Use for old termite mounds?
dmiller
I remember reading about "ant bed floors" or something in the distant past -
we have a few cubic feet of termite mounds knocked over during slashing -
can they be used for anything? We are in a mudbrick house and the termite
mounds are like concrete (from clay soil) maybe they can be kept as a repair
kit?
thanks for reading, dm.
Janet Baraclough
from "dmiller" <dgtm...@bigpond.com> contains these words:
I read about an Australian couple who built their own cattle ranch,
which began with earth floors in the house (1940's)...very dusty. The
woman's joy knew no bounds when after a decade or so, they re-did the
floors with antbed. Istr they smashed antbed up small, and mixed it
with dry cement to make concrete. This made a smooth solid washable floor.
Janet
Peter Wibberley
"Janet Baraclough" <janet.a...@zzzetnet.co.uk> wrote in message
news:200107221...@zzzetnet.co.uk...
Termite mounds were used as flooring, basically just crushed and pounded
into the earth floor then watered and pounded until firm... or broken up and
left to soak and soften for repair kits... the lack of available water was a
deciding factor on how the ant beds were used.... the bath water was always
useful for keeping the earth floors dust free.... the use of hessian sacks
or jute as floor coverings was also common when these got unservicable they
were left in place and new mud was rammed over the top ...all added to the
overall strength and firmness
If Fran was around I'm sure she would have much more info than I could
supply ... but do a search for Bushskills or colonial settlers ...
HTH
Pete
Janet Baraclough
from "Peter Wibberley" <pe...@bigthingy.com> contains these words:
snip
the bath water was always
> useful for keeping the earth floors dust free.... the use of hessian sacks
> or jute as floor coverings was also common
Thanks Pete; I find that stuff very interesting. In my
grandparent's house, where baths were very rare indeed, we saved the
used wet tealeaves, and every morning these were scattered on the
oilcloth floor and pushed round with a broom to gather up the
enormous amount of daily dust and grot for removal...this went on
well into the 60's and the grandparents believed that tea had
antiseptic qualities. They used hessian sacks as fireside and bedside
rugs and door entry mats; in very poor families these were just laid
on the floor as they were, but in ours they were "hooked" with strips
cut from the family's worn out clothes.
Janet.
Fireraven9
traditional adobe or rammed earth houses. I have seen some really nice earth
flooring (looked almost like a stone surface) that was sealed with linseed oil
so there was no dust. I found a few links about earthen flooring, rammed earth
and adobe.
http://www.greenbuilder.com/sourcebook/EarthGuidelines.html - general info
http://solstice.crest.org/efficiency/strawbale-list-archive/9905/msg00449.html
- someones install story
http://csf.colorado.edu/essa/99/msg01569.html - they must have done something
wrong (no walking on a newly oiled floor)
http://solstice.crest.org/efficiency/strawbale-list-archive/9606/msg00392.html
- some how to info
http://solstice.crest.org/efficiency/strawbale-list-archive/9603/msg00036.html
- adobe/earth flooring
http://www.adobebuilder.com/ - magazine of adobe building - has Australian
slant on SRE (stabilized rammed earth) article in there also.
http://www.naturalbuilder.com/ - lists of workshops (US I thgink) and book
available
There is a good bit of this and a return to the natural flooring in some of the
new adobe houses. Earthen flooring can have some of the same problems that
concrete floors have. They are both really hard and can be hard on the feet of
those with arthritis. One of our neighbors has concrete flooring and while it
is great for solar gain (they have low fuel bills), it is hard to stand on.
When we build we want poured concreete (for solar) in the south part of the
house and wood in the part that wil not get solar gain anyway.
Fireraven9
Alas, 'tis now and always has been thus. To argue on Usenet
is to debate a thousand howling winds. M.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/GothicGardeners
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/GardeninginNewMexicoandColorado
Peter Wibberley
> They used hessian sacks as fireside and bedside
> rugs and door entry mats; in very poor families these were just laid
> on the floor as they were, but in ours they were "hooked" with strips
> cut from the family's worn out clothes.
Hiya Janet
I can remember hooking rugs ... it seemed to be the "in thing" for a while
when I was a kid ... the base was purchased but resembled the loose weave of
a hessian sack.... old wool was used and a sort of chrochet (sp) hook was
used to pull the short lengths through the base and through the loop of the
wool at the same time....(if my memory serves me).... We had a rug made from
clothes ..I never knew who'd made it but it would have been one of my
grandmothers.... they used to make tea cosies and hats too :-) (same
design) ... the only difference was the pom-poms... the tea cosy had em and
if you were lucky... your hat didn't :-)
Your use of the word "oilcloth" also reminded me of the old floor
covering... what is now vinyl and was once linoleum or lino..... was
originally oilcloth... and it was just about that ... a cloth type backing
with a thin covering of some sort of almost tar like substance .... though
non sticky... you could just see the pattern of the hessian style backing
through it ..thats how thin the covering was.... this was the covering over
a sandstone slab floor in my grandma's house the floor had worn uneven
depending on the amount of traffic it had in a particular area.
see ya
Pete
Janet Baraclough
> if you were lucky... your hat didn't :-)
I was always unlucky :-(
> Your use of the word "oilcloth" also reminded me of the old floor
> covering... what is now vinyl and was once linoleum or lino..... was
> originally oilcloth... and it was just about that ... a cloth type backing
> with a thin covering of some sort of almost tar like substance .... though
> non sticky... you could just see the pattern of the hessian style backing
> through it ..thats how thin the covering was....
yep, that's the thing. It was a big rectangle... a bit like oiled canvas
and I think it had been shiny once.
Linoleum is back, btw...trumpeted as a modern floor covering to
replace vinyl:-).
Janet
Fran Higham
> I read about an Australian couple who built their own cattle ranch,
Jeeze woman, didn't those Territorians teach you anything? What's with this
ranch business???? We have stations or farms not sodding ranches!
(Mind you some friends, who live in suburbia, have taken great steps to
preserve the very tacky and very '60s sign over their driveway which
declares that their little quarter acre block is 'The Ranch'. I hum the
theme from Bonanza every time I cross their boundary).
Fran
Fran Higham
> Termite mounds were used as flooring, basically just crushed and pounded
> into the earth floor then watered and pounded until firm...
> If Fran was around I'm sure she would have much more info than I could
> supply ... but do a search for Bushskills or colonial settlers ...
Sorry Pete, no more to say than what you've added. However, I do seem to
remember that the trick to making the floors super hard was to mix them with
blood when slaughtering a beast along with some linseed oil but can't recall
now whether that was using anthills or termite nests.....
I think that it was also antsnests that were used for the 'clay' on clay
tennis courts. Not much help at all in answering the original question -
probably very good for filling potholes in the drive way. Will think on't.
Fran
Reedbed
> Linoleum is back, btw...trumpeted as a modern floor covering to
> replace vinyl:-).
Hi Janet
The clue is in the name - real linoleum is actually produced from flax oil,
and can therefore be grown, unlike the oil-based vinyls, so it's relatively
eco-friendly.
Mark
lflo...@mindspring.com
wrote:
>The clue is in the name - real linoleum is actually produced from flax oil,
>and can therefore be grown, unlike the oil-based vinyls, so it's relatively
>eco-friendly.
I wonder if it could be made into thick square tiles, colored various
earthtones for a more durable floor covering, nontoxic. Or maybe
as backing for tiles (parquet) with bamboo veneer attached. Maybe also
industrial hemp could be added in the form of oil to be mixed with
flaxseed oil and hemp fiber (rope grade) for strength, much as
fiberglass fiber is added to concrete for reinforcement.
<>
L.F.London ICQ#27930345 lflo...@mindspring.com
www.ibiblio.org/ecolandtech lon...@ibiblio.org
Janet Baraclough
from "Reedbed" <ree...@gofree.indigo.ie> contains these words:
> Mark
See me, see ecofriendly...we've put it on the bathroom floor. It's
a sod to lay; J thought it would take us half an hour; we got to bed
at 4 in the morning.
But it's a great floor, strong, clean, warm under bare feet.
Janet
Janet Baraclough
from lflo...@mindspring.com contains these words:
> On Tue, 24 Jul 2001 19:22:15 GMT, "Reedbed" <ree...@gofree.indigo.ie>
> wrote:
> >The clue is in the name - real linoleum is actually produced from flax oil,
> >and can therefore be grown, unlike the oil-based vinyls, so it's relatively
> >eco-friendly.
> I wonder if it could be made into thick square tiles, colored various
> earthtones for a more durable floor covering, nontoxic.
It is...in the UK anyway. You can buy linoleum in square tiles
which have a polyester back and need to be glued; or sheets which
have a natural jute backing..that's what we chose as we wanted a
seamless floor in the bathroom. Both in a wide range of colours
including earth tones.To be seen at
http://www.ifloor.com/cats/Vinyl/Forbo_Flooring/Linoleum_Flooring/-7016.html
where there's also a bit about the materials used.
Janet.
Fran Higham
> I wonder if it could be made into thick square tiles, colored various
> earthtones for a more durable floor covering, nontoxic. Or maybe
> as backing for tiles (parquet) with bamboo veneer attached. Maybe also
> industrial hemp could be added in the form of oil to be mixed with
> flaxseed oil and hemp fiber (rope grade) for strength, much as
> fiberglass fiber is added to concrete for reinforcement.
I must admit that I can't see any advantage in anyone bothering to do that.
As far as I can see, one of the real advantages it had was that it wasn't
tiles (whether wood or vinyl). Tiles need adhesives (heavy on nasty
chemicals as they are the only ones that will stick in that situation), a
good surface and some skills to lay, linoleum could be laid across floor
boards on old sheets of paper.
Admitedly the art of laying the stuff (and our expectations about
appearance) have probably moved up a notch or two since our parents or
grandparents day but in reality any smooth sheet (ie non carpet) flooring
material is still easier to lay by DIYers than tiles.
In addition, linoleum was also very durable and needed sod all maintenance
(if one takes out the 'social history' side which demanded high shine floors
done by some domestic lacky).
Before anyone bothered to come up with vinyl flooring, linoleum WAS
extremely durable and very attractive. If the new stuff is anything like
the old, then it doesn't need more strength or appearance added. The old
stuff wore till there was only the flooring base on which it was laid
showing through wear holes. The pattern went right through the linoleum,
unlike vinyl where the pattern was only on a very thin surface layer.
Parquet needs far more maintenance than linoleum and although it looks
great, it requires some domestic lacky to look after it and once the
adhesives start giving way then it becomes dangerous as bits pop out.
Fran
lflo...@mindspring.com
wrote:
><lflo...@mindspring.com> wrote in message
>
>> I wonder if it could be made into thick square tiles, colored various
>> earthtones for a more durable floor covering, nontoxic. Or maybe
>> as backing for tiles (parquet) with bamboo veneer attached. Maybe also
>> industrial hemp could be added in the form of oil to be mixed with
>> flaxseed oil and hemp fiber (rope grade) for strength, much as
>> fiberglass fiber is added to concrete for reinforcement.
>
>I must admit that I can't see any advantage in anyone bothering to do that.
>As far as I can see, one of the real advantages it had was that it wasn't
>tiles (whether wood or vinyl). Tiles need adhesives (heavy on nasty
>chemicals as they are the only ones that will stick in that situation), a
Much vinyl tile squares come with self-adhesive and a peel-off backing
or if you prefer to use an adhesive, non-toxic ones are available
anywhere. I suggested the extra thick linoleum flooring, which would
have to exist in tile form only because it should last a great while;
could be laid on concrete or plywood subfloor.
With all the natural oils available nowadays and natural fibers too,
some R&D might be worthwhile to find alternatives to flaxseed oil or
materials that could be combined with it for added benefit
(performance and manufacturing).
<>
-------- watching/listening to PBS show on time & space while I type:
- talking about time travel research; space/time warp;
previous: quantum foam that gives rise to wormholes
(maybe a job for Pete there); using some sort of negative energy to
hold open meter-wide wormholes (I can hear Pete stirring ....)
humans could use for time travel.
- quantum tunelling (I think they have developed
electronic memory devices that use this principle - very efficient).
- interviewing Stephen Hawking
- description of the 2 slit experiment.
- bets on the existence of parallel universes
- quantum gravity, the holy grail of modern physics
<>
>good surface and some skills to lay, linoleum could be laid across floor
>boards on old sheets of paper.
>
>Admitedly the art of laying the stuff (and our expectations about
>appearance) have probably moved up a notch or two since our parents or
>grandparents day but in reality any smooth sheet (ie non carpet) flooring
>material is still easier to lay by DIYers than tiles.
>
>In addition, linoleum was also very durable and needed sod all maintenance
>(if one takes out the 'social history' side which demanded high shine floors
>done by some domestic lacky).
>
>Before anyone bothered to come up with vinyl flooring, linoleum WAS
>extremely durable and very attractive. If the new stuff is anything like
I'll look around to see if it is available at any of the local
building supply outlets
>the old, then it doesn't need more strength or appearance added. The old
>stuff wore till there was only the flooring base on which it was laid
>showing through wear holes. The pattern went right through the linoleum,
>unlike vinyl where the pattern was only on a very thin surface layer.
>Parquet needs far more maintenance than linoleum and although it looks
>great, it requires some domestic lacky to look after it and once the
>adhesives start giving way then it becomes dangerous as bits pop out.
>
>Fran
>
Fireraven9
>a sod to lay; J thought it would take us half an hour; we got to bed
>at 4 in the morning.
>But it's a great floor, strong, clean, warm under bare feet.
>
> Janet
>
Robin was thinking of that for the kitchen and bathroom. Much better on the
feet than tile or slate. Maybe we should have a pro do it if it is a real
headache.
Janet Baraclough
from firer...@aol.combtywlgdr (Fireraven9) contains these words:
> > See me, see ecofriendly...we've put it on the bathroom floor. It's
> >a sod to lay; J thought it would take us half an hour; we got to bed
> >at 4 in the morning.
> >But it's a great floor, strong, clean, warm under bare feet.
> >
> > Janet
> >
> Robin was thinking of that for the kitchen and bathroom. Much better on the
> feet than tile or slate. Maybe we should have a pro do it if it is a real
> headache.
The difficulty we had was that the room is tiny..less than 2 metres
by 2 metres... not a single corner is true square; and the linoleum
is heavy duty stuff, not very flexible. Because of the size of the
room we tended to be standing on what we were trying to adjust, while
marking the places to trim away and fit.We probably took it in and
out about 30 times :-( so we could do the actual cutting on a larger
floor. Might be a lot easier in a larger room :-) Friends have had it
in their kitchen/eating/living space for the last 20 years under very
heavy wear, and it's still in perfect condition. It's also completely
waterproof and not slippy when wet.
Janet.