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 Reading…
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.
I’m fascinated by new ways of making cob. Especially ones that take some of the back-breaking labor out of the equation. Years back I visited HUG, or Hunt Utilities Group and produced a short video of the experience. Ryan Hunt gave us the tour and explained their vertical auger mixer. Which can make quick work of cob creation in mass quantities. Recently I checked in with HUG to see if there were any new innovations with mechanical cob mixing. The following is a email I received from Ryan…
The magic to it is the vertical auger. Tumble mixers make balls of it. Mortar mixers and others with blades running through the mud catch the straw on the leading edges where it builds up huge sometimes. Horizontal augers can compact the material against the side. Skidsteer or tractor mixing is inconsistent. And feet just get tired by the time you get a couple tons done.
We started with the big, blue Patz vertical Auger mixer. It’s called a TMR mixer (total mixed rations) and is usually used for cattle feed. We bought the small one made to be run by a 100hp tractor. It mixes up to 7000 lbs of cob in about 30 minutes.
Then we bought and modified a little orange mixer hopper meant for spray-able, fibrous mixes. We modified it with a vertical auger to replace the paddles and added a variable speed motor. It has been used extensively to make small batches for the cob sculpting on campus.
With those two, we decided we needed something of an in between size that could be more portable than the big one, but make enough cob to be useful on a job site. So we commissioned the construction of one about 1/4 the size of the big blue Patz. That is now powered with a small tractor.
These are all successful, but are now underutilized. We may be willing to rent some out. Last year, we made several tons of cob for a local builder.
Then we have a gravel screener to get the rocks out of the sand and the clay (somewhat). Cob with only small rocks works well for being pumped and trowel applied or spray applied on a wall. We have a nice little pump and air compressor set up that can do that job, too.
We’d love to have some help documenting “commercial” cob. It’s not the main direction we are headed at the moment, but there is a lot that we can share with people.
Mixing cob… mesa style. This is a sloppier version of cob that’s good for infill, shaping and scratch coat plasters. Raw earth, straw and water. I’ve been using this for everything lately. In the video it shows a sloppy mix as it comes out of the mixer and the same mix after it has sat out in the sun and the wind. It stiffens up quick. I’m a fan of the cement ( cob ) mixer. It allows you to do several other things while the barrel is spinning. Electricity can come from variety of sources. Of course using power from the sun to make cob would be natural building nirvana. Even better… the human power of friends and neighbors.
It’s about that time of the year again. The weather is warming up and the mud is almost thawed. Fortunately in the high deserts of New Mexico there is plenty of good dirt around, especially in the mesa, where sometimes there’s too much mud! Plain old mesa dirt mixed with straw creates a delightful earthen plaster.
We started with the big, blue Patz vertical Auger mixer. It’s called a TMR mixer (total mixed rations) and is usually used for cattle feed. We bought the small one made to be run by a 100hp tractor. It mixes up to 7000 lbs of cob in about 30 minutes.
