Cob: wattle & daub workshop leader

[Jamei Tierney]

Thanks so mujch for your reply to my listing.

   On Sunday, October 6, 2002, at 09:29 PM, Darel Henman wrote:

>
> Jamei Tierney wrote:
>>
>> This is not directly related to cob, but hopefully close enough.
>>
>> Where I've been living for years, in wet lowland tropical areas of
>> Hawai'i, cob structures don't seem appropriate.  There is no need here
>> for insulation or thermal mass.
> There is for humdity control, however.  For hundreds of years in Japan,
> they have used dozoh, literally
> meaning "earthen warehouse", for the storage of important books, foods,
> grains, because of the temperature and humidity control that the
> structures offered.  Most of Japan is more humid than Hawaii is, to my
> recollection.

Depends on the location in Hawai'i.  Just about every climate zone in 
the world is represented here, including some of the wettest places on 
earth.  And regardless, the structure in question is to be a living 
space, not a storage area.
>
>> .....  Post & beam structures with wattle & daub walls could
>> meet these specs.
> Yes, with sliding doors for wind to come through.

And large windows and screens:  Post & Beam walls can allow a greater 
window and door area than a stud wall.
>
> So here's my quest:
>>
>> I'm looking for people who have experience in wattle & daub and natural
>> plasters (especially in the tropics) who have the willingness and
>> wherewithal to lead a wattle & daub / natural plaster workshop here on
>> the island of Maui sometime in the next few months, November or 
>> December
>> 2002, or possibly a little later.
>
> The Japanese sakan (earthen and cement masons) are probably the best
> around and are somewhat close to you.
> Finding a sakan who understands English might be difficult though.
>
> An alternative is that natural plaster workshops are conducted
> relatively frequently in Japan.  It is a traditional and historical
> materal for that's been used for hundreds of years.

Yes, I'll see if I can contact sakan on the islands here.  It is 
important that the workshop be conducted here on Maui, since part of the 
intention is to finish this house without paying exorbitant sums for 
labor.  Perhaps more than it might cost to do standard plaster and 
stucco, but not several times more.
>>
>> -> The main project would be the plastering (interior and possibly also
>> exterior) of a large multiple-octagon community center.  It was
>> initially conceived as a post & beam structure (using locally-milled
>> Eucalyptus wood) with wattle & daub walls. However, with the pressure 
>> of
>> building codes, etc., it is presently being built with mostly standard
>> materials and practices :(   The owner, though, has all along been very
>> interested in modelling sustainable building practices and now wants to
>> explore the use of natural plasters.
>
>> The interior surfaces are open stud walls, and the exterior surfaces 
>> are plywood sheeting.
>
> Yuck!

Yes, yuck.  And I feel it's important to be understanding and 
compassionate of the non-optimal choices people feel compelled to make 
within a very dysfunctional non-sustainable system.
>
>> There is
>> some openness to using lime plaster on the exterior.  The default plan 
>> is stucco.
>
> Go with lime.

Yes, and this is why we need experienced people who have the skills and 
the willingness to lead the plastering project.
>>
>> -> Other projects might include doing wattle & daub walls on an 
>> existing
>> post & beam structure.  The wattle could possibly be made of local
>> bamboo.
>
> You could also make a shita-ji window, which is leave a square or cirlce
> or any shape for that matter, of the bamboo or reed lath exposed and not
> plastered.
>
> Havest bamboo from mid October to November when bamboo doesn't have as
> much starch content in the culms.

About the only bamboo harvestable on the island at this point is bambusa 
vulgaris.  It's not the greatest species for building, and the bugs tend 
to attack it.  Are you sure that the time window you stated for optimal 
harvesting is true for all bamboo species in all locations?  This would 
be very surprising to me.  I'd imagine it has something to do with the 
rainy season.
>
> Don't use nails that will rust to secure it to the posts.    The bamboo
> should be tied together with a straw rope, hemp rope.  Though modern
> plastic wrap things work, it unknown how long they will last, whereas
> the natural ropes from torn down 80 year old buildings are still strong.
>
>>
>> -> Some of the challenges with natural plasters here in Hawai'i:
>>      * true clay may not exist on the islands, and may have to be
>> imported (Bentonite drillers' clay is readily available in 100# bags)
>
> If you have any rice paddies around there, try the mud in them.  It's
> noted to be good, at least for the main islands of Japan.

I understand that if a soil doesn't have clay in its composition, no 
amount of organic matter will make it work for plastering.  And I don't 
believe that true clay exists on these islands -- but I'd be glad to be 
wrong!
>
>>  * surfaces should not encourage the growth of mold or mildew in this 
>> hot & humid climate
> Should be less a problem than concrete.
>
>> -> Compensation would definitely be available for someone with the
>> willingness and qualifications to lead such a workshop.
>
> I can call the editor or somebody to try to find someone that you can
> contact.

I would really appreciate any leads or contacts you could come up with.
>
>> I'm also personally very interested in doing earthen floors here.
>>
>> By the way, cob structures could be very appropriate at higher
>> elevations here (say, above 3000 ft), except that there probably isn't
>> any native clay.
>>
>> Blessings on the Journey of Natural Building!
>>
>> Jamei
>
> Darel

Jamei