[Cob] Tiling a cob floor-green clay

[Charmaine Taylor]

Hi Scott, yes you can tile with lime mortar, it has been done for centuries,
and is nicer because it is repairable should any tiles crack and need
replacing or regrouting, etc.

I did some test tile areas with a pure lime-sand mortar a few years ago on a
ply board, and it worked fine,  I also tinted an plastered over some faux 1/4
brick, and embedded some favorite beach rocks, and embedded a few small pieces
of driftwood.  it all sticks great.

the only problem I ever have is wiping off the tiles or rocks well enough and
often enough to not leave a  milky lime "wash" residue. this is harder to get
off later, and as messy as I am running back and forth to lime tubs I leave
drips  all over, and they should be wiped up immediately.

when doing tiles on a flat surface you don't want a  really wet sponge to keep
removing lime grout as you clean, so finding a way to be sure to clean the
tiles without disturbing the set/movement is tricky   ( for me).  my  work
area floor has polka dots of lime drips all over, fortunately it rains so hard
here it all gets washed away over time.

++++++++

Green Clay and Ham, Sam.....

 One last note of interest to mud puppies:      I have read in my research
that old, stinky mud is better than fresher mud for binding ability ...and I
had a tub of clay  tan-brown local harvested clay which has turned greenish..I
have had it sitting there for over 2 years, and finally opened the lid  and it
is a wonderful perfect shade of grey/green.  I was  pretty happy with the
color, but am not quite sure why it is this way other than mold molecules, but
there is NO smell of mold, leaf or organic debris,  or anything else, and no
mold or funky growth either..so it is a chemistry thing...gotta go figure out
how to repeat this process.

I plan to clay paint my   bedroom with it right onto the 50 year old sheet
rock. I know it will stick fine as I did this before with adobe colored clay.
wish ya'll could see this color!

Ms. Charmaine  Taylor/ Taylor Publishing
http://www.dirtcheapbuilder.com
http://www.papercrete.com
PO Box 375, Cutten CA 95534
707-441-1632




Scott Race wrote:

> In tiling a cob floor, I would expect the normal mortar used to lay tile
> would prevent the floor from breathing, thus causing problems.  I'm
> wondering if a lime mortar would be better for this situation.  Does anyone
> have any experience in tiling cob floors and could you offer some advice?
>
> Thanks!
> Scott
>
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