Kadin Goldberg

r ranson wrote:Is it cloudy on the surface or deep into the wax?

I don’t know… looks like maybe the surface?

Scott Lawhead wrote:Have you tried dabbing some more linseed on the cloudy patches?

No, have you tried this?  The linseed oil takes a really long time to dry but if it solves the problem I could give it a shot..

Hi everyone!  

I am struggling and hope that someone can help me.  I just applied a coat of wax to my earth floor, it originally had multiple coats of raw linseed oil on it that have dried over the last month.  

In many places where I applied the wax I am getting these really cloudy/hazy areas that look horrible.  I thought maybe it had excess wax and read that you could remove some wax with warm water… I tried that and it just made it worse.  No matter how much I buff it it still has this haze.

Does anyone have any recommendations for me to fix this?  It’s quite frustrating as I’ve put a lot of work into this floor…

Thanks,
Kadin

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