The orientation period for my new position at the hospital has ended and I am back to working 24 hours/wk and am finally able to get started on the plaster. I screened some of the clay in order to make clay slip and some more straw-clay (more holes to fill). I'm screening the clay for the straw-clay and the first coat of plaster through 1/4 inch hardware cloth. The clay will then be mixed with water, long straw and a bit of sand. This clay is pretty sandy as it is. I made a test mix and put up on the wall yesterday and will see how it looks when I get back there on Saturday. The number of cracks should tell me how much sand is needed. All clay is different in its composition and requires testing.
When I get to the finer finish plasters the clay will be put through a 1/8 inch screen and then for really fine stuff, a window screen.
For the slip, I took some of the leavings from the screening, soaked them in buckets of water then screened that mixture to remove the larger bits of rock. This will have no straw added and is applied to the walls to create a bridge between the straw and plaster. One of the best things I learned at the Canelo workshop was to let all of the mixtures to sit, at least overnight. The slip becomes "slippier" and the plasters and light straw get gooeyer and easier to work with. It a also takes on a very, shall we say, earthy, aroma!
Sam, installing the box for the ceiling fan.
Rick with his thinking cap on. The knee is about 85% at this point and he will be finished with directed physical therapy next week. From there it will be up to him.
Beautiful curve created by Victor who is doing the cement stucco. The plan is to stain this a rusty orange-red. I got an excellent deal on some cement stain at the Habistore (how I love that place). The original plan had been to use ferrous sulfate and we may still- have to test the stain colors to make sure the color is right.
The lot was graded this week so we no longer have to jump trenches and we were able to do a rough layout of the garage. The HVAC guys will come next week and get the ductwork up. Then the floor will be stained and it's on to drywall. On the outside, the slab for the garage is to be poured next Saturday and then the framing will go quickly. A large part of our lot will be swallowed up by the garage but it will provide us with some privacy to the east and create a nice winter patio area looking to the greenway.
Things will really move from this point!
(ed. to remove "shoulds"-our language creates our world)
