Thomson James - Earthen floors: a modern approach to an ancient practice

Praise for

Earthen Floors

At last! The mystery is removed from most wonderful floors in the world. First thing you do: go find an earthen floor, pull off your shoes and socks, have a little walkabout, and discover great surprise and tactile delight. Next thing you do: buy this book, learn everything you need, and go make one yourself. Thank you Sukita and James for making this ancient treasure accessible to all.

Bruce King, PE, Director, Ecological Building Network

Earthen floors have long been shrouded in mystery Natural building enthusiasts have known about them and lusted after them, but despite the vast amount of natural building information produced in the past two decades, a tested and true treatise on earthen floors has been missing. No longer! This book is full of information, hard-won lessons learned and the real heart and spirit of natural building. The authors successfully de-mystify the process of mixing, installing, finishing and maintaining an earthen floor in a way that will help novices and seasoned builders alike to produce floors that are the most beautiful, sensual and eco-friendly option available.

Chris Magwood, author, Making Better Buildings and More Straw Bale Building

With Earthen Floors: A Modern Approach to an Ancient Practice, Sukita and James have come up with the ideal mix of inspiration, experience, technique and instruction. This book will be of use and benefit to both experienced practitioners and those just dipping their toes into the subject of earthen floors for the first time. It is always a delight to find a well-written, clear and practical guide to natural building practice, and a special treat when fun and informative personal stories are interwoven with good graphics to bring the whole process to life. This book makes a great contribution to the field on every level.

David Eisenberg, Director, Development Center for Appropriate Technology

This is an excellent resource. Packed with expert first hand experience and knowledge, it is set to be the bible on earthen floors and fills a much needed gap in this wonderful area of natural building.

Adam Weismann and Katy Bryce, authors, Building with Cob and Using Natural FInishes

Earthen Floors fills a long-standing gap in the catalog of natural building publications in providing reliable and thorough instruction in earthen floor construction. With a style that is both comfortable and authoritative, this book offers the detailed instruction necessary for executing a quality earthen floor in a variety of different contexts. Crimmel and Thomson have drawn upon their extensive and direct experience in their craft and share valuable lessons learned with their readers. From the exploration of the historical roots of earthen floors to a look at the future of how we can improve upon this practice, Earthen Floors is the most comprehensive and thorough resource on earthen floor technology available today. Earthen Floors offers a gift to the natural building community that makes this technology more accessible to DIYers and professionals alike.

Jacob Deva Racusin, author, The Natural Building Companion, Co-Owner, New Frameworks Natural Building, LLC

This book is a welcome treasure, a long awaited and generous sharing of the detailed knowledge gained by the authors through years of testing and teaching and designing and installing earthen floors. In a thoughtfully presented text, we are now gifted with a compendium of information in one place, rather than the myriad conversations, tips, trials and experiments common in the last years of rediscovering and refining this valuable and timely technology. My clients and I will be indebted to Sukita and James for years to come.

Laura Bartels, Green Weaver Inc.

EARTHEN FLOORS

A MODERN APPROACH TO AN ANCIENT PRACTICE

Copyright 2014 by Sukita Reay Crimmel and James Thomson.

All rights reserved.

Cover design by Diane McIntosh.

Cover images: Top photo Miri Stebivka, middle and lower photos James Thomson

Back cover: Top photo Mike OBrien, Left: Miri Stebivka, Right: James Thomson

All interior illustrations by John Hutton.

Interior photos by Miri Stebivka, Mike OBrien,

James Thomson and Sukita Reay Crimmel, and others as listed.

New Society Publishers acknowledges the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canada Book Fund (CBF) for our publishing activities.

Paperback ISBN: 978-0-86571-763-3

eISBN: 978-1-55092-561-6

Inquiries regarding requests to reprint all or part of Earthen Floors should be addressed to New Society Publishers at the address below.

To order directly from the publishers, please call toll-free (North America)

1-800-567-6772, or order online at www.newsociety.com

Any other inquiries can be directed by mail to:

New Society Publishers

P.O. Box 189, Gabriola Island, BC V0R 1X0, Canada

(250) 247-9737

New Society Publishers mission is to publish books that contribute in fundamental ways to building an ecologically sustainable and just society, and to do so with the least possible impact on the environment, in a manner that models this vision. We are committed to doing this not just through education, but through action. The interior pages of our bound books are printed on Forest Stewardship Council-registered acid-free paper that is 100% post-consumer recycled (100% old growth forest-free), processed chlorine-free, and printed with vegetable-based, low-VOC inks, with covers produced using FSC-registered stock. New Society also works to reduce its carbon footprint, and purchases carbon offsets based on an annual audit to ensure a carbon neutral footprint. For further information, or to browse our full list of books and purchase securely, visit our website at: www.newsociety.com

Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication

Crimmel, Sukita Reay, author

Earthen floors : a modern approach to an ancient practice / Sukita Reay

Crimmel and James Thomson.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Issued in print and electronic formats.

ISBN 978-0-86571-763-3 (pbk.).--ISBN 978-1-55092-561-6 (ebook)

1. Flooring, Earth--Amateurs manuals. 2. Flooring, Earth--History.

I. Thomson, James, 1977-, author II. Title.

Dedicated to clay, sand and straw,

and their myriad combinations and creations