[Cob] unfired tiles

[Taylor Publishing-DirtCheapBuilder]

this is a favorite subject of mine, since floors can be so expensive to 
buy processed wood, lino, etc products. You don't need a Cinva Ram to 
make tiles, simple sun/air curing can work well.

There are many ways to approach unfired tile making....stabilizing the 
earth is the first option...I have been making  clay-lime-sawdust slabs, 
UNDER real slates, 1" thick successfully..no machinery needed.

the slates were too fragile to just set on the ground/floor and step on 
(they cracked over time)  so I made a wood block frame out of old 2x4, 
laid the slate in the bottom  face down, ( kinka like pineapple upside 
down cake!) and just poured in a mix of my "cobwood/Tufastone" recipe, 
(12 sawdust/5 clay/3lime) and let it air dry.  Regular adobes are sun 
dried too, but need to be stabilized with lime or asphalt emulsion (AE) 
for water proofing and strength. Cement can be used, but I don't favor 
it. ( Cement only coats the clay particles, whereas lime bonds with it 
chemically making a much more homogenous material)

"Terra tiles" are also just plain clay/cob mix, with cement aded,  cured 
in place, stamped with a brick pattern or scored to prevent cracking 
across a wide expanse.  Some people stomp little "deer" ffootprints, 
racoon, etc in them  for creativity.

Rubber-slate is a 1920's recipe for unfired flooring using shredded 
cardboard/AE/sand/water
 ( sounds like papercrete eh?)    it cures by air drying too, and can be 
troweled, stamped, painted, embedded with real tiles or stones, etc.  I 
am using thisn currently on a closet floor as a test, and  it will be 
the base flooring layer over old plywood in a bathroom. This is not a 
breathable mix, but for flooring is an excellent choice for 
durabilty/water protection.

Ms. Charmaine  Taylor/ Taylor Publishing- 
 http://www.dirtcheapbuilder.com   
PO Box 375, Cutten   CA 95534 707-441-1632    books at dirtcheapbuilder.com
http://www.papercrete.com  << 50% off sale on Used books