SB: just say no to crack!!!

[Keith Rowe <keithrowe@ezpost.com>]

Hello balers and sane people alike.

My wife(A.K.A. Obi-Wan-Adobe) and I just did our last coat of earthen floor.
We did the best we could, based on the info we had, including using lots o'
sand to inhibit cracking.

Our formula is as follows:

5 shovels, sand 
1/2 shovel lime(to react with the stain we are intending on using)
1 'shovel' clay slip(same volume as a shovel but in a bucket)
1 cup pure clay powder from a pottery supplier(a cheap way to spike the clay
content)
1 cup white glue( to spike the overall strength, just on a hunch)

We mixed it in a mortar mixer and the mixes were so dry Obi-Wan was
complaining about not being strong enough to trowel it smooth.

We are admittedly guilty of not doing enough testing and don't recommend
such an uninformed approach.

Aaaaaanywaaaayy..., it cracked, in a big way, ranging from hairline to 1/8"
wide. So now we are trying to decide what to do and so we appeal to those of
you who have run into this situation before to get some advice. We had a few
possible ideas.

a) mix up some more stuff, with higher clay content, and force it into the
cracks, once it is all dried up, and hope it does a decent job of holding
the whole works together.

b) Let it happen, then put grout of  a different color in the cracks as if
it were tile. This would look waaaaay cool but who knows what strength
issues we'd face.

c)slightly dampen the spot and force the clay with downward pressure and
rubbing, to seal up the cracks.(personally I think they'd just reappear, but
then if I knew 'thing one' about this stuff we wouldn't be having this
conversation, would we?)

d) find a supplier of explosives, set the charge, stand back, roll video,
and sell copies of the tape on the internet to pay off the mortgage. Move to
Mexico, buy a satellite, become a TV evangelist, bilk millions, live like a
king, and waste energy every chance we get...

So? What would you do???? Also I'm sure one of you out there might be able
to do a forensic analysis of our formula and say: "It's brutally obvious why
it cracked..." While it's too late for us, someone else may benefit from the
information, so fire away.

Thanks all.

Regards
Keith Rowe



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