Cob: Re: earth floors

[SANCO Enterprises, LLC]

Carla,

I have limited experience with stucco mixes and application.  We have others
on the list who could offer much better advice.

As for cracking and peeling of any material, it is that the materials did
not bind or meld together.  Cracking can be from too much moisture or
movement in the base material.  Peeling can be any number of things, such as
impurities between applications, not wetting the prior layer, top coat not
bonding with the base material  or the softer material trapping moisture or
vapor causing the top layer to "peel" off.

Natural building presents some additional challenges that are not found in
manufactured building systems.  When applying cementitious material to earth
or straw, there is a natural bond break between the materials--they simply
don't want to bond together.  Straw has more keying points and will allow
the stucco or plaster to get a better grip.  Cob would be second best as you
have a very uneven and rough surface to work with.



SANCO Enterprises, LLC
Paul Salas, General Manager
P.O. Box 45741
Rio Rancho, NM  87174
(505)  238-1485
chansey at earthlink.net

----- Original Message -----
From: "Carla Kennedy" <carlaevans at hotmail.com>
To: <chansey at earthlink.net>; <M.Hall at shu.ac.uk>; <coblist at deatech.com>
Sent: Saturday, November 03, 2001 5:20 PM
Subject: Re: Cob: Re: earth floors


> Hi Paul,
> Very interesting principle.  Thank you.  Would that apply as well to
> plasters for cob walls?  I read somewhere that you can use a harder,
shinier
> plaster mix for kitchen and bathroom walls.  Would that be more likely to
> crack or peel? (That's basically what I understand delaminate to mean.)
>