SB: RE: just say no to crack!!!

[Dane <dsjudd@entelchile.net>]

In TSBH, the color photo of the 3,500 sq ft house (don´t remember the name
of the owner but a Virginia somebody was the architect), they filled the
cracks with another color and it looks pretty sharp and natural.

Dane
sunny and warm with light breezes in Valparaíso, Chile (eat yer livers, you
snow-bound types!!)


----- Original Message -----
From: Keith Rowe <keithrowe@ezpost.com>
To: Straw Bale list <strawbale@crest.org>
Sent: Thursday, November 21, 2002 8:21 PM
Subject: SB: just say no to crack!!!


> 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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