[GSBN] earthen floor sealer in Haiti

[tina therrien]

Thanks for all of your suggestions & input for the sealer- Jean Louis,  
one of our Haitian builders, is going to try to procure coconut oil  
from the market, which we'll test, although he just arrived, and as  
with many materials here, the coconut oil is proving more difficult  
and expensive to find than originally anticipated.  If we do the  
finish floor today or tomorrow, there should be enough time for it to  
cure by Saturday. Apparently they slaughter a cow just down the  
laneway every Saturday, so we may even be able to use some cow blood  
to seal the floor.

I have found reference to molasses before in terms of finishes, and am  
now even more curious about it, but don't think we'll have time to try  
it out here, at least not for this project.

Any other tips for earthen floors, either finish coat or for sealing,  
are welcome. I'll stay in close touch with Andy Mueller regarding the  
floor- I know he wishes he was here to work on it! Pics to come.

In reply to André (and hi, André, by the by!), the BWB website has a  
page about this project- both a blog and a photo gallery (http://www.builderswithoutborders.org/ 
) Apart from that, both Andy Mueller & I have blogs. My personal blog  
is about various natural building projects I'm involved with here, and  
personal impressions of being in Haiti...certainly not all about  
building, but there are a few segments dedicated to building  
(including compressed earth block, earth bag, and soon to be light  
clay/straw if all goes well). http://strawhomes.blogspot.com/ (you'll  
have to skim through to find building photos & stories).

tina



Camel's Back Construction
Quality, handcrafted homes
www.strawhomes.ca





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