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Maintenance 2007
posted April 10, 2008
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The cob courtyard has been painted over the summer 2007. We used lime stone paint mixed with some oxides for colouring. That gave the wall a better protection against the rain.
From the June 2007 newsletter
COB MAINTENANCE
Two weeks ago park staff discovered that someone had poured some kind of sticky grease down the cob sinks, which clogged all four sinks for a few days. Rec staff consulted Georgie, Sylvie and Simon (community cob builders) and tried a variety of home-made remedies (coca cola, vinegar, baking soda, salt…) none of which worked. So staff called city plumber Tom Feeney who sent Eugene and Ray who used a power snake to unclog the drains. A big thank you!
A week later, staff found the sinks were clogged once again, but this time with sand and leaves. With the purchase of some new tools of their own, the drains have been cleared. Staff ask park users to please use the sandpit hose for cleaning sandy hands to keep our cob sinks in good repair. Expert sign painter Jessica Moore is back in town from Montreal, just in time to make some signs to remind us of this request.
posted May 17, 2007
COB COURTYARD SPRING REPAIRS
Oregon earthen builder and sculptor Kiko Denzer www.handprintpress.com writes "The best way to "preserve" art is to create it, and re-create it, again and again." (Kiko's wonderful books are in the park's little research reference library -- if you want to have a look, ask the park staff.)
The world over, earthen walls get seasonal repair and "sprucing up," each time becoming a little different. This year, Daniel Cayley first replaced a few missing cedar shingles.
Top of cob wall shaved
missing shingles put back on
Then Heidrun Gabel-Koepff, a park friend and sculptor originally from Bremen, Germany, shaved the unshingled middle section of the cob wall so that it could also accept shingles.
Heidrun checking out plaster
Heidrun is also experimenting with different plaster mixes, to repair cracks from the winter. This winter, the cob plaster held up better than last, with much less of the loosening that was evident in sections last year. As soon as the weather warms up (plaster sticks best when applied in warm weather when the temperature never goes below 10 Celsius), Heidrun will try out her latest mixes.