwiched between the scratch coat and the finish coat.
Also heard as
- browning coat
- brown coat
Do not mix it up with
- Parge: Browning is an interior plaster base coat, while parging is an exterior cementitious coating on foundation walls.