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Know Your Green Home Technologies is a Planet Green Series that helps you get to know some of the most popular and cutting edge green technologies out there, so you can make informed eco decisions when it's time to update, remodel or build with green in mind.
Earthen floors aren't just for swineherds anymore! They are for you and me. Dirt is the easiest thing to put below a house, because that's what the ground is made of. And that is why it is one of the greenest materials to build a floor out of.
Earthen floors aren't the plain dirt floors from Little House on the Prairie. Regular, household dirt is turned into a stable standing-and-walking-around surface. The dirt that the floor is made out of is treated with oils, mixed with straw and compacted to make a spongy, supple floor that feels like the skin of a well-stuffed bean-bag chair.
You'd think a floor like this would be dusty or dirty, but it is not. It's specially treated to resist dust, and it is cleaned just like any other floor. You can sweep it or even use a moist mop on it. Earthen floors easily retain heat and combo well with radiant-floor heating systems.
There is zero construction waste when you purchase an earthen floor. Any extra earth can be put outside with the other earth. There is no transportation cost, because the earthen floors are built with the dirt that's on your land.
The downsides of earthen flooring is that it is easy to scuff or dent, but it's also easy to repair. To repair an earthen floor, simply fill the scuffed areas with clay and seal the clay with linseed oil sealant. Every decade or so you will have to reseal your entire floor with the linseed sealant to ensure that the dirt stays in the floor where it belongs.
Mainly, it is just expensive to install. The materials may be cheap but finding a contractor who knows how to make an earthen floor may be difficult. Also, telling people to take off their shoes so they won't track dirt in might become a dilemma of philosophical proportions.
If you are thinking of building a natural home, earthen floors are the best way to do just that.
Read more about earth-based building materials:
The Dirt on Topsoil
Peak Everything: Learn about Peak Dirt
Renovation Nation: Dirt On A Green Roof
How to Go Green: Home Renovation
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