quick and dirty adobe floor.

[SSS Alive]

Sand acts as an aggregate, and the clay the binder.  Without sand, you will
probably get excessive cracking.  Every clay is different.  Try some
experimental patches first, for both your floor, and plaster, to determine
how much sand.  Start with 25 to 30% clay-to-sand, and maybe add some
chopped straw or horse or cow dung.  You can get a great finished floor over
your gravel base with a couple 1 inch thick layers of adobe soil, troweled
flat, and sealed with 4 coats linseed.  First coat- pure boiled linseed oil,
heated up so it penetrates.  Second coat- 25% thinner, 75% linseed, third
coat- 50/50, fourth and subsequent maintenance coats- 75/25.  The Steens
made a beautiful floor this way, and I'm going to use it for my top coat
(over a straight adobe subbase), as well.  This is a good way to seal adobe
plaster too.  If you don't want to mess with the adobe, you might try mixing
psyllium seeds with your crushed gravel, wetting, and tamping.  The psyllium
seeds make the gravel bind together great, and is commonly used for outdoor
sports surfaces with crushed granite.

Hope this helps,

Steve Kemble, P.E.
Sustainable Systems Support
P.O. Box 318
Bisbee, AZ  85603 

>I'm searching for a quick and cheap floor but down here in Georgia I don't
>have the time for a true adobe floor to dry. First of all I have laid a ton
>(several tons) of crush and run gravel to be the floor. It's ok and all but
>still I was thinking initially of packing it down and then placing a layer
>of cement.  I figured it might crack a bit but it would be less dusty then
>the gravel alone. Now I am thinking that I could do the same thing with
>clay. I could take my wonderful Kaolin clay and water it down to a paste and
>put about an inch and it would dry and bond with the packed crushed gravel
>forming a gravel adobe floor.  Some of the rock might show through giving
>some charactor to the floor.   After it drys I would coat it with the
>linseed oil. (I can't remember if you put sand in the clay for a floor??) I
>think I have a old email on this but if anyone knows  please respond because
>I hope to do this next week.
>
>also I am placing stucco cement on the outside walls of the clay (5 inches
>thick) clay coated straw (I hope it will be strong enouph. but  any way I
>was thinking of coating the inside with a clay adobe. What I was wondering
>was what can I do to keep make the walls so the clay doesn't rub off when
>you touch the walls with your cloths. (more linseed oil??)  or some kind of
>coating???  again portions of sand??? and how thick maybe an inch?
>
>
>Take care
>pat...