An earthen floor, also called an

adobe Adobe ( ; ) is a building material made from earth and organic materials. is Spanish for ''mudbrick''. In some English-speaking regions of Spanish heritage, such as the Southwestern United States, the term is used to refer to any kind of e ...

floor, is a floor made of dirt, raw earth, or other unworked ground materials. It is usually constructed, in modern times, with a mixture of sand, finely chopped

straw Straw is an agricultural byproduct consisting of the dry stalks of cereal plants after the grain and chaff have been removed. It makes up about half of the yield of cereal crops such as barley, oats, rice, rye and wheat. It has a number ...

and clay, mixed to a thickened consistency and spread with a trowel on a sub-surface such as concrete. Once dry, it is then usually saturated with several treatments of a drying oil.

Benefits

* Variety of colors, textures, and materials * Can be installed over nearly any subflooring * Integrates well with in-floor radiant heat tubing * One of the cheapest flooring methods, green or otherwise

History

Earthen floors were predominant in most houses until the mid 14th century in Europe, and persist to this day in many parts of the world. Gies, Frances & Gies, Joseph, Life in a Medieval Village In medieval times, almost all peasant housing had earthen floors, usually of hardpacked dirt topped off with a thin layer of straw for warmth and comfort. In China, most cottages and smaller houses also had earthen floors, made of rammed earth and sealed with raw linseed.Mitsu,Ahn , Developments in History: China Earthen floors were used in ancient Greece, and in many other countries in ancient times. Earthen floors, along with stone and sometimes wood, were used as

threshing floor Threshing (thrashing) was originally "to tramp or stamp heavily with the feet" and was later applied to the act of separating out grain by the feet of people or oxen and still later with the use of a flail. A threshing floor is of two main type ...

Construction

In modern times, most earthen floors are often laid over the top of a subfloor of tamped gravel or cob or adobe, and then a mixture of clay, sand and fiber are mixed and leveled onto the subfloor. The finished layer can be 1/2 to 2 inches thick, and once dry is sealed with a drying oil (like

linseed oil Linseed oil, also known as flaxseed oil or flax oil (in its edible form), is a colourless to yellowish oil obtained from the dried, ripened seeds of the flax plant (''Linum usitatissimum''). The oil is obtained by pressing, sometimes followed by ...

). Earthen floors can be laid over the top of previously installed wood floors but weight can become an issue.

Finishing

A drying oil like linseed oil is usually used to seal the floor and protect it from wear and tear. A final coat of a wax sealing finish ( perilla oil or floor wax) can be used to increase durability and lustre.

References

External links

Earthen Floors: (6 parts sand, 2 parts clay, 1 part finely chopped straw)
– description of installation process
Earthen Floors: (5 in road base + 1 in (70% sand, 30% clay and 10% straw))
'' The New York Times''
LanderLand - Earthen Floors
{{DEFAULTSORT:Earthen Floor Floors Soil-based building materials