Once you have mixed your deliciously smooth finish earthen plaster, it’s time to apply it to make your cob walls shine. It’s a seemingly simple process, but there is a certain hidden finesse that will make the job easier with time and practice. I’m no expert, but here’s how I went about plastering the interior of my cob house.
(This entry is a continuation from Finish Earthen Plaster: Part 1: Materials and Recipe.)
Applying finish clay plaster on straw bale walls
Applying clay plaster may be one of the most satisfying parts of building a natural home. Smoothing over cob or straw bale walls with a creamy clay plaster mix is incredibly satisfying and brings about a truly dramatic transformation. What was once coarse is made buttery and gracefully smooth. For a successful clay plaster job, it’s important to carefully prepare and mix your material. In this post, I will explain the preparation methods and recipe I use for most of my natural building work.
I have been away from Dancing Rabbit for the past week, and friends have been monitoring the drying of my earthen floor, which I completed about a week before I left for New Jersey. My friend Liat just sent me some images of what the floor looks like… it isn’t dry, and there is now both grass and mushrooms popping up through the floor.
The last week has been quite damp there, but damn… it’s already been two weeks since the floor has been finished. (It’s 1.5″ of new material, so it’s not that much stuff that has to dry out.)
I’m a little concerned about what looks like definite mold… but should I be worried? Anyone experience a situation like this? I won’t be able to pluck the grass and mushrooms and wipe the mold until the floor dries…
Hmm.
A little over one year ago, I started building my first cob house. And simultaneously, I started The Year of Mud to document the entire building process. I have kept regular documentation going since I started designing my house, all the way through making an urbanite foundation, to building cob walls, constructing a reciprocal roof frame, and more recently, making a rocket stove and living sod roof.
You can help spread awareness about cob building by helping The Year of Mud to continue to share cob building stories and information.
Here it is…. the first food from the sod roof of my cob house. Mm mm.
The final interior plaster is done. And yesterday, I completed laying down the earthen floor. That means I must stay out of the house until the floor dries, which could take up to a week or more. Once it is dry, I will oil the floor, and move into the house.
So now I must simply wait.
Nearly all of the work is done. All that remains is installing the skylight and plastering the cob bed and bench (which are still not dry), but neither of those things has to happen before I move in.
It’s a strange feeling to be nearly ready to move into this house that’s been the focus of my every day since last spring. It’s nice to be able to think about what I’ll do once I’m settled in. I’m excited.
Perhaps I’ll take the opportunity to relax while I wait on the floor. (Perhaps I’ll finally get to writing more about my rocket stove, earthen plaster, and now the earthen floor, too.)
Hi there, I’m Ziggy. In 2008, I launched The Year of Mud while building my first natural home. This website is a collection of personal stories and experiences building with clay, straw, and wood over the past 15+ years. A few of the things that get me fired up are natural plasters, timber framing, & Japanese architecture. In 2012, we started offering Natural Building Workshops, so you can learn essential hands-on skills to build your own natural home.
