Your first batch of clay definitely needed more water. Cracking is a sure sign that you needed more sand. It's too stiff in the video. Applying the clay (any plaster) to the wall should not take so much energy. You can buy white quartz sand that is a much finer grain. The sand you are using is for concrete. I suggest you locate a good straight edge (a piece of aluminum extrusion will do) that you can drag across the surface to knock off the high spots and show you the low spots so you need to fill in. You would be well served if you had a hawk to carry your plaster in your left hand. You do the final mix right on the hawk with your steel trowel. Finishing any plaster is a process of refinement. If it is stiffening up, spray it with water. It is also helpful to go over the raw wall with your straight edge followed by your steel trowel. The step will knock off any little chunks that may get mixed in with your plaster. The once over before starting will also identify very low areas that you will want to bring up to flat (fill or level up) or high spots that you will want to chip off before you start the top coat. Aging your clay (slaking) for an extended period (weeks to months) will make it more plastic and easier to apply. Applying a thin coats is the way to go. In Portugal, everyone uses a large square injection molded plastic float for leveling (when wet - same day) and the same plastic form with a sponge face for finishing (while still wet - same day). If you want it mirror smooth, you finish with your steel trowel. Sand finish or polished is a personal choice.

@My15KHouse

15 күн бұрын

thanks!

@stevejohnstonbaugh9171

15 күн бұрын

@@My15KHouse You bet! The last minutes of the video that showed the wall up close looked darn good for a first time out. I hope you find something in my comment useful. You are living a fulfilling life and I wish you the best of luck! :)

@ivansmith654

14 күн бұрын

@@My15KHouse What you doing in this video was done centuries before any of us were born dirt and clay did many things and it worked for centuries! You say you are in Portugal which is cool, and for those that don't know the walls i have seen look very European very old some of the walls may already have dirt and or clay the wall there are that old! And just so you know the Portuguese are some of Europe's best concrete masonry workers I did hear many did go Stateside for some the riches homes there! If you not sure what when it comes to working dirt and clay which a lot like put up concrete when it comes to using water go watch some Portuguese concrete masonry worker their are everywhere in Europe we must have let a few in Portugal and yes @stevejohnstonbaugh9171 is 100% correct your not using enough water but as I have said go ask the best the Portuguese yes even the sand looks wrong when we have better sand today you want fine sand more water it spread on the wall faster and easier! Your a young man learn the ropes I get it we all learn from our mistakes not by are success keep on trying! Peace to you!

@ivansmith654

14 күн бұрын

I agree with you Steve!

@stevejohnstonbaugh9171

14 күн бұрын

@@ivansmith654 Thank you for the kind words Ivan! I agree about the skills of the Portugese craftsmen. They make plaster and mortar look creamy :)

Your filming and editing skills have gone through the roof! Your best video yet, and I’ve been here since the beginning. Excellent idea to take that break and then make more time to travel a long way to see friends. Old friends always help you clear your head, so lucky you. Welcome back.

@kindle7191

14 күн бұрын

I agree with you! Video editing is hard and time consuming yet he is crushing it!

@2:24 looks like gingersnap cookie dough. Now I'm hungry. Doesn't everyone listen to mosquito podcasts while plastering?

🍿 another good one. Clay looks great. Ready for the next.

Oh, I love that clay wall. It looks so good. I see it as a canvas for a mural. :)

Never imagined that I'd learn so much from a vlog, while I virtually live in an area where clay/dung/mud is the norm as building materials. Also living just outside the areas prone to malaria...!? Eye opener. Great video👌🏼

excellent! i love breathable houses. you're doing great! so fun to follow this project. wish i could do a project like this.

I enjoy learning about building techniques. Your chill vibe keeps me watching. Cheers from Vancouver Island

Brilliant colour for feature wall! It'll no doubt fade but still beautiful.Reminds me of terracotta coloured powder the builder mixed into the cement for my floors of stable conversion. Enjoyed this, thankyou .

I don't know what your vision is of the finished product (assuming there is a finish line) but I am certainly enjoying watching the process unfold and I love that your videos are "homemade". I'll be watching as you go through this journey! Thanks for posting and sharing this part of your life with us screen pixels from thousands of kilometers away! See you in the next one!!

9:59 you're getting better each day

@My15KHouse

15 күн бұрын

thanks

Looks beautiful great job

@My15KHouse

15 күн бұрын

thanks

The clay plaster makes such a difference and although you will probably paint it, i love the colour as it is. Really enjoying your journey and looking forward to the next instalment ❤ from 🇮🇪

Clay wall and a lot of info about mosquitoes as a bonus😉

Another great progress video! The wall looks great! P.S. ..I Love Alie Wards Ologies podcast. Hadn't heard this one on mosquitos yet.

I rarely comment but I wanted to let you know that I'm letting all the ads play in full for all your videos because you are an awesome human being. Also your vids are getting better and better! Thank you for using your platform for good! ❤

@My15KHouse

15 күн бұрын

Thanks!...also feel free to skip through ads, I have no idea if it makes a difference but if it does I doubt its worth sitting though an ad you dont have to

I love the colour ❤❤❤ reminds me of the buildings in Marakesh.

I listened to that episode of Ologies too! Although I was on a 6 hour drive at the time.

The clay looks great, I even like the color.

Awesome job👌👌👌💯💯💯💯💯

This is a really interesting process, and the brown color reminds me of coffee shop decor! It'll be cool to see the walls painted as well 😊

Your shirt reminds me of steve from blues clues lol 😂 I'm very pleased with your results. Didnt need a hawk after all and nice mix of clay and sand 👍 if you do find there's any cracking there is a mesh sheet you can buy ive used in repairing plaster walls before. Appears pretty smooth, you didnt even use a 'screed' board! Muy bien, ciao! Edit: spelling, and I don't know Portuguese, only some Spanish, 😅

@My15KHouse

15 күн бұрын

lol, now I'm going to think that whenever I wear the shirt. I thought I could just smush the clay around to fill in any cracks but it hardened up pretty quickly, so thats good to know...but so far so good on cracking

Glad that you’re back working in your home ! ❤ keep it up … it’s getting better day by day 🇵🇹🇵🇹

Love the end result- keep going ❤

Love the colour of that clay . Laura Kampf is renovating a house using clay, you can add all sorts to it like crushed shells for different finishes.

@donnerpartyofone2723

16 күн бұрын

And each is working with an entirely different budget.

@NailahRoberts

15 күн бұрын

@@donnerpartyofone2723 I am fully aware of that

"Luckily, there is a very high clay content," said the guy who hasn't had to try to garden in it! Congrats on all of the learning and progress.

@susanlecuirot1573

16 күн бұрын

Yup! 😂

Love the natural clay plaster.Looks like it is hard to work? Keep it going!

@My15KHouse

15 күн бұрын

It was a little harder than the lime but once I got the mix better figured out it was easier

Great video. I really like the look of the clay plaster.

Cool music selections for your timelapses. .And i'm reminded and re-encouraged to have informative audio playing while i chore around the house! Really good job on that sad wall, looks neat again for the first time in long years. It shows that you enjoyed the process.

@My15KHouse

15 күн бұрын

you learn something and the job goes by faster, win-win! Thanks, very happy its not so sad anymore

Question: Do you have to paint over it? Albeit very rustic, its a beautiful, natural finish.

@My15KHouse

15 күн бұрын

Since its such a small room having white walls will make it feel bigger (at least I think) but I do also really like the look of it by itself so I will most likely do that in other rooms

I said it before, but I’ll say it again. I love your videos.

Il metodo che stai usando per ristrutturare è molto interessante.. looks good! Bravo 👏. Ciao 👋

Good job!!! Keep up the good attitude. Finer sand would work better. One issue with clay is that if wall gets moist the red clay will bleed through the paint but you can just repaint. Adding some hemp to your clay instead of the straw they used to use also works well.

I think the wall turned out amazing!

@My15KHouse

15 күн бұрын

thanks, me too

Another great and interesting video. By the way my initials are 'J. D.' as well for James Dennis. Go HOGS!

Thanks for your vid 😇💟💟💟 Love and bless your JR

Looks awesome

Sifting it thru a wire mesh would eliminate the pulling out of rocks with the hand before adding water

@My15KHouse

8 күн бұрын

Since it was just a few rocks I thought it would be easier just doing it by hand, that way I wouldnt have to try to crush up the chunks of clay into powder...it probably would have been better the other way though

Wow, looks fantastic! Well done.

@My15KHouse

15 күн бұрын

thanks!

This may be a bit random, but as I’m thinking about the purpose of this room it occurs to me that I don’t see any electrical outlets. In the US, electrical is usually done before finishing out walls. How will you wire these types of walls…conduit?

@My15KHouse

15 күн бұрын

it will just be external, thats how it is in the rest of the house and it actually doesnt look too bad...if that doesnt work out then I'll think of a plan b

Nice colour.

Beautiful

Loving the colour am learning so much about applications of clay !

I really like the color of your clay. It looks like leather.

@My15KHouse

15 күн бұрын

me too, im planning to keep it exposed in other rooms

@vivalaleta

15 күн бұрын

@@My15KHouse Good idea. I was hoping for at least an accent wall.

🥰👍

Look's fantastic!

@My15KHouse

15 күн бұрын

thanks!

Hello. Good to see you

Looks nice. I really like the color. Do you know if the same technique can be used for an outside wall? Here in Chile like in northern Portugal we get a lot I mean 200mm in one day last week of water. Once this has dried with this amount of water would it crack or dissolve, do you know? We are surrounded by clay soil so would be great if I could use it somehow. Thanks and see you next week.

@user-zc5cq4ow4d

16 күн бұрын

Для зовнішних стін мама зверху покривала извістковим розчином як краскою). Раз на рік або на два оновлювала. Але літня кухня була зроблена з саману- тобто глина пісок та солома. Мазалось чимось зверху не пам'ятаю, була мала а зара 65)

@jaymurtagh

16 күн бұрын

Yes clay can be used externally, it can be made more water resistant by adding linseed oil to it when completed.

@user-zc5cq4ow4d

16 күн бұрын

​@@jaymurtaghдякую не знала. А інше масло можна?

@melinda5777

16 күн бұрын

Watch Luke and Sarah's of grid life. The made a double pig house out of clay. Watch the episodes for that and you should not have a problem. It turned out awesome!! And they ended up painting it! You just have to see the process! Trying to help. There from Malta, but their home now is in Portugal!

@SarHje

16 күн бұрын

I would def add some straw to the more crucial parts like corners or holes or mix with lime

👏👏👏

really very nice, love your wall. good luck

@My15KHouse

15 күн бұрын

thanks

Back at it, how does it feels working on your dream home again, don’t you feel like you wish someone would finish it for you after taking that time for you away from it?

Wow, great job, i couldn't do that , nice to see your contents Hi from Canada

👍

I enjoyed it all the same.

❤

makes me want to build a house from mud n clay... what a cool thing... :D

That clay wall looks great. Did you say you were going to paint it? I like the clay colour. But it might not go with what you have in mind for a colour palette. Enjoying your videos and happy to see you are back!

@My15KHouse

15 күн бұрын

yeah, I really like the color too though so I will leave it unpainted in other rooms

Waryaa!!

Great and greater. Love the wall. Hot in Arkansas

This is really cool! Did you dig up the clay in your own yard?

@My15KHouse

8 күн бұрын

About half, and the rest was from a construction site a few houses down the street

Does this room have any window?

@My15KHouse

15 күн бұрын

No, just a weird little square in the wall into the kitchen

I don't claim to be an expert when it comes to renovation but should the roof not get some urgent attention? Apart from the holes everywhere the timbers look like they are ready to break and fall at any minute now. The workflow seems to be all backwards for me.

@My15KHouse

15 күн бұрын

the timbers are fine and the holes are just from gaps where the tiles arent sitting flush with each other (they also have a small space for air flow made into them), but its water tight so its a minimal concern until I get everything else done

👍💪😍😘

It will be interesting to see how it cures over time. Am I right in thinking you will whitewash it rather than paint?

@My15KHouse

15 күн бұрын

that is correct, but Iike the color so much I will leave it unpainted in other rooms

der ist zu feste der muss leichter gehen das er in die Poren geht das man ihn mit der Hand leicht an die Wand drückt

Will the wall be painted white?

@My15KHouse

14 күн бұрын

yes, but I like the color so when I do the kitchen i will leave it unpainted

Hello, welcome back why are you listening a podcast and doing a video I don’t understand.

Нам пічник перекладав піч та збивав стару штукатурку і робив нову. Так ось він казав що розчин не повинен падати а пртихеньку сповзати тоді це добре. А співвідношення залежить від глини. Буває "жирна" глина а буває не дуже))))

mit einem Schwamm glatt reiben der muss gut Feucht sein

@My15KHouse

15 күн бұрын

ja, das habe ich gemacht

Brilliant colour for feature wall! It'll no doubt fade but still beautiful.Reminds me of terracotta coloured powder the builder mixed into the cement for my floors of stable conversion. Enjoyed this, thankyou .