Cob: cast earth countertops??

[Charmaine R Taylor]

Jake said: the natural home magazine did an article highlighting
a technique called cast earth. the material used was
cob-like but was poured like concrete.

Cast earth is a proprietary method for building, and the recipe is
unknown to the public, it does include gypsum. but gypsum is not
recommended in wet areas..like a bath or kitchen, especially a counter.
It could be better to use lime and clay/earth with cement if needed.

Plus, at a showcase kitchen store, ( I was lurking about for ideas
only-no money leaves my pocket) I saw some great looking stone like
countertops with a  ragged lip..like broken stone..it was much  prettier
than a straight edge, and the jagged look is appealing in many ways for
a more rustic, natural kitchen. Tufa Stone ( hyper tufa) which has
become popular in the US is simply cement, sand and peat moss, mde to
look like rugged old limestone, from the English limestone sinks...when
the surface is sealed it can serve as counters too...so it's kind of a
full circle..using real limestone, or making a Tufa stone counter, or a
poured cement counter.  Tufa Stone is much better in that the mix is
doughy, like sculpting clay, and can be pressed into place..so you can
make a slab and have some working time, not a wet, wet mix to deal with,
and the edges can be roughed up and wire scrubbed to shape it/carve...so
that's where I come from on the make-it-yourself-not rocket-science
angle.

I love the idea of the farm kitchen table for lots of work...but most
people don't want to have little elbow room for working on a counter..
but if you don't HAVE all those plug ins, then snapping beans at the
table is a good solution!

 Charmaine  Taylor/ Taylor Publishing
http://www.dirtcheapbuilder.com