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If
it simply isn't feasible to build an adobe house, why not cover your walls in
mud? No joke, it's possible, and is a great opportunity to unleash your
creativity and artistic skills. Mud covered walls, or rather, earthen plaster,
is an earth-friendly and inventive way to bring life to plain, whitewashed
walls. No wonder they are also called living walls! Helping to shape spaces with
light, shadows and texture, earthen walls certainly bring life to a room.
Creating an
earthen wall or room is actually quite simple. You could even create earthen
accents and decorative art pieces to be mounted on your walls. To get started,
you will first need some mud, which is basically clay-like subsoil, sand, fiber
and water. Clay is the binder, while sand and fiber limit cracking. In fact, if
you would like more of a hard and tough earthen wall - one that can be cleaned
easily without rubbing away any plaster - it is better to use more of a fine
clay soil and sharp quartz sand.
A standard earthen
plaster recipe is this:
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One part clay
soil
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Three to four
parts sand
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One-half part
fine fiber
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Enough water to
make the plaster into a consistency slightly wetter than peanut butter.
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If you would
like to add colored earth pigments, you can do so in the mix or can later
paint it over the wall.
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For making
earthen art, add lime putty or wheat paste to help bind the plaster even more.
Depending on the
surface of the wall that you will be covering with mud, applications vary. For
very smooth walls, a fine mud works best. (The finer your materials, the finer
the plaster). After mixing all of the ingredients in a large bucket or
wheelbarrow, sift it with a window screen to remove pebbles, impurities etc. Now
you are ready to apply the mud to your wall. You can do it either directly by
hand or with a masonry cloth. For those of you with sensitive skin, a masonry
towel is highly recommended because plaster can severely dry out your skin.
You probably
will not be able to get the wall more than two inches thick before it starts to
crack and clump. Let your first application dry, then you can make another coat
if needed. If you decide to add more, it is recommended to use a longer fiber to
give the mud more to grab onto. Before the mud dries all they way, consider
giving it texture with a small stick. Experiment. The number of designs you can
do is infinite. Draw something out on paper ahead of time. Better yet, buy a
sheet of drywall and do a practice application first. If you plan to incorporate
earthen accessories and artwork, make a separate batch of plaster (remember to
add your wheat paste or lime putty) and design away. For example, you can make
candle holders or mantles that are blended with and extend directly from the
wall. If you need some help attaching your accessories to the earthen wall, try
painting sodium silicate or casein over the plaster first.
Ready to get
dirty! We hope so. Making an earthen wall is a very affordable way to bring new
life and Mother Nature into your home, and is a creative, fun and easy project
to share with a loved one.
Author: Ry
TIPS for a GREEN HOME
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