[Cob] floor maintenance

[Bernhard Masterson]

Hi Howard,
   I have had similar issues with my floor.  They showed up about 4 years after we finished the floor and the summer we rewaxed our floor with a beeswax linseed oil blend.
 I didn't think it was because of humidity.  What leads you to believe that humidity is the cause?

For me I think it has more to do with several variables.
1. Using cheaper hardware store boiled linseed oil - it doesn't have any other oils or resins to increase the hardness when it oxidizes so it is pretty soft.  In talking with the helpful folks at Landark Northwest they said that the cheaper oils have higher protein content and are more susceptible to mildew.  I think they may also be more susceptible to other degradation.
2. Applying the oil over the course of several days - I think this creates a highly saturated thin layer at the top of the floor that is more flexible since there are more polymers in the top layer.  (Each oil application reduces the penetration of subsequent applications.) It also creates a clear boundary between the highly oiled and less oiled layers.  This boundary is a week point because it is essentially the boundary between two different materials because the oil saturation is so different.
3. Excess buildup of beeswax from refinishing the floor - the beeswax stays pretty sticky.

Possible solutions.  I tried using a solvent to remove excess wax.  That was not very successful.  I found heating the floor caused the wax on the surface to melt and penetrate the floor which reduced the wax content and stickiness but did slightly change the finish of the floor because I used a propane weed burner and often that heated the wax so it sort of bubbled and the floor finish became slightly more textured.  Then I used a commercial wood finishing oil from Ecohaus that created a hard polymer surface to cover any remaining stickiness. 

What kind of linseed oil did you use?  Thinner?  Proportions and timeline?  How old is your floor?

- Bernhard 



Get under a sustainable lifestyle umbrella, the carbon is going to hit the fan.

____________________________________http://bernhardmasterson.com

Natural building instruction and consultation


> 
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> Message: 1
> Date: Fri, 5 Aug 2011 12:28:00 -0500
> From: Howard Switzer <howard at earthandstraw.com>
> Subject: [Cob] floor maintenance
> To: coblist at deatech.com
> Message-ID:
> 	<CAOUEhLzgzZ_sOaAwYqjFOsC29VnA4An5J62VF4i6Q14iV7bmgQ at mail.gmail.com>
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> 
> We're having minor problems with our earthen floor.  Its seems the floor in
> the main house is absorbing humidity and in places where 1/8 inch final coat
> layer seems not to have adhered to 3/4 inch layer below; it pulls up under
> furniture we sit in leaving holes 1 to 3 inches in diameter.  2 weeks ago a
> bare sweaty foot pulled a piece of floor up; most of this has happened in
> the last 2 months (4 holes). We have put several applications of linseed oil
> in these holes to prevent further separating. We're thinking of sealing it
> with another layer of carnuba wax in late fall when air is drier so as to
> prevent more holes and then fill in existing ones with a mix.  Do you have
> any other suggestions for prevention, maintenance?
> 
> -- 
> Howard