Re: SB: Oh, No, Beautiful Clay!

[Kimber & Elizabeth Janney <kivaconstruction@mindspring.com>]

On 11/27/01 10:43 PM, "Gladish Family" <gladish@cnw.com> wrote:

> At long last I have a pile of beautiful gray clay!!
> I rented a mixer right away, and got started- but this stuff won't mix!!
> How the bloody heck do you get this sticky, lumpy stuff to mix with sand?
> I have to get a floor down this week if it means calling Redi Mix! My wife's
> coming home and I want it to look like I've done SOMETHING while she was off
> working so hard.
> Any help gratefully appreciated!
> Thanks, Andy
> 
I usually start with dry clay, but the key is to first add water til you
have a slurry in the mixer,  should be rather thin at this point. A mortar
mixer does work better. Then add sand and  chopped straw. The whole thing is
a bit of a lengthy process though. A 240 square foot floor took me several
days working on my own. At least three layers- sub-base, base, finish. Need
finer sand clay straw for finish. We screened ours to sift out chunks. Three
to six parts sand for good sticky clay. Hard to know the process without
seeing someone else do it first and experimenting with mixtures.
Good luck, Kimber


-------------------------------------------------------------------------
To unsubscribe from the list, send a message to:
   <strawbale-unsubscribe@crest.org>

or for the digest to:
   <strawbale-digest-unsubscribe@crest.org>

Please send any list administration questions to
strawbale-owner@crest.org