At 7,200 feet, under the majesty of The Taos Mountain, stands a true relic of earthen architecture, The Taos Pueblo. Ancient ruins in the Taos Valley indicate the Taos Indians lived there nearly 1000 years ago. The main part of the present buildings were constructed between 1000 and 1450 A.D. These buildings are said to be the oldest continuously inhabited earthen buildings in the United States.
This adobe wall suffered a water leak. I inspected the adobe bricks beneath and filled with an earthen plaster. Local materials were sourced for the plaster. Some of the mud came from a near by ditch and some came from the wall itself.
In the end the 10 foot walls received a lot of mud!
Kelly, the owner, sculpted a very nice relief on the finish plaster.
Recently we gave Gina’s cob hogan a new layer of plaster. We started off by poking at the existing earthen plaster; raking off the loose stuff. It was worn out, but what do you expect after 15 years? All around the base of the walls the earthen plaster had touched the ground. Moisture worked it’s way in. We had to remove about 3 inches in and 1 to 2 feet up in some spots. The wall underneath was still in good shape. We filled in with a stiffer cob mix, rich with sand. We under cut the new cob, rather than plopping it on the ground again. Continue Reading…
Earth Plaster Workshop
May 31-June 4, 2007
Tres Orejas, West of the Gorge – Near Taos, New Mexico
Layers of Plaster to Cover Straw or Earth
How to make an Adobe Floor
Finish Techniques, Alis and Casein
Color on Lime or Clay
Restoration Procedures
Learn Useful Skills That Can Earn You a Living!
All Meals Provided
Camping Space Available
$200 before May 15, $250 After
(or $65 per day)
Carole Crews
seacrews [ at ] taosnet.com
(505)758-7251
This natural building cob teaser video is pretty neat! I don’t agree with the 3 parts clay to 1 part sand though… I think it should be the other way around.
First Earth, by David Sheen available on DVD