[Strawbale] earthen floor sealer in Haiti (linseed oil)

[RT]

On Mon, 21 Mar 2011 06:16:21 -0400, Juliane Derry  
<julianederry at hotmail...> wrote:

> We use linseed oil for many things here in Norway, and unlike my  
> Canadian "weather-brother", I would recommend
> using linseed oil, as I have seen beautiful results!
>
> Juliane Derry
> Oslo, Norway


Just to clarify so that my newly-found sister (the daughter my Mom never  
had (five sons. Eh ?)) doesn't get the wrong impression ...

I like linseed oil (immensely) as a sealer for wood. Many (many) moons  
ago, as a cabinetmaker years, I was pretty much weaned on linseed  
oil/turps/beeswax finishes when making softwood pieces (not so much for  
hardwood pieces).

My concerns were about using it in an interior building application, in  
large volumes, on a floor surface, in a tropical island locale ...  
conditions that may not be amenable for proper drying (ie for  
polymerisation to take place) -- shade, poor air circulation, high  
humidity.

With furniture or framing timbers, applying in thin enough layers and  
wiping it dry between coats to facilitate proper drying is quite do-able.  
When applied to an earthen floor in a situation where there is some  
urgency to get a building completed so that hurricane victims may be  
housed ? Mmmm...

And in my mind's eye, I don't see a whole lot of acreage in Haiti with  
fields of golden flax waving in the breeze... but I do see mental images  
of sheltered lagoons where boatloads of seaweed are lapping at the shore.   
(But I'm not going to make a trip to Haiti to find out which mental image  
is accurate. It'd take *forever* to pedal down there and back).

-- 
=== * ===
Rob Tom
Kanata, Ontario, Canada
< A r c h i L o g i c  at  Y a h o o  dot  c a >
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