![]() ![]() ![]() Note that if it sits too long, it will start to ferment (hence the sour smell), which is actually customary in some plastering traditions. Keep it covered in buckets or other appropriate containers. The plaster can be prepped and fully mixed in advance of the time when it will be used. This plaster coat should be quite straw-rich, between 1-2 parts per mix - it will greatly enhance the strength of the mix. Longer lengths of up to 3-4″ are okay to worth with, though 2″ max is much nicer, especially for thinner coats. The straw can be made with a variety of methods (here’s one simple way to make chopped straw), and in my experience it doesn’t necessarily need to be screened. (Or if you’re blessed to have a dry pile of clay, even better! Dry clay is much cleaner to work with.) Keep it extra wet and that step will go more quickly. The clay should be screened through an 1/4″ hardware cloth to remove large particles. You’ll end up needing a fair amount of clay plaster, so my preference is to keep the processing time down whenever possible. 1-2 parts Chopped straw (ideally 1-2″ in length).1 part sand (with particles no bigger than 1/4″).1 part clay (screened through 1/4″ hardware cloth).(Note: this recipe works just as well on straw bale walls too.) It’s rich in clay, so it’s easy to use and manipulate. This is my preferred base coat clay plaster recipe for the purposes of plastering a light clay straw wall. This scratch coat process is simple and quite strong with the addition of a not-so natural building material, but we’ll get to that in a minute, ya?Ī bucket of mud… clay plaster for base coat. This is just one possible route of action. Let me specify here that, just like anything, there are many ways to go about this business of plastering and finishing your walls. (Or your finish coat, if you’re only doing two coats.) When all is said and done, you should have a relatively flat surface ready to receive your second coat, or evening coat of plaster. This is your opportunity to start to fix any unevenness or undulations in your wall plane. (I’m referring to either a light clay straw or straw bale wall for the purposes of this how-to.) The primary purpose of the base coat is to begin to correct the wall and create a strong base. The base coat is your thickest layer of plaster, the first true plaster layer to go up on the wall. Next I’ll describe how to make and apply a base coat (or scratch coat) clay plaster. Then I discussed how to prepare for plaster by making and installing wood trim, and coating the walls with a simple clay slip. First there was mixing the light clay straw itself and stuffing it into wall cavities. In my recent series of posts, I’ve described the process for building and finishing a light clay straw wall. A student floats a creamy layer of clay plaster during one of our workshops ![]()
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