Sustainable mud

[April 18th, 2007] Remember in the Little House on the Prairie books, when Pa made a dugout house out of the side of a hill? It had a thatched roof and a dirt floor that Laura would sweep with a broom made out of gathered sticks and the leftover twine from Pa's trip to the store. We always wondered what the point of sweeping was—it must be difficult to keep a dirt floor clean—and worried about the rainy season. Mud underfoot is no fun.

Leave it to Portland to bring back the dirt floor. OK, they're earthen floors, and they're environmentally safe and generally sound architecturally. And unlike Laura Ingalls' crappy dirt foundation, these are easy to clean. Sukita Crimmel of local firm From These Hands (sukita.com) has been in the natural building business for five years, and she claims earthen floors are easy to clean due to their oil-and-wax surface: "It's just a light mopping." As with fir floors, it's best not to move heavy furniture around on earthen floors, which range from 1 to 8 inches in thickness. But if you do get scratches, just sand and rewax and it's good as new.

Of course, the benefits are extensive. If you recall, we have a bit of a problem with our old-growth forests. According to the Natural Building Network, 20 to 40 percent of our community landfills are construction debris and discarded buildings. Plus, these floors made of clay, sand and fiber (straw or paper, usually) are less expensive than many other floor materials. Crimmel says her floors average about $8 per square foot installed, compared with around $10 for oak flooring.

We think the coolest thing about earthen floors is the idea that Crimmel can use clay from the construction site itself, mixed with sand from local rivers. So you're building your house out of your own land. But still. Dirt floors? Isn't that a little like paying for bottled water? Maybe, but if you're into getting back to basics in your home-building adventures, earthen floors are the way to go—especially since it's simple to take a class and do it yourself (available through Flying Hammer Productions, 975-4232). "I love playing in the mud," Crimmel says.

We asked Crimmel a couple more down-and-dirty questions. How does it feel underfoot? Crimmel says it's a bit like leather. But, more importantly, does it smell funky—like, God forbid, poo? "It smells like dirt," explains Crimmel. "There aren't really any organic materials in there."