#Plaster patch over adobe professional#

Successful stucco repair requires the skill and experience of a professional plasterer. Stucco is a material of deceptive simplicity: in most cases its repair should not be undertaken by a property owner unfamiliar with the art of plastering. The Preservation and Repair of Historic Stucco Most Endangered List of Historic Resources.Then, on the next level, shift the brick forms over 6” so that the l part of the T covers the gap of the level below.With your fingers or a trowel, merge the edges of the brick into the one below it for a better join.If the mud is sticking to the form, push down on the corners of the brick as you’re pulling the form up. After about 5-10 minutes of the mud setting up (when it’s firm, but not dry, to the touch), pull the forms upwards, off the brick.If your first layer is plumb and level, each subsequent layer should be too, as the form is positioned by the layer under it. We call them T bricks, and we used for our form a wooden, box-like form, 12”x12”, 6” tall. We solved this by attaching two extra pieces of wood, 6” tall, to the middle underside of 2 opposing sides of the brick form. The thing with pouring bricks in place is that, when you remove the forms, there is a space in between two bricks, where the forms used to be. We made much larger forms and set them up on the wall itself, pouring the bricks in place. The adobe bricks that we used for our home were a little different. Though it was fun and turned out real cool, we went on to use brick forms for the main house, as cob was a lot slower.

When we started building, on our first property, we made a small cob powerhouse, by way of an experiment with adobe. You may want to use some form of protection for your hands, whether gloves or taping your fingers, as the little rocks that are inevitably in your mud will start to painfully pit your fingertips. Usually though, by the time you have put a thin layer all the way around your walls, the place you begun should be hard enough to add a bit more. Adding straw to your mix can help with this, but you will still need to make each layer fairly thin. Adobe is heavy when wet and will only support a certain amount of weight before it begins to sag and ooge. Your house will seem more like it was grown than built. The advantage of this method is that the end result seems more natural and aesthetically pleasing, lending itself more to curves and curious shapes. You mix the mud as you would to make bricks, but instead of pouring it into forms, you just slap it onto the wall and mold it with your hands. When it’s ready, it will form a solid log when you pull one side of the tarp.Ĭob is basically formless adobe. Cookie dough consistency is what you’re aiming for.

Stamp again and repeat the process until there is no dry dirt left and the mud sticks together.

Sprinkle water over the dirt and pull one side of the tarp towards the other side, making the dirt roll up together.

Jump into the volcano (we started using old boots after the water started getting cold, and our feet were torn up by small rocks) and start stomping.

Scoop dry dirt from the sides into the pool of water until the pool is covered over and looks like a volcano.

Hollow out the center, and then almost fill it with water.

Pull the edges of the tarp towards the center, so that the dirt is left in a pile.

Mix the two together while it is still dry.

Put 27 shovels of dirt and 3 shovels of cement (9:1) onto the tarp.

Have buckets of water and a bag of cement handy.

Set up a canvas tarp on the ground (about 5’x5’).

We find it makes stronger bricks and doesn’t erode as fast in rain, giving us more breathing space before having to do a plaster. Instead, we add about 10% (20% in top and bottom layers) cement.

Plaster patch over adobe