You may remember reading about how I stumbled upon a perfectly sized tractor tire that I decided to use for the frame of my skylight atop my reciprocal roof. Well, I finally installed the actual skylight to the tractor tire frame a couple of weeks ago with the help of my friend Tamar. Read ahead for all the details!
The very last thing to be completed in the house was applying finish earthen plaster to my cob bed and bench. (The bed and bench were still not completely dry by the time I was ready to plaster the walls, hence I did it after doing the finish floor… not ideal, since it was a little tricky to keep it neat, but it worked.)
It feels great!
In June, I finished installing the earthen floor in my cob house. In October, I built the base layer of the earthen floor, a 2.5″ thick mix of sand, clay, and straw. It dried over fall and winter (very slooowly), and once I finished plastering my walls, I moved onto completing the floor this spring. Here’s how it happened:
I have officially moved into my cob house! On July 11, I carted my possessions from my grain bin apartment to my new home. I set my books upon the cob shelves, moved in a set of shelves and a (pretty crappo) desk, threw some temporary air pads and sheets on the bed, and settled in.
Apologies for a recent lack of updates, but I’ve been away for over two weeks and recently returned home. But I am now days away from moving in after oiling my earthen floor over the weekend.
Expect more updates very soon about finish earthen plaster, laying and oiling the finish earthen floor, and moving in!
(p.s. The silly looking jugs in the garden in this photo? They are to detract voles and/or moles from eating up the vegetable plants. [Which is actually more important when the plants are very young.] It actually works, although it’s not the prettiest sight!)
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.)
Applying finish clay plaster on straw bale walls
Applying clay plaster may be one of the most satisfying parts of building a natural home. Smoothing over cob or straw bale walls with a creamy clay 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 clay plaster job, it’s important to carefully prepare and mix your material. In this post, I will explain the preparation methods and recipe I use for most of my natural building work.
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.
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.
Here it is…. the first food from the sod roof of my cob house. Mm mm.
Hi there, I’m Ziggy. In 2008, I launched The Year of Mud while building my first natural home. This blog is a collection of personal stories and experiences building with clay, straw, and wood over the past 15+ years. A few of the things that get me fired up are natural plasters, timber framing, & Japanese architecture. Since 2012, we’ve been hosting Natural Building Workshops so you can learn essential skills to build your own natural home.
