Adobe Layer 2

After dealing with cracking in the first layer of the floor, I wanted to refine my sand/clay ratio, so I tried three more samples at 0.83:1, 1:1, and 1.25:1 rations.  Here are the results after 17 days of drying:

Sample 1

 #1 Obvious failure: too much clay caused it to shrink and crack.

Sample 2

#2 Not too bad, but still a few cracks.

Sample 3

#3 Almost no cracks. Is this the one? I thought I'd try a fourth mix with still more sand to see.

Sample 4

#4 Formed one week after sample three, this one had cracked pretty significantly after only 10 days. So the winning recipe is 1.25 parts sand to part clay.

Most of the first day was spend in the bathroom, sloping the floor to drain to the shower drain and getting a level surface near the toilet. There is still a 1/2” layer of lime plaster to go on top, but I wanted to be relatively precise so that layer can be relatively uniform in thickness. I also wanted to practice creating an attractive, sloped surface.

Here is the main room after day two. Things are moving along much faster with the 1 1/2” layer as compared to the 4” layer! Hopefully the dry-time will be less. Even though the house is closed up, my desiccant dehumidifier appears to be doing a great job of sucking out moisture and warming the room.