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Once you have mixed your deliciously smooth finish earthen plaster, it’s time to apply it to make your cob walls shine. It’s a seemingly simple process, but there is a certain hidden finesse that will make the job easier with time and practice. I’m no expert, but here’s how I went about plastering the interior of my cob house.
(This entry is a continuation from Finish Earthen Plaster: Part 1: Materials and Recipe.)
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Posted in: Earthen Plaster, Tools.
Tagged: earthen plaster · Tools
Applying finish earthen plaster may be one of the most satisfying parts of building a natural home. Smoothing over rough cob walls with a creamy earthen plaster mix is incredibly satisfying and brings about a truly dramatic transformation. What was once coarse is made buttery and gracefully smooth. For a successful earthen plaster job, it’s important to carefully prepare and mix your material. In this first finish earthen plaster post, I will explain the preparation and recipe I used for the interior cob walls of my home.
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Posted in: Earthen Plaster.
Tagged: earthen plaster
I have been away from Dancing Rabbit for the past week, and friends have been monitoring the drying of my earthen floor, which I completed about a week before I left for New Jersey. My friend Liat just sent me some images of what the floor looks like… it isn’t dry, and there is now both grass and mushrooms popping up through the floor.
The last week has been quite damp there, but damn… it’s already been two weeks since the floor has been finished. (It’s 1.5″ of new material, so it’s not that much stuff that has to dry out.)
I’m a little concerned about what looks like definite mold… but should I be worried? Anyone experience a situation like this? I won’t be able to pluck the grass and mushrooms and wipe the mold until the floor dries…
Hmm.
Posted in: Earthen floor.
Tagged: Earthen floor · mold
A little over one year ago, I started building my first cob house. And simultaneously, I started The Year of Mud to document the entire building process. I have kept regular documentation going since I started designing my house, all the way through making an urbanite foundation, to building cob walls, constructing a reciprocal roof frame, and more recently, making a rocket stove and living sod roof.
You can help spread awareness about cob building by helping The Year of Mud to continue to share cob building stories and information.
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Posted in: Resources, Uncategorized.
Tagged: cob · Resources
Here it is…. the first food from the sod roof of my cob house. Mm mm.
Posted in: Living Sod Roof.
Tagged: living roof · sod roof
The final interior plaster is done. And yesterday, I completed laying down the earthen floor. That means I must stay out of the house until the floor dries, which could take up to a week or more. Once it is dry, I will oil the floor, and move into the house.
So now I must simply wait.
Nearly all of the work is done. All that remains is installing the skylight and plastering the cob bed and bench (which are still not dry), but neither of those things has to happen before I move in.
It’s a strange feeling to be nearly ready to move into this house that’s been the focus of my every day since last spring. It’s nice to be able to think about what I’ll do once I’m settled in. I’m excited.
Perhaps I’ll take the opportunity to relax while I wait on the floor. (Perhaps I’ll finally get to writing more about my rocket stove, earthen plaster, and now the earthen floor, too.)
Posted in: Earthen floor.
The past three days I have been busy applying finish earthen plaster to the interior of my cob house. I expect it will be done tomorrow. Here are a few photos of the plaster work in progress, along with some of the mosaics that are being installed underneath the rafters of the reciprocal roof.
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Posted in: Artwork, Earthen Plaster.
Tagged: Artwork · earthen plaster · mosaic
At this point, all that remains before I move into my new house is finishing and sealing the earthen floor, doing the interior final plaster work, and installing a skylight.
The plaster work will probably take the longest length of time among these three things, since I want to do a bunch of tile mosaics inside as I plaster. Those mosaics can take a while…
My skylight (a 60″x60″ piece of 1/4 in. clear polycarbonate) should be arriving at the end of the week, and I’ll probably start mixing my finish plaster tomorrow, as soon as I get some more cow manure.
Of course I’m tempted to estimate when I’ll move in… I figure I’ll give it a month. The floor and walls will need some time to dry before I can move my stuff in, so even if I finished in a week and a half, I can’t move in immediately.
Posted in: Earthen floor, Uncategorized.
Tagged: Earthen floor · random
At long last, I have a living roof! I’ve been anticipating this day for over a year now and it’s finally done. On Monday, a group of about twelve folks assembled to help me lift sod onto the top of my roof, and in two and a half hours, it was effectively covered.
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Posted in: Living Sod Roof.
Tagged: living roof · sod roof
Posted in: Uncategorized.
Tagged: random
