Category

Clay Plaster

Jan 09
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Make Drywall Look Like Earth: How to Use Clay Paint on Drywall

By Clay Plaster
finished clay paint

You can make a piece of drywall look like earth with just a couple coats of clay paint

You can make a drywall interior look like an earthen home with nothing more than a couple coats of simple clay paint. Clay paint can transform your space — it’s a very versatile material and can be used on a variety of surfaces, including exposed wood, plywood and drywall. In my previous post, I described how you can make a beautiful, non-toxic clay paint using three simple ingredients.

If you haven’t yet read the recipe yet, go ahead and start there. If you’re ready to get mud on your walls, read ahead for instructions for how to apply your new paint to your desired surface!

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Jan 04
Love0

How To Make Your Own Clay Paint

By Clay Plaster
Clay paint recipe

Clay paint is very easy to make and can lend even drywall a very earthen appearance

For some reason, it’s taken me a long time to try mixing up and using a clay paint (also known as a clay alis). Whatever the reason is, after attending the Natural Building Colloquium in October and talking to several folks about the ease of applying clay finishes on drywall, I knew I finally had to try it out in our new home here in Kentucky. Clay paint has many possible applications. Perhaps one of its best uses is to give an otherwise boring interior wall an earthy pick-me-up. It’s actually quite compatible with drywall, as you’ll see.

Read ahead for a recipe and instructions for making your very own clay paint.

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Aug 05
Love0

Straw Bale & Plaster Details Around a Foundation

By Earthbag Building, Foundation, Clay Plaster, Straw Bale Building
Plaster Stop at Bottom of Straw Bale Wall

Think about the transition between your straw bales and foundation early in the design process

In one of my recent posts, I talked about details at the top of the straw bale wall where it meets the roof. Now I’d like to talk about some considerations where the wall meets the foundation. This is another critical point in the straw bale wall design, and planning from the beginning of the process is essential for a clean and durable finish surface at the bottom of the wall. Here are some tips to think about regarding the plaster and details between the bales and foundation.

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Jun 02
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The Magic of Japanese Plastering

By Traditional Building, Lime Plaster, Resources, Clay Plaster
Japanese Plastering

Traditional Japanese interior with natural plaster finish

Today, I present you with two websites that shed a bright light on the magic of traditional building and natural plasters of Japan. Japan has a long history of the use of natural clay and lime plasters in construction. Thankfully, there still exists a wealth of knowledge of these traditional finishes, and skilled craftspeople are keeping the practices and recipes alive.

Kyle Holzhueter is an American-born builder, consultant, researcher and educator specializing in natural building techniques, including straw bale building and clay and lime plasters. He has taken up full-time residence in Japan, where he’s been formally trained in traditional plastering. His websites are a treasure trove with some incredible building documentation, including the recipes, mixing, and application of some of the most interesting and refined natural plasters I have ever seen.

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Nov 17
Love0

Two Japanese Trowels For Sale

By Lime Plaster, Clay Plaster
Japanese Trowels for Sale

These 300mm rigid Japanese trowels are for sale

I have two Japanese trowels for sale, excellent for natural plaster work, whether it be clay or lime. These have seen almost no use, as can be seen in the included photos here. (I have a third, turns out three of these is too many!) It’s time to pass these on to another builder who will put these to work. Read ahead for more details if you’re interested!

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Nov 10
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Essential Plaster Tools: Japanese Trowels

By Clay Plaster, Straw Bale Building, Lime Plaster, Hand Tools
Plaster Tools: Japanese Trowels

Japanese trowels are some of the most prized for natural plaster work (image source: JapaneseTrowels.com)

April thinks I have a compulsion for Japanese tools. I think she may be on to something, but I’ve got a pretty good excuse. Very generally speaking, Japanese tools are often well designed and manufactured, and the plaster tools are not unlike the acclaimed kitchen knives and woodworking tools. Japanese trowels are made with a careful level of attention in an incredible assortment of sizes and shapes, and different types of steel depending on the purpose.

Clay and lime plaster traditions go way back in Japanese architecture, so the craftspeople and blacksmiths there have had quite a bit of time to develop highly refined tools for the work of spreading and smoothing plaster. Today, Japanese trowels are quite popular amongst folks doing natural plaster work all over the globe.

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Oct 30
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The Joy of Finish Clay Plaster on Straw Bale Walls

By Clay Plaster, Straw Bale Building, Strawtron
Plastering Walls: Using Finish Clay Plaster

Troweling a finish clay plaster on the straw bale walls of our house

Having recently finished plastering the walls of our straw bale house, I have a renewed sense of enthusiasm for using clay plaster. Not that I ever felt ‘meh’ about it or anything — it’s more that I feel so inspired to go further with it than ever before and learn some of the deeper nuances to the craft. Clay plaster is just that – a seemingly simple craft, but full of subtleties, and the difference between an okay plaster and excellent plaster are profound. While I’m satisfied with the plaster work we just accomplished, I feel hungry to go further with it.

There’s a few tricks to plastering walls, including the quality of the base coat, your plaster recipe, and the alignment of the stars. Okay, maybe not that last part… but you get the idea. It’s a lot more than slapping some mud on the straw bales.

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Oct 13
Love0

Useful Tools: Trombone Pressure Sprayer

By Lime Plaster, Cob Building, Clay Plaster
Hudson Pressure Sprayrer

The Hudson pressure sprayer is a great tool for working with natural plaster and cob

A pressure sprayer is an undoubtedly useful tool in the natural building realm, especially when working with cob or plaster. Sometimes a hose is way overkill, or simply not possible to rig up. A portable sprayer fills the void, and can be especially good when you want a lot of control. When you need to wet your walls down to lay up plaster, for example, it’s useful to have something that you can work with a certain amount of finesse, only spraying what you need and not saturating everything else in the process.

Over the years, I’ve burned through any number of pump-style pressure sprayers. You know the ones — the tools with the plastic tank and plastic handle that you pump for a minute, and then try to eek enough water out of the plastic nozzle before you have to pump again… annoying, to say the least. And usually pretty cheaply made.

However, I’ve been using this Hudson trombone sprayer for a couple of years now, and can vouch for it. It’s come in quite handy during all of the plaster work we’ve been doing lately.

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Aug 26
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How To Check For Clay with a Simple Soil Test

By Cob Building, Clay Plaster

I’ve been very spoiled by the clay soil in northeast Missouri, as it’s always been very easy to find, very rich, and largely free of unwanted particles. The clay in Kentucky is a bit more diverse in its appearance, and it’s not quite as free from particles and other soil components. As expected, it’s got its own personality.

I was reminded of a simple soil test you can do to check for clay content in your potential building soil, and I particularly like this elegant ‘ribbon test’ demonstrated in the video above. It speaks for itself. If you’re interested in making cob or earthen plaster, try this very simple soil test to see how much clay you have in your site soil.

So, what does your clay look like?

Sep 24
Love0

Like Icing on a Cake: Applying Finish Clay Plaster

By Cob Oven, Clay Plaster
Cob Oven - Clay Plaster

Applying the finish clay plaster to our cob oven

Busy busy busy. It seems like the story of our lives doesn’t change very much. I have lots of catching up to do. But as I sit here and avoid work for a mere moment, let me share this recent photo of our finish clay plaster application to our outdoor cob oven. Smooth clay plaster looks amazing, but I think it looks its finest right after it goes on. It’s like literally putting icing on your walls (or oven, or whatever you happen to be plastering). Love it. One day, I’d love to get some more serious training on how to do clay plaster on an expert level.

I hope to have a brandy new outdoor cob oven how-to written up soon, not to mention make a few updates about the state of Strawtron, our straw bale house we’ve been chugging away on. We also have other big news coming down the pipes. Keep posted, as always.