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<br>Hello!<br>Just wanted to make sure you are aware of the difference between linseed oil, and flaxseed oil. <br>Flaxseed oil is edible, while oil marked linseed oil is usually not food grade. Also, there is a difference between<br>raw linseed oil and boiled linseed oil. "Boiled linseed oil" is no longer actually boiled, but has added<br>chemicals/dryers which make it dry quicker, and if reapplied and buffed, form somewhat of a film finish. <br>If
you don't want to use thinners which emit VOCs, then don't thin your
oil. If you apply thin layers it will soak up and dry....eventually. <br>Also,
about the oil being food for critters; it polymerizes and at that time
it is no longer wanted as food...especially not when <br>its bound to an earthen floor :)<br>When it comes to the linseed oil staying tacky without exposure to warmth or sunshine: it is true that the <br>temp matters, it needs to be room temp. But, you also have to make sure that you wipe off excess oil, <br>or pooling. If you soak a surface, come back after an hour and rub the excess off. Then, the next day, if you rub<br>with a more abrasive cloth, it should not have that problem. I'm guessing you could do this with a buffer pad/floor shiner<br>on the large floor surface. <br>We use linseed oil for many things here in Norway, and unlike my Canadian "weather-brother", I would recommend<br>using linseed oil, as I have seen beautiful results!<br><br>Juliane Derry<br>Furniture Restorer and Conservator<br>Oslo, Norway<br><br><br>> To: gsbn@greenbuilder...<br>> Date: Sun, 20 Mar 2011 12:58:34 -0400<br>> From: ArchiLogic@yahoo.ca<br>> CC: sb-r-us@yahoogroups...; strawbale@amper....muni.cz<br>> Subject: Re: [Strawbale] earthen floor sealer in Haiti ( GSBN Digest, Vol 35, Issue 15)<br>> <br>> On Fri, 18 Mar 2011 13:00:03 -0400, <gsbn-request@greenbuilder...> wrote:<br>> > From: Bruce King<br>> [snipped]<br>> > If you're going to use multiple coats of (linseed) oil on the floor, <br>> > don't you<br>> > want the FIRST coat to be thinned, and therefore penetrate better, and<br>> > then progressively thin subsequent coats less and less?<br>> ><br>> > Also: am I the only one who is uncomfortable about the idea of using<br>> > edible oils (i.e., food) in construction? My discomfort is partly<br>> > because that oil is food to all sorts of critters, but also because<br>> > one way or another you are, by using it, sort of removing it from a<br>> > hungry person's mouth.<br>> ><br>> > Bruce "Big Mouth" King<br>> <br>> (For full text of this message and its thread, see:<br>> http://greenbuilder.com/pipermail/gsbn/2011q1/001360.html )<br>> <br>> Well Mouthy, I too am uncomfortable, but that discomfort is more about <br>> using linseed oil for an interior application and an even greater <br>> discomfort about using VOC-emitting solvent thinners (up to 75%/unit <br>> volume)to partially saturate a large volume of material inside of the <br>> house interior ... than I am about you and the EBN Haiti-gang competing <br>> for the tablespoon of ground flax seed I put into my oatmeal most mornings.<br>> <br>> My experience with linseed oil as a "sealer" is limited to its use with <br>> wood but since we're talking about the polymerisation of linseed oil, that <br>> polymerisation process shouldn't be any different when the oil is applied <br>> to earthen mixes, timbers or swine.<br>> <br>> That being said, I would be very hesitant to use linseed oil (if the <br>> intent is for the oil to change from liquid state to a dry, semi-solid <br>> state) if the material to which it is applied cannot be exposed to full <br>> summer sun (ie good long stretches of heat ) and abundant breezes (ie good <br>> air circulation ) until the polymerisation process has been fully carried <br>> out (ie typically a summer day here in MooseLand, where it is only in <br>> summer where there are a good 6-8 hrs of hot-enough sun in a day).<br>> <br>> I've found that without those conditions at the time of application, the <br>> linseed does not dry/harden properly and never does -- remaining tacky <br>> forever (ie a crud magnet, that crud eventually becoming fodder for black <br>> mould) and bleeding into/onto anything that comes into contact with the <br>> oil-treated material.<br>> <br>> OTOH, when the oil is subjected to sufficient heat/air circulation, the <br>> oil dries and hardens to yield something that is not unlike a polyurethane <br>> finish. I like to use linseed oil for pre-treating timbers (after all the <br>> joinery/surfacing is done) outdoors before they are installed and for <br>> wooden garden tool<br>> handles.<br>> <br>> My guess is that with enough Googling, one could dig up a scholarly <br>> document that talks about the precise temperatures, exposure times and <br>> amounts of oxygen required for desired oxidation/polymerisation <br>> rates/levels of linseed oil but "one" is not going to be me.<br>> <br>> <br>> I don't know nuttin' about nuttin' about making earthen floors (I rely <br>> upon Beel Steen for expertise in that) but I couldn't help but wonder if <br>> agar-agar would be a viable alternative to linseed oil and animal blood as <br>> an earthen floor stabiliser/sealer in Haiti where I'm guessing that <br>> seaweed might be an abundant natural resource that is easily harvested ?<br>> <br>> <br>> -- <br>> === * ===<br>> Rob Tom<br>> Kanata, Ontario, Canada<br>> < A r c h i L o g i c at Y a h o o dot c a ><br>> manually winnow the chaff from my edress if you hit "reply"<br>> ____________________________________________________<br>> European strawbale building discussion list<br>> <br>> Send all messages to:<br>> Strawbale@amper....muni.cz<br>> <br>> Archives, subscription options, etc:<br>> http://amper.ped.muni.cz/mailman/listinfo/strawbale<br>> ____________________________________________________<br>> <br>> <br> </body>
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