Here are some quotes from FantasticHemp. I cannot verify many of the claims made on their site, but this certainly seems like something to investigate further. “Hemp can be made into any building material, including fiberboard, roofing, flooring, wallboard, caulking, cement, paint, paneling, particleboard, plaster, plywood, reinforced concrete, insulation, insulation panels, spray-on insulation, concrete pipes, … Read more
This is a follow-up blog post to my previous post entitled Fastest Corner Pinning Method? I’ll keep it brief. I just wanted to provide a close-up photo of the final pinned corner. (Click to enlarge.) You can see how simple this method is. Just poke sharp galvanized wire (about 16 gauge) through the folded corner … Read more
So here’s our example of finish plastering using earthen plaster on this wattle and daub sample. Several people did this. You just use the edge of your hand right here. Just put on a thin layer. So the edge of your hand becomes like a trowel. You could do this with a trowel, but we’re … Read more
I finally had a chance to build with mesh bags. Previously I had made some test bags, but this week we included a whole course of mesh bags in our current Cool Pantry project. More photos coming soon. In this post I want to describe some of the differences in working properties between mesh and … Read more
This video will compare two pinning methods. We like to pin the corners of bags so they don’t stick out in the plaster. I like to use these short pieces of wire that we’ve cut off at an angle. We’ve tried different cutting methods. The latest and best method is a hammer and chisel, and … Read more
Getting the plaster on an earthbag wall nice and flat can be quite challenging. You can save plaster work by covering the rough plaster with stone. You can buy flat stone facing. This is sandstone. Or you can get stone from out on the prairie or up in the mountains. You want flat stone that … Read more