[Cob] smoothing wall in preparation for plaster

[Nancy Striniste]

I worked with Ed Raduazzo a few years ago building two playhouses in 
Arlington, VA, and we did a combination of things to smooth walls.  They 
were built in large part by kids so were pretty "organically shaped".  Where 
the wall had big protrusions we used a saw and hacked off the biggest bumps, 
or a knife to cut off pieces of sticking out straw.  We also used a mix of 
clay, sand and shredded paper (instead of straw) to smooth over and fill in 
gaps. If you soak the shredded paper in warm water overnight before adding 
to the clay sand mix, it creates a nice pulp with fibers that makes a good 
smooth plastery coat to smooth the rough walls.
Good luck.
Nancy


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Bob Smolen" <boka at mwt.net>
To: <coblist at deatech.com>
Sent: Monday, August 04, 2008 1:34 AM
Subject: [Cob] smoothing wall in preparation for plaster


>I put up my first cob wall. It is infill for a timberframe structure I 
>built.  It is 8 in thick and has dried for a little over 1 week. The 
>surface is very rough because I was rushing to beat rain when I put up the 
>wall. Is it possible to go back with a strawless mixture of cob to smooth 
>over rough spots?
> I tried doing a little and am wondering if 1/8 to 1'' "after plaster " (my 
> term)will adhere and be a good base for lime plaster. I appreciate any 
> comments/advice. Next time, I will be a little more careful with the wall 
> surface when the cob is fresh.
> Thanks,
> Bob
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