Cob: Cast earth countertops?? WHY NOT STONE!!!

[Ocean]

This may be too obvious, but why not "cast" aside all this talk of "casting"
a stone-like "natural" earthen counter, and just use a piece of FLAGSTONE!!!

I can get flagstone locally for $400 a ton, so a counter-sized piece would
only cost $50 or so.

"A nice ragged lip...like broken stone", and with a good sealant, like
beeswax/linseed oil (organic, solvent-free!), a flagstone would be a great
surface to prep veggies on...

Ocean

> From: Charmaine R Taylor <tms at northcoast.com>
> Organization: www.dirtcheapbuilder.com
> Reply-To: Charmaine R Taylor <tms at northcoast.com>
> Date: Wed, 17 Oct 2001 09:41:40 -0700
> To: jake gundersen <jakegundy at yahoo.com>
> Cc: coblist <coblist at deatech.com>, straw list <strawbale at crest.org>
> Subject: Re: Cob: cast earth countertops??
> 
> 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
> 
>