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  • From: "Lawrence F. London, Jr." <venaurafarm@bellsouth.net>
  • To: permaculture <permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [permaculture] Simple earth floor?
  • Date: Sat, 24 Jul 2010 19:40:58 -0400

On 7/24/2010 5:47 PM, Cory Brennan wrote:
We are looking for a very simple way to do an earthen floor at Pine
Ridge for an outdoor kitchen/shade building we have. The soil is
very heavy clay (85%), with silt and not much else. We're looking for
the easiest and fastest way to do this with local materials (we have
access to gravel, some sand, milk, etc). We've researched a number of
approaches, such as 6" of gravel, topped with slurry mixture, sealed
with various items. And methods from Central America such as mixing
blood with soil. We'd like the floor to be stable, not get muddy if
it gets wet. The clay is generally pretty hard packed, but has
recently been tilled. Any suggestions?

The answer to your question is: pond fines from a rock quarry
these are not "screenings" which are used commercially
pond fines are a waste product (to some) and a blessing to the farmer
and in your case, earth floor mechanic..

If you add 4-12" of siltation pond fines (around 200 mesh) to your compacted clay base, wet it down and compact it (and repeat this several times) you'll have a well drained dry hard floor that will not get muddy; you have to cover the clay with enough fines to create a permeable base that will drain, stay compacted and resist deforming.

Tennis courts are made of this material and its used as a base for brick walks and patios, and paths. This material is usually free for the hauling.

I can post pix of a mix of this material with silt loam soil in my unpaved driveway. I was impressed with the way it never rutted out or became muddy and impassable throughout successive wet winters.

...:LL





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