This is the second of a two-part article on creating a poured adobe or earth floor. See Earth Floor, TLS#52, for the first article describing how to prepare for and install a poured adobe floor.

By Tom Lander – New Mexico, USA

Now, weeks later after your floor is 100 percent dry, it’s time to seal and fill the floor with Linseed oil. Here in the South West our floors can dry in a matter of a few weeks but in humid climates error on the safe side.

Materials:

Linseed oil. We prefer raw linseed oil, less petroleum additives then the common boiled linseed oil but the boiled works if you are not concerned about petroleum out gassing. Even raw linseed oil has carcinogenic warning labels. Ask for an MSDS sheet. Linseed oil is made from flax seed.

Citrus Solvent (thinner) or mineral spirits, again petroleum out gassing

We are still learning how to estimate coverage and quantity so I’m not sure how much material is needed for your size floor. Maybe buy 2 gallons each for starters; you can buy linseed oil in 5-gallon lots.

Equipment:

4” paintbrushes, natural bristle is always best but pricey

Electric hot plate or gas camp stove

Large pot or kettle

Approved vapor mask

Safety glasses or goggles

Fan for air circulation/expelling fumes if you feel this is necessary

Rags,

Gloves

Prep floor:

Sweep or vacuum any loose debris and dust. You might want to do a light mopping or sponging. Give yourself time for the moisture to dry before applying the oil.

Procedure:

Heat the linseed oil to almost boiling (do not boil). We are just trying to heat the oil to aide in soaking, absorbing in. This must be done outside with caution, flammable. Another option is to pour the oil into a large deep baking pan, cover with a piece of glass and let it sit out in the sun. Leave an air gap. With either method start with a small batch to get the hang of heating and applying.

Transfer the oil into a suitable container. You can paint the material on or if you are quick, you can pour some onto the floor and swoosh it around with the brush. The only risk here is that you will not get an even distribution of material. Try it. Be consistent and watch how the floor is absorbing. If more than one person is applying, then you might get varying results but by the time you are done it shouldn’t matter. Use up your first small amount then decide how much more (a large batch) to heat for your next go at it. For reference keep track of how much material you use for each coat and offer this info to others.

The floor will soak up this first coat and there should not be any pooling of the oil on the surface. Plan your route of attack so you end up working yourself out the door, window or hallway. You should be able to go back to the start and do a second full strength coat right a way. Remember your shoes will be picking up dirt and dust from the outside so take steps to minimize this. There are disposable booties one can buy to cover their shoes.

What we are trying to do is seal the floor but think of it more like filling the floor. Filling all the little air voids between the sand and clay particles with oil.

The floor will dictate the timing and how much material. Watch how the material soaks in. You might be able to continue with more heated, thinned coats the same day, unless you are tired or sick from the fumes and not wearing a vapor mask.

Diluting:

The first two coats can be applied full strength. For the third and fourth coat combine 75% oil with 25% thinner, heat and apply. Watch the absorption, watch for pooling or puddling but also give the material some time to soak in; you just don’t want it to dry on the surface. Have a rag and thinner handy to wipe up any excess otherwise the material dries on the floor and becomes sticky. If this happens then it’s quite a job to use thinner and rags to clean the floor. Apply at least two coats of this first diluted mix.

Next is a 50% to 50% heated mix. Hopefully by now you have learned if pouring and brushing works for you (certainly faster) or just brushing or maybe it’s time now to just brush. Isn’t this fun learning as you go? Like all earthen materials, they tell you when and what to do, what’s the word? Experience.

Remember, oily rags and brushes are flammable so hang out to dry and do not leave a pile of rags unless it’s in the middle of a gravel driveway and you want to have some fun.

www.bioshieldpaint.com

Sunny Side http://www.gillroys.com

by Rene Dalmeijer – The Netherlands

In June 2003, Jasper van der Linden, a building engineering student at the Eindhoven Technical University, Eindhoven, The Netherlands, tested the sound isolation of an earth-plastered straw-bale wall. Rob Kaptein of RAMStrobouw and I assisted in carrying out the test. The test was executed in a true acoustic test chamber according to ISO 140-3. We were able to execute a consistent test giving a good indication of how well a plastered straw-bale wall retards sound.

Based on the outcome of the test, it is to be expected that a reasonably well-designed and built straw-bale wall without acoustic defects (like protruding post-and-beam members) will perform in the region of 53dB and upwards (55dB with A weighting; “A-weighting” means the impedance is corrected to approximate human hearing sensitivity, which varies depending on frequency). The 2dBA increase in performance when compared to the test is mainly because we used very thin (worst case) plaster thickness in the test sample. Normally earth plaster finishes would be thicker. This puts the performance of a straw-bale wall at more or less the same level as a decoupled brick cavity wall and even exceeding it in the critical low-frequency region.

Most everyone who has been in a straw-bale building has had the sensation that interior sounds somehow seem louder, because interior sounds become more distinct for not being drowned out by background noise coming from the outside. This is a clear indication that straw-bale walls work very well as an acoustic insulator. Normally built structures depend on high mass for good sound insulation. But there is also another way of achieving good sound insulation, which depends on a damped cavity surrounded by two not-sostiff membranes with sufficient mass. A straw-bale wall, specifically with earth/clay plasters, is an excellent example of this alternative way of achieving good sound insulation, as the test result clearly illustrates.

The Test

The test was executed in the acoustic lab of the Eindhoven Technical University. The test and test facility is according to ISO 140-3 which is to test the sound isolation of building aperture of two acoustically separated chambers (the test sample is placed in an aperture between the chambers). Although I am aware of the limitations of the test facility for testing a wall system, we have endeavored to make this test as accurate and as representative as possible. The aperture’s size (ISO 140-3 std) is 1.88m² /20 ft². The tested straw-bale wall section had the following configuration:

• Two-string (460mm wide building quality bales laid flat density 120-130kg/m³)
• Earth/clay straw plaster 25mm and 35mm (intentionally asymmetrical cover)
• No reinforcing plaster netting or mesh or any form of pinning

The chosen sample structure was to be as representative as possible of a normal earth/clay plastered straw-bale wall structure as used by the experienced straw-bale builder Rob Kaptein of RAMstrobouw. Rob was also responsible for manufacturing the test sample. The graph and table summarize the test result.

[Rene’s comment on the measured performance: The result can be expressed as 53dB according to A-weighting. Actually expressing the sound isolation value in one number (i.e., 53BA) is a simplification. In actual fact, giving the performance at each of the various frequencies is much more meaningful.]

Generally this is done at either one octave intervals (1/1oct) or at one-third octave intervals (1/3 oct), the last giving even more detailed information.The graph and table show both measurements (not A-weighted). The dip at around 250Hz is due to the transition between the masws and damped cavity odes of operation of the test sample and should be largely disregarded as part of the vagaries of a test.

The 53dBA test result might seem low but in fact is very good. Most conventional wall systems including a brick cavity wall with much higher mass have a lower performance. Specifically interesting to note is the 2-3dB better performance at very low frequencies of the straw-bale test sample when compared to brick-wall systems. Nearly all wall systems, including stick frame, are able to sufficiently subdue high-and mid-frequency sound, but low-frequency sound is problematic. In practice, better performance at low frequencies is worthwhile because it means that the ever-present background noise in suburban areas is perceptibly reduced.

Recipe for Straw-bale Wall Acoustic Isulation

Besides sheer mass, low stiffness with sufficient mass and acoustic decoupling are very imortant for acoustic sound insulation. The relatively low stiffness of a straw-bale wall with earthen plasters is ideal. The fact that the cavity between the two plaster shells is filled with straw provides excellent acoustic damping. Beware and be careful to fill all cavities and voids with very light straw/clay. Avoid any direct mechanical contacts between the inner and outer plaster shells, as these will seriously degrade sound damping performance. Contrary to what you would expect, loosely packed bales will perform better than very tightly packed bales. Extra thick (>35mm) earth plaster specifically improves low-frequency performance. Cement and lime plasters perform almost as well but earth plaster with lots of straw is the best due to a lower modulas of elasticity (stiffness). Applying significantly asymmetrical plaster thicknesses helps to avoid coincident reverberation of the inner and outer plaster layers. The thicker plaster layer should be on the sound source side of the wall. Pay a lot of attention to all openings and edge details; these are the weak points. An air leak of only one sq. mm will seriously degrade performance. Door openings and windows are literally acoustic holes in the wall; these need special detailing and attention to even remotely approach the acoustical (and thermal) performance of the surrounding walls. Even double doors generally show poor performance compared to the wall. The gaskets and seals in the doors should be double or even triple, but even then there is a problem as, over time, the seals will degrade and leaks will occur. The type of door you are aiming for is more like a steel watertight door in a ship than a house door with multiple closing bolts and tightening clamps. (All of this only if acoustical performance is essential.)

In conclusion, I would like to emphasize that, due to the nature of a straw-bale wall (an excellent sound barrier), the wall is not the problem; the connections between the

wall and all other elements incorporated or surrounding it are. In other words, it is the same issue as with thermal and moisture performance. I strongly suspect that most sound isolation tests executed on straw-bale walls are measuring the defects of other structural components or mistakes in the test procedure (a non-calibrated sound source, background noise, and such).

Room Acoustics

Here are some simple rules of thumb depending on the type of acoustics you want, e.g., very lively to very well damped. Soft acoustic instruments require a “live” (reflective) room. Loud amplified sound needs a “dead” (absorbtive) room. The single most important parameter is the reverberation time and level. The harder the surfaces, the livelier the sound. A bathroom is lively, hence your strive to sing even if you can’t. The opposite is standing on top of a snow-bound hillock [small hill or mound] – virtually no sound reflects back to your view. The bigger and harder the room, the longer the reverberation time, e.g., a cathedral. Next the relative dimensions: an oblong box (like Concertgebouw Amsterdam) approaches the ideal. Preferably the relative dimensions are approximately 2 to 3 to 5; this ratio will avoid the formation of dominant harmonic resonance and standing waves. The exact ratios needed for a given acoustical requirement depend on the size and acoustic reflectivity. I personally prefer rooms without parallel surfaces, thus avoiding standing waves. I think if you finish a room with earth/clay plaster on straw-bale walls, with wooden flooring and a well-pitched ceiling, you will have quite acceptable acoustics for musical performances. If it’s too lively, you can always add some damping afterward by placing soft furnishings in the room or hanging curtains on the windows. A bigger audience also helps.

Good acoustic isolation is definitely one of good merits of straw-bale walls. It should be seriously considered for purposes where sound isolation is of importance. It would be hard to find a more affordable solution to building sound studios, quiet houses in noisy neighborhoods, or noisy workshops in residential surroundings.

<Rene.dalmeijer@hetnet.nl>

Rene Dalmeier has been interested in straw-bale building since 1998. In June 2005, he finally took the plunge and turned his hobby into a profession by becoming a full-time straw-bale builder.

A whisper = 15 dB … Normal conversation = 60 dB. dB: Abbreviation for decibel(s). One tenth of the common logarithm of the ratio of relative powers, equal to 0.1 B (bel).