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Re: Kominka
Posted: Sun Sep 18, 2016 8:18 am
by BrettRas
The slaked lime is the hardening/binding agent. The nigari, as I understand it, helps to cause the water in the mixture to rise out of the earth as it is being pounded. Although there may be additional benefits to the binding? It seems like there might have been places that didn't use the nigari, perhaps areas where it was much harder to come by in the mountains up away from the sea?
Re: Kominka
Posted: Fri Sep 23, 2016 4:57 pm
by BrettRas
Re: Kominka
Posted: Fri Sep 23, 2016 6:34 pm
by Zasso Nouka
That looks well pukka man,
Do you moisten the soil after mixing but before tamping down or is it all done dry ? Do you have a special tool for the packing part ?
Re: Kominka
Posted: Sat Sep 24, 2016 8:52 am
by BrettRas
The nigari is liquid so that moistens it a bit, then I add just enough water to allow making a ball by squeezing tightly in hand. Then sprinkling a bit on top seems to be allowing for a better packed finish.
I quickly made some wooden tools for packing using pieces of lumber lying about. Basically just attach a handle to a block of wood and you're good to go.
Re: Kominka
Posted: Tue Dec 20, 2016 1:02 pm
by BrettRas
I realized I never posted a picture of the finished earth floor. It's not perfect, but not too bad for a first attempt, I think.
Here is a picture:
- IMG_2835.jpg (72.25 KiB) Viewed 2283 times
Re: Kominka
Posted: Tue Dec 20, 2016 6:10 pm
by gonbechan
That looks awesome, Brett.
I presume it is also one of those things that just gets even better with use and time as well.
I really enjoy your updates on the kominka and admire the respect you have for traditional building methods.
Re: Kominka
Posted: Wed Dec 21, 2016 6:23 am
by Zasso Nouka
Looks really good Brett,
It almost has a slightly glossy finish in the picture, is that the same in real life ?
Re: Kominka
Posted: Wed Dec 21, 2016 2:10 pm
by BrettRas
Thanks, it certainly is already changing with use and the short time since finishing. There are areas that are getting smoother as they see traffic/use, and I expect this will continue. I suppose those areas do almost look glossy at times depending on the light.
Re: Kominka
Posted: Thu Dec 22, 2016 6:37 am
by Zasso Nouka
That's the beauty of the old style handcrafted ways, they often improve with time and actually look better once they've had some use. It really is impressive to see how you have mastered and revived some of these old skills and techniques man and I imagine it is deeply satisfying knowing you have done all the work on your house yourself and have the skills to repair any problems that could occur in the future.
Re: Kominka
Posted: Tue Apr 25, 2017 1:43 pm
by BrettRas