One room hogan is located on a quarter acre lot. Aprox 600 sq ft with upper loft for sleeping. Rammed earth design, walls are a foot thick. House stays warm in the winter, cool in the summer. Wood floor, basic solar, running water, underground 1200 gallon cistern. Membership included to community well. Located in a quiet and peaceful off grid community. Great views of the Taos Mountain, Carson National forest borders the area offering numerous hiking trails and camp sites. Propane heater, wood stove outlet with fire place. Great retreat for a artist or writer. Cat door located in upstairs loft included. Enclosed outside yard for pets or garden, propane tank, roof water catchment in place.
$39,000.
Open house Mon, Sept 6th, 2010. Contact Gina »
or Call 505-583-2704
The process of this floor has long been in the works. I first tamped the earth beneath the building. Then added a layer of cut polypropylene bags. Then 6 inches of red pumice ( otherwise known as scoria ). The scoria has insulating properties and also acts as a capillary break from moisture in the earth.
Through the scoria layer I added a 4 inch perforated drain pipe, in case one day a radon gas evacuating system could be attached. Then a couple layers of 4 mil plastic as air / moisture barrier. On top of that is 1 inch of of sand, leveled and tamped. Then tons and tons of mud. The mud base is at least 4 inches thick. A mixture of clay, crusher fines and straw. Crusher fines are usually cheaper than sand; it’s the step before plaster or concrete sand, so there is less processing involved. It has sand and rock all the way up to .25 inch. The diversity of the aggregate lends to a stronger substrate. This would have been a good time to add pex tubing for future radiant floor heating!
A few leveling layers of mud with finer sifted materials brought the floor ‘close’ to level. Continue…
Wheat paste is often used in earthen plasters, floors, finishes and alis that need a little extra ‘glue’. It add stickiness and durability. It can keep earthen plaster surfaces from dusting off. We’ve also used it for sticking bike posters to the L.A. landscape ;)
It’s super easy to make…
Wheat Paste Recipe:
2 cups of flour + 2 quarts of water or 1 gallon of water + 4 cups of flour
Add the flour to a little cold water while whisking it in. Just enough to make a soup.
Add water and flour concoction to boiling water and turn to low heat or off. Stir until the mix starts to turn clear.
You can send it through a sieve to remove lumps for fine finishes.
Store the wheat paste in a clean jar with a tight fitting lid. The paste will keep for a few weeks if refrigerated.
Application to earthen mixtures:
Add 20- 25% wheat paste to a plaster or clay paint.
These cookies are from the finish alis used on my floor and rocket stove. When ever you’ve been mixing mud, specifically a color finish, it’s a great idea to dry out the remaining mix for later use. Make mud cookies! You’ll thank yourself when you need to do a little repair. Just add water, mix and apply. No color matching = easy.
