Yes, horse manure is routinely used in what's called the "scratch coat," or the
pre-plaster layer.
Horses are not ruminants, and they pass through finely ground fibre that makes
an ideal matrix for clay plaster, but it is a bit rough for finish work. So
most people use a "scratch coat" on top of the straw bales, then put a clay
coat suitable for painting on top of that.
The alternative to horse manure is very finely chopped hay, which is generally
done with a weed-eater in a 20 litre bucket. But horses don't consume gasoline
nor electricity.
Jan
> From: Chris Barker <ftog@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>
> My brother, who lives in Bulgaria, uses straw in his "horseshit plaster".
> This is an old technique for covering internal walls, using natural materials
> (:-)) and enabling fast and long-lasting work.
>
> Chris
>
> On 5 Dec 2012, at 17:58, Jan Steinman <Jan@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
>>> From: Chuck Norcutt <chucknorcutt@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>>>
>>> Very interesting. I've never heard of this [hay bale construction]
>>
>> I've worked on a half-dozen such buildings. They are quite common in
>> Permaculture circles.
>>
>> In our climate, straw bale is often combined with other natural building
>> techniques, such as cob (clay-straw matrix) or light clay infill (wood chips
>> or straw coated with a clay slurry). Typically, one would use straw bale for
>> the north wall for its insulation value, and cob on the south wall for
>> direct solar gain and thermal mass.
>>
>> Straw bale construction can yield R-36 walls -- about three times what you
>> get in stick-frame-fiberglass construction.
>
----------------
:::: My way of joking is to tell the truth. It's the funniest joke in the
world. -- George Bernard Shaw
:::: Jan Steinman, EcoReality Co-op ::::
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