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earthen plaster Archives - The Year of Mud

Oct 13
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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
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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.

Apr 24
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Straw Bale Plaster Tips

By Clay Plaster, Lime Plaster, Straw Bale Building
Straw Bale Construction: Plaster

Plastering your straw bale house — a critical step to get right!

Plastering straw bale walls is time-consuming, it requires finesse, and it’s definitely something you want to avoid having to do over again, at all costs. Plaster is a barrier to the elements, to moisture, and it’s what will define the aesthetic appearance of your home. I recently appreciated Andrew Morrison’s succinct plastering tips article at Strawbale.com.

If you want a better handle on how to do a successful plaster job on your house, read this! It’s the most technical and critical part of straw bale construction.

Feb 29
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Lime Plaster and Lime Wash on Cob or Straw Bale Wall

By Lime Plaster, Clay Plaster
limewash

Applying a lime wash in Gobcobatron

This year, I added a layer of lime plaster to the bottom half of the wall in my house. The idea was that adding some extra alkalinity to the surface would deter surface mold growth — although it’s been so mild this winter that I haven’t actually been able to determine if it makes a difference! (Remember that last year I was having terrible mold and condensation problems on the bottom of my walls during the coldest parts of year.)

Well, the thing that I actually want to talk about is — wow, I love the half earthen plaster and half lime plaster look! Having lived with it for several months now, I know that I want to try something like this in our new straw bale house. But next time it will be even easier than how I did it this time.

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Sep 28
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New Mud Room Exterior Mosaics and Seating

By Clay Plaster, Artwork

mosaic

A couple of weeks ago, we got around to re-plastering the north side of the house (most of the plaster on the lower half of the wall was completely weathered away), the east, and the finished mud room. April slaved away on this mosaic above the bench and around the window that day, and I think the final product is really swell. The stones are from a Tennessee river bed and the white pieces are broken tile.

The grape vine (to the left in the photo) exploded with all of the rain this year, and it frames this mini seating area and has climbed well up onto the roof. The bench itself is cantilevered in the wall — two roundwood branches (one osage orange, one black locust), and the boards are hand-planed and oiled black walnut. It’s cozy!

Jun 19
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Finish Earthen Plaster: Part 2: Applying Earth Plaster

By Hand Tools, Clay Plaster

finalplaster-01

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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