Travis Reid

Hey folx

Not sure if this is something anyone would be interested in or not, but I thought I would put it out there and see. My name is Travis. I am currently living in beautiful SW Colorado, near Cortez to be exact. It is an amazing high desert climate close to the mountains and red rock desert. I have a small 3 acre place, strawbale house, garden, close to a small town, but still fairly rural (more info and pics to those who might show some interest). I have been considering relocating from the SW over the past few years and have been considering Oregon. I currently run a non-profit conservation company and share my home with my son and my father (he lives in a small tiny home/cabin on the property). I am interested in trying to spend some extended time in Oregon exploring and would love to connect with like minded people who might even be interested in a house swap type concept; possibly a month or so here or there.

Anyhow, I'll keep this short for now...just planting a seed and seeing if there is interest. I am a respectful, professional, passionate individual. I have a variety of skills and ultimately just looking to meet people that might be interested in visiting/exploring the SW in exchange.

If this seems interesting to you, just let me know...I'd love to chat more and explore the idea.

With dedication and gratitude,

Travis

Does anyone have any experience or advice on the use of linseed oil on lime plaster finishes? Any issue with integrity or impacting the lime cycle? Breathability issues? I'm more interested in deepening and enhancing some color/depth/shine and have experimented with black soap etc, but curious of other methods. Waxes? Other natural sealants/oils?


Thanks everyone.

Hey folks.

I'm located in the SW corner of CO and looking to connect with like minded folks specifically those focused on natural building - cob, earthbags, strawbale, plasters etc. Would love to know who on here is in my relatively close region? Would love to connect, learn, share labor/costs etc.

Feel free to reach out!

Hope everyone is well.

Travis

Chris McClellan wrote:Great natural builder Massey Burke has also done this with a polished lime plaster called tadelakt which is beautiful and a huge amount of work.

I've seen some good examples of a hybrid Tadelakt that was a bit less work....essentially a series of finishing trowels with black soap  vs the heavy workload of actually stone polishing....it makes me wonder if the troweled finish + those sealers you mentioned instead of black soap would be a good combination of both.

Chris McClellan wrote:Cob expert Miguel Elliott (way above my Uncle Mud pay grade) responded to this exact question when I asked:
"Ceramicrete [but it is] hard to find though. Try Grancrete. Have to special order it. Hydraulic lime plaster first, then trowel on the grancrete. That should work. It has worked for him several times.

Regards,
--Mud

Thanks, Mud. Did you end up trying it? I definitely thought about the idea of a lime plaster topcoat for the finish as a better option so this is good to know.

Hey folks,

Anyone have any experience using a masonry sealant on cob? Specifically, I'm interested in cob tub/hot tub applications. I've seen the old video of the cob hot tub attached to the wood fired oven....but this seems to be the only recorded application. I'm sure there are more. I'm curious about long term water exposure and using possibly some portland in the final layer then sealing as you would a concrete hot tub or pool. Benefit would be a "more" natural process and the ability to sculpt the product more than straight concrete would allow.

Thoughts? Experience? Photos?

Gerry Parent wrote:Hi Travis,   I can't see a lot of your pictures. The first 3 show up but then all of them but the last one don't show up. Would love to see your work!

EDIT - After I posted this your pictures magically appeared!  Boy you work fast.... Thanks!

Haha glad they worked! The photos span about two months but that included collecting all the stone from the mountains, digging the soil for the cob, and construction. All said the only costs so far are the cement mortar and fire bricks. The rest is salvaged and some well spent time. It’s been a fun project with my son. Final touches this week and we’ll fire it. Also working on a roof structure. Headed to the mountains today to cut posts.

thomas rubino wrote:Hi Travis;
I don't have a cob oven yet, but I have played with water glass (sodium silicate) on my rocket mass heater.

Years ago I had an all cast, fire clay perlite core.   The feed tube was constantly wearing and needing repair.
Brushing  the water glass on fired cob worked just fine as far as application goes. It would apply in your oven as well.
My opinion of it for a RMH is low as it only hardens the face and easily breaks a thicker piece if banged.

So I would say Yes, you can apply it in a used oven.
My question is , What are you hoping for?
Is your roof cracking / failing?

Thomas - My intention is to simply treat the interior for added durability from the beginning. Everything I've seen points me to, "why not". The stuff is cheap and have a friend with a ceramics studio. For a couple bucks to spray it on to the interior clay plaster and help prevent spalling and cracking seems well worth the few minutes and couple bucks. I guess I don't see any reason to not do it considering the benefits, even if small. I also see it as an opportunity to play around with yet another learning moment and experience it myself, always interested in new things/ways/techniques.