[Cob] Coblist Digest, Vol 7, Issue 49

[Susan Hagan]

Thanks to every one who answered my query about rocket stoves.  I'll post photos on the web when it is finished. Off to finish cobbing the bathroom walls now,
 
Su Hagan (Bulgaria)


 

> From: coblist-request at deatech.com
> Subject: Coblist Digest, Vol 7, Issue 49
> To: coblist at deatech.com
> Date: Sun, 8 Mar 2009 12:00:03 -0700
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> Today's Topics:
> 
> 1. Re: Limewash/Whitewash and other permeable paint options (Dulane)
> 2. Re: Limewash/Whitewash and other permeable paint options
> (Henry Raduazo)
> 
> 
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> Message: 1
> Date: Sat, 7 Mar 2009 14:44:45 -0800
> From: "Dulane" <silkworm at spiderhollow.com>
> Subject: Re: [Cob] Limewash/Whitewash and other permeable paint
> options
> To: "'Simon Matthews'" <simon at karrak.id.au>, <coblist at deatech.com>
> Message-ID: <20090307224438.493928ADF13 at mail-in07.adhost.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
> 
> Both casein and manure are bonding agents. Manure also offers (horse or cow)
> the small digested fiber, but the smell stays around for a week or better,
> hence I did the outside with poo. I used river sand and our local blue-grey
> clay in the outside batch. One pound of burnt ochre was more than enough to
> color the whole outside of my cottage a rich mustard yellow. 
> 
> For the inside, I used either condensed milk or dried milk. I added small
> amounts of bentonite and borax, plus river sand. (I added like a two pound
> box of dried milk to 4 gallons.) 
> 
> Both batches have 'kept' well in plastic containers and I can use it again
> this year for touch ups because of ongoing construction. BTW, I love the
> smell of the interior walls. It just smells so clean and is VERY cheap to
> make.
> 
> I found that the paints didn't spread very far, so I mixed them with my
> mini-Imer mortar mixer (great for slip) and made at least 5 gallons at a
> time. I did have left-over, but I also know that the left-overs will match.
> So I don't cry if a 6-ft ladder accidentally scrapes my walls. (Having more
> than enough is much better than having small batches that are hard to match
> colors.)
> 
> Try to figure out a recipe and write it down for future reference. I had a
> lot of tiny cracks in my interior wall paint, caused by too much bentonite.
> I had to add more water and lime to that, but I also discovered that
> spraying the wall with a mister and painting over it with just a clean wet
> brush got rid of most of the cracking.
> 
> My paints were a little on the thick side, and I mostly did just one layer.
> I sure like how it turned out. I started with a thick lime putty, which I
> made with 4 gallons water and maybe 25 lbs of hydrated lime. 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: coblist-bounces at deatech.com [mailto:coblist-bounces at deatech.com] On
> Behalf Of Simon Matthews
> Sent: Saturday, March 07, 2009 5:38 AM
> To: coblist at deatech.com
> Subject: Re: [Cob] Limewash/Whitewash and other permeable paint options
> 
> Thanks for your reply,
> 
> I am interested to know your reasons for adding the casein to the inside
> wash and the manure to the outside wash. I haven't heard of manure being
> added to whitewash before.
> 
> When you say "touching it up" do you mean a complete repaint or just
> patching worn or damaged areas. 
> 
> Thanks
> Simon
> 
> On Fri, 2009-03-06 at 09:15 -0800, Dulane wrote:
> > I have a small cob house, and mine has a manure/ochre/limewash outside and
> a
> > lime/casein/red clay (it is a light pink)wash inside. Because it is small,
> I
> > have no problem touching it up every couple years. I love the look of the
> > surface, and I like how it wicks water away. Gotta love those old
> alchemists
> > who figured all this out centuries ago.
> > 
> 
> 
> 
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> 
> 
> ------------------------------
> 
> Message: 2
> Date: Sat, 7 Mar 2009 22:12:38 -0500
> From: Henry Raduazo <raduazo at cox.net>
> Subject: Re: [Cob] Limewash/Whitewash and other permeable paint
> options
> To: Simon Matthews <simon at karrak.id.au>
> Cc: "coblist at deatech.com" <coblist at deatech.com>
> Message-ID: <A1D49E98-07DE-4381-8861-EEAA18C09221 at cox.net>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; delsp=yes; format=flowed
> 
> Simon:
> 1. regarding using lime and sand, I only followed the recipe from a 
> plaster book, I needed to fill in a little from the manure/clay and I 
> too wanted to cover the very dark base coat.
> 2. Lime should not rub off on your hand after it has hardened. Mine 
> does not rub off on a wet sponge.
> 3. I am a little concerned about lime from a hardware store. As I 
> said, I bought my lime from a place that sells nothing but bricks, 
> sand, mortar and other masonry supplies. I even used the lime putty 
> to lay the stone for my knee wall. It hardens like cement and you 
> would not expect cement to rub off on your hands. After you apply the 
> lime it absorbs CO2 from the air and becomes limestone. Limestone 
> does not rub off on your hand. I would say something is not right 
> with your lime.
> Were the bags of lime sitting next to the cement and bricks in the 
> hardware store or did you find it in the garden department? I don't 
> trust the people in hardware stores to know anything about anything.
> Ed
> 
> On Mar 7, 2009, at 8:14 AM, Simon Matthews wrote:
> 
> > Thanks for your reply
> >
> > On Fri, 2009-03-06 at 20:25 -0500, Henry Raduazo wrote:
> >> Simon: I did two layers of horse manure and clay on my wall, then a
> >> thin layer of lime putty (2 parts sand one part lime) then two coats
> >> of lime wash. I sprayed water on the lime layers three times a day
> >> with a 2 gallon insecticide sprayer.
> >
> > I am interested to know why you made the last plaster coat with 
> > lime and
> > sand. Was it to provide a good base for the whitewash?
> >
> > We are lucky in that one part clay/subsoil from our property with two
> > parts river sand produces a render that doesn't crack and feels very
> > solid, rather like a cement render. The one problem with it is that it
> > is dark chocolate brown which i would think will take many coats of
> > whitewash to cover. I was thinking of doing a plaster coat purely to
> > make a light base to put the whitewash on.
> >
> >> You can't rub my lime off. I
> >> don't even think you can sand it off, and I have not redone my wall
> >> for ten years. It is an interior wall with out much rubbing, but that
> >> would not matter.
> >
> > To date I have done a small test of three coats of whitewash 
> > applied one
> > day apart directly to the mud render making sure to keep the surface
> > damp. Wiping a finger across this test sample will leave a thin 
> > smear of
> > lime on my finger but the coating remains intact. Is this normal?
> >
> >> It has lots of impurities in it so it is not edible grade
> >> but it is cheap. Just add water and use, or store in a sealed drywall
> >> bucket covered with a layer of water. You should be able to make a
> >> bench and sit on the bench with out getting powder on your clothing.
> >> If your lime does not harden like, this it is no good.
> >
> > I noticed that the hardware store had two brands of hydrated lime for
> > sale. I might try the other brand. I assume that if some of the 
> > hydrated
> > lime is calcium carbonate and not calcium hydroxide as it should be 
> > that
> > the calcium carbonate might not become part of the crystal 
> > structure of
> > the cured whitewash and this might be what is coming off on my finger.
> >
> > Simon
> >
> >
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ------------------------------
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> End of Coblist Digest, Vol 7, Issue 49
> **************************************

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