And here's the link to Sukita's books on Earthen Floors - www.newsociety.com/Books/E/Earthen-Floors And don't worry, the plastic is optional. We thought about simply leaving this out, but it felt more comprehensive to add more information than not. It's code in some places to have it. The "because she is woman" part is just a story that inspired Sakita, there's no intention here to bash men or masculinity. It's feminine because it's flexible, it's not dangerous like cement, cement burns the skin when you're working with it, I wouldn't bring my baby to a cement pour.
I would think a thin layer of viscous clay slurry might do the job, at least initially. It would be interesting to see how such a stack might evolve through time and use.
@@kaushikshrinivask2028 Well, I know that Sodium Bentonite clay is so renowned for the amount that it expands when it absorbs moisture that it's used to seal the bottom of "natural" bottom ponds. Supposedly the clay expands anywhere from 10-20 times it's original size(depending highly on the purity and processing) when wet, so when used as a pond seal it's sandwiched between two layers of dirt so the expansion just makes the fine grains press against their neighboring grains, and the water then takes a long long time to seep through the tight spaces. It might serve just as well with water vapor coming from the bottom, but that would have to be fleshed out in testing.
Thanks for pinning this to the top. For sure they didn't use this petroleum based plastic liner in the Puebla back in the day! It's time we got plastics out of our lives before they clog the planet for good!
I had aunts in Mexico with dirt floors. It kept the houses cool during the hot desert days. They swept & wet the floors every morning. The dirt was hard and compact. Bare feet did not get dirty. It was amazing.
My boyfriend told me of Earthen floors in Oaxaca that he grew up in... he said after his grandma would sweep and splash water on them, the smell was heavenly and that he does miss it terribly.
During the depression, my Aunt Kate and Uncle Arthur lived in a tent. It was a plain dirt floor, but every day my Aunt Kate swept it, and damp mopped it. In about 3 or 4 weeks it turned into (almost) a big, single, tile floor. It was shiny, hard, and water-proof. They had no oil for the floor, and there was no plastic. They just did a French drain around the tent, and damp mopped every day. We live in farm land, not much clay about, so this was done with regular, loamy, dirt.
@@BST4321 During the depression there were great dust storms in Oklahoma. Aunt Kate and Uncle Arthur lost what little they had. They came to California, to the Sacramento Valley. They were farmers in Oklahoma, so they picked fruit, and nuts. They lived on little, but shared what they had, as did everyone else. They got (or brought) a tent, they had a bed frame, mattress, table, 2 wood chairs, and a kerosene light. Kate cooked outside. They were good people, and I never heard either one raise their voice. Aunt Kate played a guitar, and sang a little. She taught my brother to play. They had no children.
I grew up in Redlands California USA, when I was a child around 1970 there were some very old houses that my grandfather did a construction job on, I couldn’t believe I saw this lady sweeping, then washing her dirt floor! It was so shining! I was only 8 years old at the time and will never forget how clean and beautiful the red clay floors were, and how my grandfather explained to me that dirt can be clean if respected and treated with great care. I learned something special about life that day.
Love it! I work as a concrete finisher so I can tell that this is the exact same process you'd use for a slab on grade. Just subbed with natural and noninvasive material!
I'm a woman and hand paved my own driveway and now working on my cottage. I feel so much better coming home to my natural elements. We are strong and smart women, our worth is not be underestimated. ♥
Here in Trinidad, my Indian ancestors (including my grandmother) made floors by mixing cow poop and clay. The cow poop has a high fibre content (it becomes like cardboard when it dries) so I suppose it holds the clay particles together. Also, when it dries it becomes odourless (believe it or not)
I just love that, how you showed the soil strata along with the depth dimension as you add the layers over layer. The soil compaction as you add pressure on top of it and the oil on finishing was brilliant. Love this kind of detailed video 👍🏽👍🏽
Out here in Outback Northern Territory, Australia, they used the massive termite mounds and crush them down, wet them then compact them and they turned hard like concrete, they even made airstrips out of it..
We are wanting to create an earthen floor for our men’s circle tipi and so I’m very grateful that I came upon this beautifully presented tutorial. Please know that your efforts are greatly appreciated and will become part of what makes our abode a special place.✌🏾🙏🏼
When I was younger I heard my adopted Uncle Ben talk about when he was a kid growing up in a Hopi family. He mentioned his family lived in a house with many unique and fascinating architectural features, from hollow form Cobb walls heated by a central hearth to a compacted earth floor so densely packed that it was almost akin to a cement foundation. I always wanted to figure out the process of making those types of houses, but since he didnt know how to he couldn't teach me. Thank you for giving me a bit of insight towards the process.
I love that idea of the hollow cobb walls for heating! Pure genius! Yeah, it's sad that such knowledge is dying out. I find the old crafts like that so charming! If humanity keeps on going on the destructive path it's taking atm, we might well have need of such knowledge as we destroy our own civilization and will have to start again from nothing.
The way to find out the particle size distribution in soil is : take a straight side bottle, cut the top off a 2 qt plastic bottle and toss in a couple of cups of soil. Add water until 3/4 full. Then stir or shake until completely mixed. Then set down and let the soil settle. The coarse material will settle on the bottom with finer materials grading until the silt settles on top. The clay will stay in suspension for days. Then measure the thickness of the layers and that is the proportion of the soil components.
It’s beautiful the way you made it, this technique has been used since ages in our villages but since the so called advancement in technology, people have stopped using such method of construction. Very well executed and explained. Thanks for sharing your knowledge.
I was showing my Artwork at a show in Taos New Mexico.. many years back.. I was invited to stay at a Taos Pueblo's Story Teller's house which was as old at the Pueblo.. It was of course made of adobe, and I was amazed to see that the floor of this very old house had an almost marble like texture... It was, as I found out, dirt that had been walked on for soooo long it got that texture... That will be a visit I'll never ever forget.... Stringing beads by the light of an oil lamp and listening to that sweet old ladies stories...
In the southern area of Saudi Arabia and in Yemen, people used to make two floor houses with this type of earthen floor. But they will also mix cow and sheep manure with the clay.. the houses are hundreds of years old and they are still standing.
they explained that some area's building codes require the plastic - she also said 'moisture barrier' rather than plastic so you could use lots of other things instead.
Where she's running the screed boards, could cut deeper to lay underfloor hot water pipes that feed of a woodburner backboiler This could also eliminate the need of a plastic membrane. Your concern here is damp. Damp is a major concern. This can be overcome with adequate ventilation around the parimeter. Another topic pending on your project. Cover in final finish with natural lime. Thoughts please?
I have been experimenting with making bees wax cloths to replace plastic wrap in the kitchen. I would really love to see you experiment with this type of thing to replace the plastic foil. Maybe a tougher cloth and more bees wax. It becomes more flexible if you add an oily wax like jojoba and extra antibacterial/antifungal and stability with pine tree resin ;-)
i wonder if you can leverage some formulas from oil painting. Linseed oil with 2% beeswax can be used to make oil paint. I wonder if you increase the wax content a bit and then dipped the wrap cloth in it if you'd get a nice substitute for plastic wrap?
I’ve installed a couple earthen floors with no plastic barrier, but your suggestion is a really good one! I use beeswax cloth wraps for food storage and can see how easily that could work on the floor. And the pine resin as an anti fungal is brilliant!. You would need a small bathtub full of beeswax to coat the large pieces of cloth! Not sure how that would work but def something to play with. Especially in areas where moisture migration is known to be a issue…
Very nice. My wood floors were laid by human hands as well. No matter how hard we try not to… we are always taking from the earth to create something for our comfort. It’s nice to see the different beautiful ways the earths materials are utilized.
now this is an actual natural solution. I might use the manure from the cows on our homestead over plastic, thank you for sharing your country's method :)
Awesome building skills and great video. I'd very strongly recommend remembering that it's just as important to let water out as it is to keep it out. Pitch your vapor barrier slightly so it doesn't puddle
Thanks for your great video, explanation. I have already laid down broken rock, a barrier and road base. This week we will do the mud, sand and straw. I feel more confident after your video, thanks.
Clay is waterproof. If you have proper drainage you don't need plastic, you shouldn't be putting rocks under it either as all they do is trap humidity and damp in there and let it seep upwards. But there's a reason the continent of north and south America were living in the stone age whilst others were in the jet age.
@@bashkillszombies - clay is not waterproof, you absolute mong, lol! Clay that is baked in a kiln and becomes a ceramic is waterproof...kinda, although it is still very porous. That's why glaze is painted all over it, to seal it! (glaze being basically powdered glass) When's the last time YOU laid an earth floor?, huh? Yeah...that's what I thought.
That is actually a really good idea, and would be a great substitute if you either couldn't get plastic sheeting or didn't want to use it - because natural :P I like where your head is at! :D
If only subfloor drainage was added to drain out than one doesn’t need plastic but a geotechnical material can be used instead. Great video with detailed explanations 👍🏾
Wow, this actually reminds me of my aunt's ooold house in India, with the earthen floor. Heck, it's been so long I'd damned near forgotten about it! Talk about jogging your memory!
i bought the book after watching this. thank you for sharing your knowledge, it has given me some more excitement towards my future building...can't wait until i get to this stage.. all the best to all!
Girl! What an amazingly described way of making an earthen floor. You too it all the way down to the main layer and made it so easy to understand. High five! You rock!
Wow that's very beautiful it's so rich and fertile in the way that it feels when I watched you putting it together but especially when it was complete it was just nothing like anything I've ever seen before and really loved it thank you for sharing
I live in Tennessee and I’m almost positive that it could, if done right. The dirt here is very clay-ie, so in the summer it basically becomes a dirt floor, despite the humidity.
Synthetic polymers (epoxy) don’t work well with earthen floors or plasters….I’ve more experience with plasters and the synthetic polymers trap moisture in the wall. Eventually a thin layer of plaster coated with the polymers would peel off the wall. Better to stick with natural dealers like the well tested (over centuries) linseed oil
Earthen floors, haven for mold, wood destroying mildew, and natural enemy of all things electrical. Up here 8n New England, there are many an old home built on granite, but the humidity just rots the electrical panels to dust and rust. No thank you.
What does a house look like that is mostly built without plastic? At least 99% of it. The little bit that has been used has positive benefits that offset any negatives. The walls are straw with clay plasters, the earth floor is a mix of clay soils, sand, straw and finished with linseed oil and wax. Most everything else could be considered recyclable and natural. Of course everything I’m saying here is on a “for the most part” basis. In other words, “mostly true.” Point is, this little cottage, finished by our son Benito and his wife Amy is truly a work of art and all the materials have been carefully sourced and beautifully integrated.
I think it is so important that this knowledge gets passed down. You never know when civilization will come to a halt due to an economic depression, war, or natural disaster, and wouldn't it be great if society knew how to take care of themselves. Oh, and this is really beautiful too.
In our community, we just use red clay soil and water. Gives the colour as well as the smooth finish. But it needs to be layered after months or years. Interesting that modern society is into primitive construction and here we are still primitive but organic. 🙂
@@SR-gs8zo Could you clarify your comment pretty please?. It seems you got a notorious point there, but your autocorrector kicked in and busted your message.
@@SR-gs8zo That put me off as well. I would sweep and harden the floor first and then apply a THIN layer of linseed oil, it cannot harden when they pour that much on it, of course the fresh earth soaks it up. The oil makes it a little darker and maybe even easier to maintain.
Wow! Super liked it! What a way to live sustainably and spend less... Practicality in life is the only option to survive on this crazy world of inflation...
I have a dirt floor in my adobe home, and it’s wonderful, the hardest thing after it has been sealed, is to fix the chips and cracks. I usually makes Elmers glue in with the mud.
Very nicely explained and demonstrated thanks. My own home has cob walls on a rubblestone plinth and is about 300 years old and because the subsoil has a heavy clay content there were no deep foundations. I work mostly using lime putty mortars and plasters because they can last for many years and if you mix up too much you can put it back in the tub and use it on the next job because it only sets when it's exposed to the air. The other benefits of using lime is that it absorbs co2 and a lime plastered room has better acoustic and feels warmer too. All the best on your next project.
@@SR-gs8zo look up the lime cycle. It wont absorb more than was driven off the calcium carbonate when it was fired, usually in a process that generates CO2.
This is absolutely the BEST VIDEO about earthen floors that I have found....THANK YOU for such a thorough job explaining the process...your work is beautiful !!
40 years ago where i come from people could not buy concrete, or rebar, any construction method was beyond they could afford, so they made their house out of that but there was called "adobe" even now this little houses are still stand up...
@@yeseniarobles4289 actually no... Just the mixture... The dry chopped straw makes an excellent tensioner inside the mixture... I really don't know the exact formulla but still on this time you can see this houses and if you hit with a rock it falls like compressed sand, not cracking like pottery, They use to say something like this "the hungry is the fuel to reach the sky" if your hunger is enough you can be the best of yourself....but who knows...
In 72 outside of Subic Bay in the Philippines. I saw them scrubbed and then the girls would tie half coconuts to their feet and scrub them. I thought they were concrete but they told me they were dirt and explained the oils of the coconut help to keep them like that and shine. Hard as rock to me and cool even in the heat. Don't try to eat Balut though. Brought back some memories and taught me in detail how it was laid. Thank You.
Beautiful video. Love the description and the cross cut view of each layer. What are some natural alternatives to use for the vapor barrier other than plastic?
As an architecture student I am so happy to see that people are understanding more about the old traditional methods and sticking to a eco-friendly materials rather than a newly found concrete ❤️
Lots of single-use plastic buying hypocrites moaning about the use of a durable *long lasting* layer of vapor barrier here. Instead of thanking this amazing woman for sharing her valuable skills.
This is a great resource, them you so much!! It would be neat to see upcycled plastic (or no plastic at all) and local rock be used to make it truly sustainable/natural
Austin Harris and yes, you can use any plastic, even an old tarp. I am working often with building departments that do not know how to deal with reuse all that well. As for rock, most drain rock is local to your area, it’s not something that is shipped very far. And no vapor barrier is also possible, you will just need to dry out any dampness that can accumulate on the back of rugs.
My grandma used to tell me how she would lay floors using pretty much the same materials but finishing it off with cow dung. This was in South Africa during the early 1920s. This method was used by both the indigenous black people, as well as (poor working class) folk of European descent. Back then, I think you had to be wealthy to afford homes constructed with “modern” building materials, so a lot of people used what was available around them.
Wayne Holmes a few years back I helped a group of Stanford students get going with modernizing the earthen floor tradition in Rwanda. Check them out, they are doing amazing work! EarthEnable
That was beautiful as people in countryside still use earthen material and straw and in last decade everything changed and due to temperate zone we have harsh winters and modern brick and marble homes make it difficult to reside, so great video 👍
My house is old was build with mud wall and floor also earthen my mom 2 time s in week maintining the floor with cows wast in india we not use this type oil to finishing floor cow weast is best and healthy and this coat is best for flooring layer Now aday we fix the tiles for floor but we miss this flooring. . I m civil engineer I m planing to build new rcc building ,on my old house. I will leave one hall for this type flooring...It's remember me my old childhoods day.when we poor i sleep on this floor
My guess is that the wood is at risk of rotting or being less structurally sound from the weight and compacting. You probably want to take the wood out, also because this floor will add several inches thickness to the floor, which means lower ceilings
I think it should be more optional, I would have loved it but some kids do better than some with certain things and it wouldn't be all that great to force a bunch of kids to build a house if they are not interested to do not do good with carpentry it building in general. Another option would be the entire grade or class to work together to build a single house each offering their own abilities to better the house.
And here's the link to Sukita's books on Earthen Floors - www.newsociety.com/Books/E/Earthen-Floors
And don't worry, the plastic is optional.
We thought about simply leaving this out, but it felt more comprehensive to add more information than not. It's code in some places to have it.
The "because she is woman" part is just a story that inspired Sakita, there's no intention here to bash men or masculinity. It's feminine because it's flexible, it's not dangerous like cement, cement burns the skin when you're working with it, I wouldn't bring my baby to a cement pour.
I guess the plastic sheet at the bottom is for damp proofing. Is there any natural alternative for doing a damp proof course?
I would think a thin layer of viscous clay slurry might do the job, at least initially. It would be interesting to see how such a stack might evolve through time and use.
@@kaushikshrinivask2028 Well, I know that Sodium Bentonite clay is so renowned for the amount that it expands when it absorbs moisture that it's used to seal the bottom of "natural" bottom ponds. Supposedly the clay expands anywhere from 10-20 times it's original size(depending highly on the purity and processing) when wet, so when used as a pond seal it's sandwiched between two layers of dirt so the expansion just makes the fine grains press against their neighboring grains, and the water then takes a long long time to seep through the tight spaces. It might serve just as well with water vapor coming from the bottom, but that would have to be fleshed out in testing.
Thanks for pinning this to the top. For sure they didn't use this petroleum based plastic liner in the Puebla back in the day! It's time we got plastics out of our lives before they clog the planet for good!
pretty telling of some of your views by claiming this floor exists only because women and it's feminine. go fuck yourself, sexist.
I had aunts in Mexico with dirt floors. It kept the houses cool during the hot desert days. They swept & wet the floors every morning. The dirt was hard and compact. Bare feet did not get dirty. It was amazing.
Why did you wet it every morning?
@@Ladida386 most likely to re-polish it everyday
@You Tube your comment does not show humility to these people's living conditions.
@You Tube "Hburr durr I'm just fine from my point of economic privilege" No shit, jackass
@You Tube the mopping is the deal breaker for you for earthen flooring? thats the thing? you were gonna replace all your hardwood til hearing that? XD
My boyfriend told me of Earthen floors in Oaxaca that he grew up in... he said after his grandma would sweep and splash water on them, the smell was heavenly and that he does miss it terribly.
Agreed,It smells heavenly like the time the earth smells before it is going to rain👍
Does he remember what the floor was made of? Did he smell the moist dirt or the moistened oil or moist binders??
Seattle smells like that 320 days a year.
@@liambenyamin5482 wow. That sounds much better than Atlanta 😁
@@zachreyhelmberger894 I'm not sure, I need to ask him. I know they supposedly packed it down with water when making the homes, but I'll ask.
During the depression, my Aunt Kate and Uncle Arthur lived in a tent. It was a plain dirt floor, but every day my Aunt Kate swept it, and damp mopped it. In about 3 or 4 weeks it turned into (almost) a big, single, tile floor. It was shiny, hard, and water-proof. They had no oil for the floor, and there was no plastic. They just did a French drain around the tent, and damp mopped every day. We live in farm land, not much clay about, so this was done
with regular, loamy, dirt.
I would like to know more about this
id like to know more also please
As well as I, am curious to learn more of these Aunt Kate & Uncle Author you speak of. Please, continue.
Fascinating
@@BST4321 During the depression there were great dust storms in Oklahoma. Aunt Kate and Uncle Arthur lost what little they had. They came to California, to the Sacramento Valley. They were farmers in Oklahoma, so they picked fruit, and nuts. They lived on little, but shared what they had, as did everyone else.
They got (or brought) a tent, they had a bed frame, mattress, table, 2 wood chairs, and a kerosene light. Kate cooked outside. They were good people, and I never heard either one raise their voice. Aunt Kate played a guitar, and sang a little. She taught my brother to play. They had no children.
I grew up in Redlands California USA, when I was a child around 1970 there were some very old houses that my grandfather did a construction job on, I couldn’t believe I saw this lady sweeping, then washing her dirt floor! It was so shining! I was only 8 years old at the time and will never forget how clean and beautiful the red clay floors were, and how my grandfather explained to me that dirt can be clean if respected and treated with great care. I learned something special about life that day.
Artevious - I grew up in Redlands also! I miss the orange groves.
Artevious - thanks for sharing your sweet memory
so sweet! thanks for sharing.
that’s beautiful! thank you for sharing :) a little parable
Learned what?
Love it! I work as a concrete finisher so I can tell that this is the exact same process you'd use for a slab on grade. Just subbed with natural and noninvasive material!
I love the stories that everyone is sharing.
We absolutely love our kitchen floor she installed 4 years ago. Holding up BEAUTIFULLY! couldn't be more pleased.
Thank you,
Terry in Medford Oregon
Terry Trantham great to see you here!
Do you have dogs scratching around on it?
Hey!! Monmouth Oregon here, do you have pictures of the floor!? I'd love to see if you have an Instagram?
Yall got ooil?
>gets in jet< be right their
I'm a woman and hand paved my own driveway and now working on my cottage. I feel so much better coming home to my natural elements. We are strong and smart women, our worth is not be underestimated. ♥
I really love the way you showed the cross section of what you were doing. Thanks for taking the time to share your knowledge.
Was I looking for this? No. Did I thoroughly enjoy it? Hell yeah.
Here in Trinidad, my Indian ancestors (including my grandmother) made floors by mixing cow poop and clay. The cow poop has a high fibre content (it becomes like cardboard when it dries) so I suppose it holds the clay particles together.
Also, when it dries it becomes odourless (believe it or not)
well you are right here in India we used the same thing and you are right after 2-4 days their is no smell left
What about after you wet it again, like for mopping?
We also do this in South Africa 😊
@@mrsaye499 i believe you should be able to mop it once it has dried. It is still going to retain its integrity.
WOW AMAZING THIS IS A NOVEL AND UNIQUE APPROACH THAT MUST BE AN ANCIENT INDIAN SECRET
Fucking Americans man. Smoothbrains.
I just love that, how you showed the soil strata along with the depth dimension as you add the layers over layer. The soil compaction as you add pressure on top of it and the oil on finishing was brilliant. Love this kind of detailed video 👍🏽👍🏽
Out here in Outback Northern Territory, Australia, they used the massive termite mounds and crush them down, wet them then compact them and they turned hard like concrete, they even made airstrips out of it..
perentee77 Sounds cheap but durable, do termites make their nests out of coay?
@@robrod7120 they combine dirt with saliva. Enzymes in their saliva acts much like sealant oil that forms a polymer like in the video.
lets farm them for low cost eathen construction?
A fellow Territorian!
Same in Brazil
We are wanting to create an earthen floor for our men’s circle tipi and so I’m very grateful that I came upon this beautifully presented tutorial. Please know that your efforts are greatly appreciated and will become part of what makes our abode a special place.✌🏾🙏🏼
When I was younger I heard my adopted Uncle Ben talk about when he was a kid growing up in a Hopi family. He mentioned his family lived in a house with many unique and fascinating architectural features, from hollow form Cobb walls heated by a central hearth to a compacted earth floor so densely packed that it was almost akin to a cement foundation. I always wanted to figure out the process of making those types of houses, but since he didnt know how to he couldn't teach me. Thank you for giving me a bit of insight towards the process.
I love that idea of the hollow cobb walls for heating! Pure genius!
Yeah, it's sad that such knowledge is dying out. I find the old crafts like that so charming!
If humanity keeps on going on the destructive path it's taking atm, we might well have need of such knowledge as we destroy our own civilization and will have to start again from nothing.
I loved the stratigraphic column view throughout the video. Great job!
I learned a new word through you today
That’s true... and showing the ‘compaction’, also very useful!
Isn’t it called a row when it’s horizontal ?
@@NYMusic89563 strata are layers. I can't think of any time I have seen "rows" that were not side by side.
By far the best and most comprehensive presentation of earthen floors. Thank you.
Did they ever say anything about longevity or strength or cost? These are things you have to know before building anything...
Yeah. I just bought her book! :)
The way to find out the particle size distribution in soil is : take a straight side bottle, cut the top off a 2 qt plastic bottle and toss in a couple of cups of soil. Add water until 3/4 full. Then stir or shake until completely mixed. Then set down and let the soil settle. The coarse material will settle on the bottom with finer materials grading until the silt settles on top. The clay will stay in suspension for days.
Then measure the thickness of the layers and that is the proportion of the soil components.
Hi. What is the appropriate mix of components that can be used to make good compressed mud bricks?
It’s beautiful the way you made it, this technique has been used since ages in our villages but since the so called advancement in technology, people have stopped using such method of construction.
Very well executed and explained. Thanks for sharing your knowledge.
I was showing my Artwork at a show in Taos New Mexico.. many years back.. I was invited to stay at a Taos Pueblo's Story Teller's house which was as old at the Pueblo.. It was of course made of adobe, and I was amazed to see that the floor of this very old house had an almost marble like texture... It was, as I found out, dirt that had been walked on for soooo long it got that texture...
That will be a visit I'll never ever forget.... Stringing beads by the light of an oil lamp and listening to that sweet old ladies stories...
David Lemon, you were very fortunate to have had that experience. Thank you for sharing it with us!
@@thisorthat7626 It was fun remembering it
In the southern area of Saudi Arabia and in Yemen, people used to make two floor houses with this type of earthen floor. But they will also mix cow and sheep manure with the clay.. the houses are hundreds of years old and they are still standing.
What is this formülation ? You know? Please?
Ahhhh, plastic- that centuries old Indian secret ingredient.
LOL! 😂
they explained that some area's building codes require the plastic
- she also said 'moisture barrier' rather than plastic so you could use lots of other things instead.
👍🤣😂
@@lemon1peach2mango3 anything moisture can't get past. Somewhere else in the comments said that traditionally in her region tanned leather was used.
Where she's running the screed boards, could cut deeper to lay underfloor hot water pipes that feed of a woodburner backboiler This could also eliminate the need of a plastic membrane. Your concern here is damp. Damp is a major concern. This can be overcome with adequate ventilation around the parimeter. Another topic pending on your project. Cover in final finish with natural lime. Thoughts please?
Everything you did was beautiful. That reed roof is best insulation.
I been in a house like this and was incredibly cool on the summer.
Yea,the best part is when your laying in bed and a mouse falls out of the ceiling onto your face.
@@yougerard1976 true, in horror movies, not in reality
Thats funny
I have been experimenting with making bees wax cloths to replace plastic wrap in the kitchen. I would really love to see you experiment with this type of thing to replace the plastic foil. Maybe a tougher cloth and more bees wax. It becomes more flexible if you add an oily wax like jojoba and extra antibacterial/antifungal and stability with pine tree resin ;-)
Modern History TV channel has an episode about that.
i wonder if you can leverage some formulas from oil painting. Linseed oil with 2% beeswax can be used to make oil paint. I wonder if you increase the wax
content a bit and then dipped the wrap cloth in it if you'd get a nice substitute for plastic wrap?
I’ve installed a couple earthen floors with no plastic barrier, but your suggestion is a really good one! I use beeswax cloth wraps for food storage and can see how easily that could work on the floor. And the pine resin as an anti fungal is brilliant!. You would need a small bathtub full of beeswax to coat the large pieces of cloth! Not sure how that would work but def something to play with. Especially in areas where moisture migration is known to be a issue…
Wow… THAT is a topic we need some YT video content about!
Very nice. My wood floors were laid by human hands as well. No matter how hard we try not to… we are always taking from the earth to create something for our comfort. It’s nice to see the different beautiful ways the earths materials are utilized.
Really great videos documenting these process. I really appreciate you and these people putting in the time to openly share knowledge.
All the steps and materials really helped to make the end result so aesthetically appealing. Very nice job.
When I used to live in Indian village 12 years ago we used to mix cowdung with soil, water to create our huts floor.
Hitesh Rawat cowdung is a great binder commonly used for wattle and daub construction.
Bullshit
In Kenya we still do that in the villages:)
Interesting! Please look up Imigongo art from Rwanda!
now this is an actual natural solution. I might use the manure from the cows on our homestead over plastic, thank you for sharing your country's method :)
Awesome building skills and great video. I'd very strongly recommend remembering that it's just as important to let water out as it is to keep it out. Pitch your vapor barrier slightly so it doesn't puddle
Thanks for your great video, explanation. I have already laid down broken rock, a barrier and road base. This week we will do the mud, sand and straw. I feel more confident after your video, thanks.
i would appreciate your opinion on finishing with a liquid screed. that strikes me as the easiest way to get a level, smooth, water resistant finish.
How many times do I have to lick the floor to get enough tongue oil on it? I've been going at it all week and I'm not seeing results. 9:20
Keep at it friend, until you do. Perseverance is key. Send pics of you're tongue as you progress.
😂 😂 😝
So funny! Thanks.
Damn It.. Genius comment!
Gewgulkan Suhckitt hahahah. humor is always appropriate....thank you
I wonder if a waxed cotton could be used in place of the plastic sheet?
Clay is waterproof. If you have proper drainage you don't need plastic, you shouldn't be putting rocks under it either as all they do is trap humidity and damp in there and let it seep upwards. But there's a reason the continent of north and south America were living in the stone age whilst others were in the jet age.
@@bashkillszombies, no clay is waterproof. It is water absorbent when it is dry, and it expands when it gets wet.
@@bashkillszombies - clay is not waterproof, you absolute mong, lol!
Clay that is baked in a kiln and becomes a ceramic is waterproof...kinda, although it is still very porous. That's why glaze is painted all over it, to seal it! (glaze being basically powdered glass)
When's the last time YOU laid an earth floor?, huh?
Yeah...that's what I thought.
That is actually a really good idea, and would be a great substitute if you either couldn't get plastic sheeting or didn't want to use it - because natural :P
I like where your head is at! :D
If only subfloor drainage was added to drain out than one doesn’t need plastic but a geotechnical material can be used instead.
Great video with detailed explanations 👍🏾
Wow, this actually reminds me of my aunt's ooold house in India, with the earthen floor. Heck, it's been so long I'd damned near forgotten about it! Talk about jogging your memory!
i bought the book after watching this. thank you for sharing your knowledge, it has given me some more excitement towards my future building...can't wait until i get to this stage.. all the best to all!
I have no intention of ever doing an earth floor, but wow... This video was such a delight to watch.
What a stunning floor! I love everything about it- including the way you described it!
Girl! What an amazingly described way of making an earthen floor. You too it all the way down to the main layer and made it so easy to understand. High five! You rock!
Oh wow! How amazingly gorgeous and interesting? I want to install a clay floor now. Thank you for the inspiration!
What a beautiful and educating video! Thank you so much for the insight and inspiration.
Wow that's very beautiful it's so rich and fertile in the way that it feels when I watched you putting it together but especially when it was complete it was just nothing like anything I've ever seen before and really loved it thank you for sharing
That is gorgeous, anyone know how a clay floor like that would last in a more temperate and possibly humid environment?
I live in Tennessee and I’m almost positive that it could, if done right. The dirt here is very clay-ie, so in the summer it basically becomes a dirt floor, despite the humidity.
You would definitely need a permeable ground fabric ,not plastic ,underneath to allow vapor/ moisture transmission
And an epoxy sealer might not be a bad idea either!
Synthetic polymers (epoxy) don’t work well with earthen floors or plasters….I’ve more experience with plasters and the synthetic polymers trap moisture in the wall. Eventually a thin layer of plaster coated with the polymers would peel off the wall. Better to stick with natural dealers like the well tested (over centuries) linseed oil
Earth floor: the natural enemy of white socks lol
White socks are the enemy of white socks. Wear black socks. :ok_hand:
Civil engineer here : plastic is for evenly distributing the loads , similar mechanism is used for making ramps to flyover known as engineered soil
Earthen floors, haven for mold, wood destroying mildew, and natural enemy of all things electrical. Up here 8n New England, there are many an old home built on granite, but the humidity just rots the electrical panels to dust and rust. No thank you.
@@tailgunner2 obviously this isn't meant for England lol
And dirty feet 😉
What does a house look like that is mostly built without plastic? At least 99% of it. The little bit that has been used has positive benefits that offset any negatives. The walls are straw with clay plasters, the earth floor is a mix of clay soils, sand, straw and finished with linseed oil and wax. Most everything else could be considered recyclable and natural. Of course everything I’m saying here is on a “for the most part” basis. In other words, “mostly true.” Point is, this little cottage, finished by our son Benito and his wife Amy is truly a work of art and all the materials have been carefully sourced and beautifully integrated.
Amazing visuals, that cross section told me so much more!
There are many steps to layering for a beautiful finish. Wow I am impressed watching your practiced hands work. Thanks.
I think it is so important that this knowledge gets passed down. You never know when civilization will come to a halt due to an economic depression, war, or natural disaster, and wouldn't it be great if society knew how to take care of themselves. Oh, and this is really beautiful too.
In our community, we just use red clay soil and water. Gives the colour as well as the smooth finish. But it needs to be layered after months or years. Interesting that modern society is into primitive construction and here we are still primitive but organic. 🙂
@@SR-gs8zo Could you clarify your comment pretty please?. It seems you got a notorious point there, but your autocorrector kicked in and busted your message.
@@SR-gs8zo That put me off as well. I would sweep and harden the floor first and then apply a THIN layer of linseed oil, it cannot harden when they pour that much on it, of course the fresh earth soaks it up.
The oil makes it a little darker and maybe even easier to maintain.
I've walked on an earth floor only once in my life and my feet have missed it ever since.
@Craig X Ok Mr.Original thought.
Weirdo.
Why? What does it feel like?
@Craig X I'm 24 but okay lol
@@samuelasanderinos1521 It just feels so nice and soft yet firm, and cool, like a spa or something. It's also very grounding and calming.
Can we take a moment to appreciate this makes nice work with her trowel.. Well done ma'am
I may be ignorant here but this looks really flammable with the grass and the oil.
I had no idea this existed, but I'm glad I found it! How interesting!
Says: Natural Alternative
*uses plastic*
Natural plastic 😂
Could use recycled plastic for sure.
Hemp plastic?
Plastic is organic so there's an argument in favor of the video's logic somewhere
@@dallyh.2960 So is gasoline
THANK YOU!!! Very timely as I'm working on my floor in my place now. You are very right about the clay differences. Great video
Wow! Super liked it! What a way to live sustainably and spend less... Practicality in life is the only option to survive on this crazy world of inflation...
I have a dirt floor in my adobe home, and it’s wonderful, the hardest thing after it has been sealed, is to fix the chips and cracks. I usually makes Elmers glue in with the mud.
Very nicely explained and demonstrated thanks. My own home has cob walls on a rubblestone plinth and is about 300 years old and because the subsoil has a heavy clay content there were no deep foundations. I work mostly using lime putty mortars and plasters because they can last for many years and if you mix up too much you can put it back in the tub and use it on the next job because it only sets when it's exposed to the air.
The other benefits of using lime is that it absorbs co2 and a lime plastered room has better acoustic and feels warmer too. All the best on your next project.
@@SR-gs8zo look up the lime cycle. It wont absorb more than was driven off the calcium carbonate when it was fired, usually in a process that generates CO2.
Beautiful technique. I've never seen one done without manure in the mix before.
This is absolutely the BEST VIDEO about earthen floors that I have found....THANK YOU for such a thorough job explaining the process...your work is beautiful !!
Boy! A lotta, lotta work! Mighta taken it on when I was young- if I'd heard of it then! God bless you.
I have no idea why I'm watching this or what its about but I enjoyed all of it.
Gorgeous! I would absolutely love to have these truly organic and beautiful floors in a home.
40 years ago where i come from people could not buy concrete, or rebar, any construction method was beyond they could afford, so they made their house out of that but there was called "adobe" even now this little houses are still stand up...
fireblade639 my grandmother and my mom lived in an adobe house in mexico and till this day its still standing. We stay in it whenever we visit mexico!
But those need to be cooked no? It’s like making pottery, cook the product so it can last.
@@yeseniarobles4289 actually no... Just the mixture... The dry chopped straw makes an excellent tensioner inside the mixture... I really don't know the exact formulla but still on this time you can see this houses and if you hit with a rock it falls like compressed sand, not cracking like pottery, They use to say something like this "the hungry is the fuel to reach the sky" if your hunger is enough you can be the best of yourself....but who knows...
hmm ive only used adobe for photoshop and illustrator
Those are common on coastal, hot areas in my country. They're pretty nice.
Excellent team work and a true piece of ART
this video is the first iv'e seen from this channel and it just has such good vibes
Could the cracking because clay was too wet be used to decorative effect: Sand it flat and grout with pigmented mix for a crazed look?
I've seen floors like that! they're beautiful
Tried to do this, had no luck. I hope there is a way to do so, I'd try it again.
@@CocoaHerBeansness Any idea how they got this work? We tried and got lumps as we tried to get it to re-set. Would love to try it again!
@@3countylaugh sorry i don't know how its done. I saw it on a BBC architecture programme several years ago.
My uncle had a saying he liked to use:
Its not how good a carpenter you are, its how well you cover up your mistakes.
Seems fitting to this comment.
In 72 outside of Subic Bay in the Philippines. I saw them scrubbed and then the girls would tie half coconuts to their feet and scrub them. I thought they were concrete but they told me they were dirt and explained the oils of the coconut help to keep them like that and shine. Hard as rock to me and cool even in the heat. Don't try to eat Balut though.
Brought back some memories and taught me in detail how it was laid. Thank You.
A year ago I bought her book and I completely recomend it. I am amazed with the video and with the Nito Proyect. Thanks for sharing :D :D
I bet that little baby at the end was in heaven when he got to play with the clay
She I think!👍☮️🇦🇺
Perfection at it's peak!
Liked it very much .
Keep up the good natural work
Beautiful video. Love the description and the cross cut view of each layer. What are some natural alternatives to use for the vapor barrier other than plastic?
There are ground fabrics the are permeable and are code in some places! They let moisture through allowing the structure to breathe
As an architecture student I am so happy to see that people are understanding more about the old traditional methods and sticking to a eco-friendly materials rather than a newly found concrete ❤️
Concrete is 3000 years old and Inert.
Lots of single-use plastic buying hypocrites moaning about the use of a durable *long lasting* layer of vapor barrier here. Instead of thanking this amazing woman for sharing her valuable skills.
I really want to build a root cellar this year, I’m going to do an earthen floor. Thank you so much.
prett solid video , thanks very much ;) .
the way you shot it, really helps to being able to visualize the layers.
kudos
cheers from Portugal
Perfect explanation of how to do an earth floor. Good job 👍🏻
This is a great resource, them you so much!! It would be neat to see upcycled plastic (or no plastic at all) and local rock be used to make it truly sustainable/natural
Austin Harris and yes, you can use any plastic, even an old tarp. I am working often with building departments that do not know how to deal with reuse all that well. As for rock, most drain rock is local to your area, it’s not something that is shipped very far. And no vapor barrier is also possible, you will just need to dry out any dampness that can accumulate on the back of rugs.
Sukita Reay cool thank you so much for the info! 🙃
My grandma used to tell me how she would lay floors using pretty much the same materials but finishing it off with cow dung. This was in South Africa during the early 1920s. This method was used by both the indigenous black people, as well as (poor working class) folk of European descent. Back then, I think you had to be wealthy to afford homes constructed with “modern” building materials, so a lot of people used what was available around them.
Wayne Holmes a few years back I helped a group of Stanford students get going with modernizing the earthen floor tradition in Rwanda. Check them out, they are doing amazing work! EarthEnable
That was beautiful as people in countryside still use earthen material and straw and in last decade everything changed and due to temperate zone we have harsh winters and modern brick and marble homes make it difficult to reside, so great video 👍
Wow I had no idea these type of flooring existed. Thank you and very beautiful
cool stuff, crazy talk.
Best comment.
Minecraft let's play episode 1: Making a dirt house part 1: earthen floor
what mod is this?
>ultraCringe
One day I'll build an earthen home in a farm house for myself!!
All the appreciable efforts to make a great video got overlooked with the use of a single plastic film..
Beautiful work! And an inspiring video. Well done!
My house is old was build with mud wall and floor also earthen my mom 2 time s in week maintining the floor with cows wast in india we not use this type oil to finishing floor cow weast is best and healthy and this coat is best for flooring layer
Now aday we fix the tiles for floor but we miss this flooring.
.
I m civil engineer
I m planing to build new rcc building ,on my old house.
I will leave one hall for this type flooring...It's remember me my old childhoods day.when we poor i sleep on this floor
I don’t know how I got here, but this is amazing and now I want to play with making floor :D
Best earth floor video I’ve seen! Thanks for doing this!
Earthen floors have a special energy which connects us with natural vibrations...
Florida here, I just put dirt as floor. Maybe mix with dead moldy leaves. Works.
Thanks for the video! Would it be totally crazy to do an earthen floor on op of a wooden subfloor? If you did a good vapor barrier first?
My guess is that the wood is at risk of rotting or being less structurally sound from the weight and compacting. You probably want to take the wood out, also because this floor will add several inches thickness to the floor, which means lower ceilings
Can't tell if this is Real Life or Minecraft with extreme ray tracing turned on
I like Minecraft but I see too many jokes about it
? This is not mining, my son works as a miner....if anything this is earth floor crafting
This needs to be taught to every kid in every school start to finish graduation is build your own house.
Yes !
Awesome 👍
I think it should be more optional, I would have loved it but some kids do better than some with certain things and it wouldn't be all that great to force a bunch of kids to build a house if they are not interested to do not do good with carpentry it building in general. Another option would be the entire grade or class to work together to build a single house each offering their own abilities to better the house.
Thank you so much. The approach to educating and presenting concept is excellent for a “newbie”
Beautiful video. Nice to see things like this aren't left behind.
I was born during the depression in New Mexico and the first house I lived in had a dirt floor. 80 years ago.
Beautiful looking floor, curious how costly is it?
Not sure I will ever use it but thanks for the info
In an adobe house I saw earthen floors finished with a thick layer of cow manure and water slurry troweled on and polished. Very nice looking floor.
Good work...eco home is perfectly good...hats off from Kerala...