How to Make Earth Plaster

Going green is always a good idea. With the effects of human activity taking their toll on our planet, many are reverting to the most eco-friendly materials available. The ease of making earth plaster has made it not only popular but beautiful as well.

Difficulty:

Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• 13% clay
• 8% silt
• 23% sand
• 56% chopped rice straw
• 1/4 bucket of horse manure
• Sifted soil
• 1 tbsp linseed oil
• 1 tbsp borax
• Water

Straw Bale Construction

1. Create a mixture of earth plaster from the ingredients listed.

2. Apply by the mixture by hand using a trough and a trowel, or blow it onto the walls using a air compressed powered machine. These machines are readily available for rental at most local home improvement stores.

3. Trowel on the earth plaster surface and smooth out until you've reached the consistency you desire.

4. Allow it to dry thoroughly.

5. Repair cracks in your earth plaster by slightly dampening the area and troweling the earth plaster back into place until the crack has been filled and is no longer visible.

Weather-Resistant Earth Plaster

1. Prepare the surface to be plastered by covering it with tar paper and chicken wire.

2. Mix the ingredients together in a 5 gallon bucket using a drill to mix. Add soil and water as needed to create a very thick earth plaster that resembles cookie dough.

3. Apply the mixture to the chicken wire, working it into the chicken wire thoroughly to create a strong bond.

4. Allow the earth plaster to dry thoroughly. Once dry, there will be no odor remaining in the earth plaster, even though it uses horse manure.

Tips & Warnings

• There are other recipes for earth plaster that use a higher percentage of chopped straw, but they are best applied by hand as a higher straw content tends to plug the machines used to spray plaster onto the walls.

• You can obtain horse manure from most riding stables.