Natural building: a water-resistant earthen floor

[cptnblackbeard]

Why is he talking like that? "This is the first lay-herr." etc. It's annoying!

[Seamusism]

@cptnblackbeard No, whats annoying is people whining about the way someone speaks, despite the fact that he is sharing very interesting information.

[streamylc]

@cptnblackbeard Because it sounds like he's overcome a chronic stutter... I'd challenge you to do the same... ACTUALLY, I'd challenge you to actually drop the judgement.

[nNorthWestern]

@cptnblackbeard be-becouse hes stustustuttering its quite normal

[nNorthWestern]

@cptnblackbeard be-becouse hes stustustuttering, its quite normal.

btw i just noticed the song you made its probably worst crap i have ever heard really annoying

[kirstendirksen]

@YesWeTan I don't know the proportions Michael used for this floor, but I know mixes vary quite a bit. In a book he edited called "Natural Building" different builders talk about their mixes. One created a mix for just from pure road base without any stabilizers. Another talks about creating samples ranging from pure soil- going up in increments of 1/2 part sand- and testing it all the way up to 3 parts sand. Michael's written quite a few books on the topic. Google him at Michael G. Smith.

[pauluminous]

Will the linseed oil liquify in hot temps?

What about making a bathtub this way? Will the oil leach into the water?

Btw in responds to vention4wh, earthen floors are better insulators than concrete.

In colder climates radiant floor heating would be the way to go.

[dingosheep]

Fantastic! We are just about to start building our strawbale house, and we will be experimenting with a compacted earth floor using material form our own site. We have a range of sand and clay soils naturally occurring on our property. As for creating an insulating layer we are simply having a base of large stone about 50-75mm in size as our first layer and this creates a thermal break. Complying with building code re termite exclusion is our biggest problem at the moment. Love your work.

[vention4wh]

Wow! Neat. I wouldn't choose that type of floor in a cold weather environment though, unless I had some kind of insulation layer below the floor. My condo (or should I say my 100% paid off condo) has a concrete floor. During the winter it kind of sucks the heat out of my home. It's great during the summer though, even when the outside temp is nearly 100, I rarely even need air conditioning. I just turn on a small fan and I'm perfectly comfortable.

[kirstendirksen]

@vention4wh You're right. Earthen floors aren't great insulators, though you can install insulation beneath them.