Land Ark for Earthen Floors
Yes, that's right. Land Ark Wood Finishes aren't just for wood any more! It turns out that our Concentrated Finishing Oil and Liquid Wax End Sealer produce a beautiful and rugged surface on earth! As another even harder-topped option is to put a coat of our Pure Tung Oil over the coats of Concentrated Oil before putting on the Liquid Wax. We've had several leading natural builders use and test our finishes on their cob, plasters and earthen floors and with great results. One such green builder, Sukita Crimmel from Portland, Oregon has produced gorgeous floors with our stuff. Here's what she says about working with earth floors:
"Earthen floors are laid as a wet mix of clay rich soil, sand and fiber. After drying, these raw floors are sealed with many layers of linseed oils mixed with thinner and then finished with a wax or resin. The Concentrated Finishing Oil from Land Ark works great for me. It already has citrus thinner in it, which I absolutely prefer. I apply many layers, until the floor is full and then let it dry for about a week. I then use Land Ark Non-Staining End Sealer/Liquid Wax, applying with a buffer...beautiful! I have also been playing around with the pigmented oils; they color the basic brown floor nicely.” -Sukita Crimmel, From These Hands, LLC
Here are some numbers from Sukita to help you calculate how much oil and wax you'll need to do your job. It will be a lot, so be prepared!
- For 4 coats of Concentrated Finish Oil is a product of 0.0256 x total
square feet of earthen floor. (this is a very good number, based on a 1200sq.ft floor she just completed) - For 6 coats of Concentrated Finish Oil is a product of 0.035 x total square feet of earthen floor.
- For 1 coat of Liquid Wax End Sealer is a product of sq. ft of floor x .0029. That's applying with a woolie on a mop head, trying to be thin. Leave on and then buff it in a few days!
Photo courtesy of Sukita Crimmel
You probably won't ever have to re-oil your floor, but long term maintenance would include re-waxing as needed. Cleaning is a cinch with a diluted solution of Murphy's Oil Soap or a greener option, natural floor cleaner (says for wood, but can use here) by Ecover.
More from Sukita and From These Hands, LLC
From These Hands, LLC is a natural building company with the mission to offer design, contracting and consultation for earthen floors, plasters, walls and sculpture.
Earthen Floors have recently become our focus and with that we have done the work of finding all the best materials. Local is very important to us, as well as non toxic. After a few other attempts at different options for the oil we use to seal the floors, we have gone with Land Ark Natural Wood Finishes from Land Ark Northwest.
With the integration of earthen construction methods and materials with green building options, we are rekindling the trust and knowledge to build with the earth.
From These Hands, LLC - Sukita Crimmel: Owner, manager, general mud enthusiast and earthen floor specialist
503.957.6132 Phone
mudgirl@sukita.com Email
www.sukita.com
Expect more to come from Land Ark NW....
Download a flyer on Land Ark NW and Earthen Floors here.