[Cob] Earth floors

[Amanda Peck]

This got sent to just me, it looks like.

(None of us have EVER done anything like this before--not since the last 
time, anyway.  I often do the opposite, send both to the list and the 
person, that's really easy with hotmail)




Hell all,

My name is Aland I live in Riverside County, CA. I am
new in this and I am planning to build a gurage and a
little apartment my property in Menifee - close to
Temecula. Has anyone built anything in southern
California. I need help. Thank you.


Peace
Al


--- Amanda Peck <ap615 at hotmail.com> wrote:

 > I've run it through the--half-inch--screen as dry as
 > possible--not very,
 > given that the clay pile is outside--which means
 > that we basically extruded
 > bits through the screen, letting the easy stuff go
 > on down (into a garbage
 > can) and sometimes putting the bigger pieces away
 > for later consideration
 >
 > But I'm using galvanized wire mesh, the kind you use
 > for rabbit cages.  Not
 > all that likely to break, in the two-foot square we
 > were using, in other
 > words.
 >
 > And there's plenty left in the garbage can after we
 > did a 100sf floor at
 > about an inch and a quarter deep in one step.  The
 > mixture WAS less than a
 > quarter clay.  We were able to use one clay, three
 > sand, and maybe a bucket
 > of wood shavings, no idea what you're having to use.
 >
 > But seems like some people are getting themselves
 > SOME powder/dry clay, and
 > mixing the rest into a slip, pouring that through
 > their screen, drying it
 > out in the final floor mixture with sand and their
 > clay powder, and wood
 > chips or sawdust or whatever.  I guess you'd want to
 > add a lot of water, mix
 > a lot, let it stand maybe overnight and take off the
 > nearly pure water that
 > accumulates on top, pour the next layer through that
 > or even a finer screen,
 > with or without the stones that have accumulated on
 > the bottom.  Using the
 > ubiquitous 5-gallon buckets--3-gallon if I can find
 > them and they're not too
 > much more than the 5  (they sell fewer of them).
 >
 > A third way, (if you've got one of those concrete
 > mixing tubs or a shallow
 > rubber-like tub and enough wire mesh to make a
 > basket to fit it,)  might be
 > to lay the mesh basket in the tub, put as dry as
 > possible clay in there.
 > pound with a mallet, then lift the basket, shake out
 > all the small stuff,
 > pour the now sifted contents of the tub into
 > something else, repeat.  (I
 > really have pounded very dry clay in a tub, poured
 > out what will go through
 > the mesh, and repeated)
 >
 > But take care of your hands!  Pure clay is pretty
 > sterile, but just dirt
 > isn't, and the particular composition of the soil
 > bacteria varies wildly,
 > from stuff that pediatricians wish that more
 > toddlers were exposed to, to
 > mildly stimulate their immune system, on.
 >
 > Ed wrote:
 >
 >      I am having a problem processing enough clay
 > for a floor finish.
 >      The first step is to wet it and mix it with a
 > power mixer then I push
 > it
 > through 1/2 inch screen. This gives me a
 > tapioca-like mixture of clay
 > tapioca
 > balls mixed with a few very sharp quarts rocks.
 >      The next step is add more water, mix it again
 > and push it through a
 > window screen. This is where the problem occurs.
 > When I place an aluminum or
 > nylon
 > screen on top of the 1/2 inch screen and try pushing
 > the clay through it is
 > a
 > very slow process. I cut up my right hand Tuesday,
 > my left hand Wednesday
 > just
 > making one batch a day, and I am not looking forward
 > to five more batches
 > needed to finish. I can wear dishwashing gloves or a
 > wooden block taped to
 > my
 > hand to protect it from the sharp rocks, but if I
 > use more force to speed up
 > the
 > process it tears the window screen.
 >      Today I am going to try 1/4 inch screen and
 > then two layers of 1/4 inch
 > screen set at a 45 degree angle with a power mix
 > between steps to get rid of
 > the tapiocas. This stuff is tough enough to take
 > lots of force. Then I when
 > I
 > get to the window screen it is my hope that most of
 > the sharp rocks will be
 > gone
 > and I can use a little more force.
 >      If this does not work I am not sure what to do.
 > I am slated to help
 > Chris
 > do his floor next. He wants the same nice red clay
 > as I am using for my
 > floor
 > and his floor is twice the size of mine.
 >      I tried finding a supplier for stainless steel
 > screen but cannot seem
 > to
 > find anyone who wants to sell small quantities.
 >      Does anyone have ideas? Someone must have had
 > this problem before me.
 > Ed
 >
 >
 >
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 > http://www.deatech.com/mailman/listinfo/coblist
 >


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