Kadin Goldberg

Appreciate the replies.

The first layer of tadelakt is oil soap that you rub into the lime as it is a drying.  Some people leave it at that stage but we made a mistake by putting damp cloth on the surface and it created marks that we decided to turn into relief carvings.  Now that we scraped away sections we need to seal that surface and thought wax could be a good idea.

The wax that is made for tadelakt is quite expensive so I was hoping someone could recommends something else.  Interesting to hear about making your own! Something to think about!

Anyone have an opinion on the type of wax to use on a lime tadelakt shower?  I’ve heard that carnauba wax is good but I’m not sure if I can just use anything at all that says Carnauba on it (even car wax?).  Should I be looking for an emulsion?

Thoughts and tips for a first timer waxing a tadelakt shower would greatly be appreciated.

Cheers,
Kadin

Hi everyone!
We are building a small botanical cell and I was just wondering about the water level and fill material.  It is a little unclear in the earthship book I have.  

Should the water level (the level of the overflow) be below the sand layer or should it be in the dirt level?  In the book it looks like the level of water is in the lower part of the dirt layer but it seems that could cause root rot?  Any help would be much appreciated!

Thanks,
Kadin

Cristobal Cristo wrote:

Kadin Goldberg wrote:Under what scenario would you put a vapor barrier in under the shower vs no vapor barrier?

Normally for slab on grade made of concrete, barrier is used to prevent capillary action of water rising through the concrete and affecting the structure above. It helps in areas with high water table, high rain or soils with higher water capacity. It looks like your house is located on elevated spot on your land and the plants around indicate arid conditions. I would not worry about any barrier.

Great, thanks for that clarification.  Yes, we are on a gentle slope and in southern Arizona.  Less than 20 inches of rain per year and no wash or build up of water near the house.  

Much appreciate your thoughts 🙏

Thanks for that Cristobal!  Very helpful.  Under what scenario would you put a vapor barrier in under the shower vs no vapor barrier?  I could see just leaving it with gravel under the cement just in case water were to penetrate under the shower floor.. that way it wouldn’t get trapped above the vapor barrier.   Thoughts?

Anne Miller wrote:I like the idea of an earthen floor with moss.  Is that possible?

Or maybe a Tataki floor?

Earth floor in a shower probably wouldn’t hold up but I do love the idea of growing moss in the shower!  Maybe on the walls… I’m going to make the lower part of the walls out of stone which would be really cool to have moss growing on it.

Hi all!
I am building a strawbale, cob, stone, earthbag home in a VERY DIY sort of way.

I’m at the point where I want to start installing the shower area but I’m not sure what I can get away with for under the shower floor.  I’d like to use concrete for the pan or maybe stone with mortar.  Right now I just have the plumbing in and dirt.

I’m wondering if I can just fill with gravel up to a few inches below the drain and then concrete up to the drain (sloping towards the drain.  Do I need to put some type of liner in or is it ok if I just do concrete on gravel as long as I seal the concrete?

Thanks for any advice.  Ive searched online but can’t seem to find anything that is starting with a dirt floor and not framed subfloor.

Kadin

Sounds good.  Thanks.  Rounded corners so I’ll have to find a short spot above a window and do my best to blend the seam… or finish it in one go! 🙂

Scott Lawhead wrote:My house had a similar situation, 3/4” basecoat with lots of seams. I followed up with an 1/8” finish coat of a finer mix and that solved that issue.

When you did the 1/8” coat did you plaster the whole house at once?  Did you run into having seams anywhere in the 1/8” coat?

Hi all!
I’m currently applying an earth plaster to a straw bale studio and am having some issues getting the wet plaster to match up with areas that have already dried.  I’m wondering if anyone has any advice or a good trick to match it up without the seam showing.

Our mix is working great with no cracking or crumbling… it is roughy 1 earth, 1 sand, 3/4 chopped straw, 3/4 cellulose paper insulation, water as needed.

The problem I’m running into is that wherever I stop plastering for the day, the plaster dries to a certain extent (even when I cover it with a wet sheet and tarp).  When I come back to match the new plaster up to the older I get a discoloration at the seam.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!  I’ve scoured the internet and all the books I have and can’t find any info.

Thanks!
Kadin

Edit: some are better than others… you can kind of see them in this photo.  Also curious if anyone knows if there is a way to fix the ones I’ve already created.