“Natural building expert Michael G. Smith from the Emerald Earth Institute shows us the first layer of an earthen floor (clay soil, sand, chopped straw and road base, or crushed rock): just one layer of the 3 layers they eventually use. He also shows us a finished floor that has been treated with 4 to 6 coats of linseed oil and is water resistant and completely mop friendly.”
earth floor
Adobe Block Floors
Readers often ask our advice about the most practical floors for do-it-yourselfers. If you’re building your own sustainable home, I suggest building floors on grade. This eliminates the need for posts, beams, floor joists, subflooring, toxic glues and other materials used to build typical wood framed floors.
Homemade Earthen/Cob Floor Video
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Soil Screening Machines
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nuoCf8X12Qs&w=420&h=315] [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-VREBnm-W0&w=560&h=315] These screening machines are primarily for production earthbag builders and other natural builders who want to mechanize the building process for maximum efficiency. They are useful for screening soil for earthen plaster, earthen floors, straw/clay and, of course, soil for earthbags. One advantage is the ability to utilize soil from the … Read more
Eleven Earth Floor Methods
Adobe bricks with top coat of poured adobe Set dry adobes on a bed of sand or sand and gravel, sweep sand in the joints and then trowel on a top coat of adobe mud. Compressed Earth Blocks (CEB) Set CEBs on a bed of sand, sweep sand in the joints, coat with sealer. Tamped … Read more
How to Make a “Doma” Tamped Earth Floor
“If you are looking for a cheap way to make a hard floor in a foyer, in a shed, or barn, you may want to consider a tamped earth floor, or what is called “tataki” or “douma” in Japanese. Japanese buildings have all historically been tamped earth or wooden flooring. Some temples have earth floors … Read more