BUILDING THE VARDO: More of the Lasagne-style Tiled Floor

These are the top two layers of lasagne-style tile flooring. 4 and 1/2 sheets of HARDIBACKER Board (1/2 inch cement board) screwed in over the Denny Foil gave Pete something solid over which to lay the mud. We decided to use Portland cement and fine gray sand mixed with water only. Pete screened the sand to pick out the bigger pieces ... that way he did not have to use silica sand (which can be a problem for some MCS folks). There is no latex added to either the mud or grout. The 13 inch high fired, glazed tiles are laid with 1/4 inch grout. The grout is also Portland cement and gray sand mixed with water.

The terra cotta tiles are laid, grouted and in the process of curing. We'll let the cement slow cure ... maybe two weeks. At this point we aren't going to seal the grout. Many comments and ideas from MCS safe building forums gave me a wide range of possibilities and experiences. We're going with the original comments from Ecology House in California that say in essence: the ungrouted tile does require a little more work ... it gets sandy from time to time. We'll begin with that ... maybe it will make me feel more like I'm walking the shores of sand beaches like any Hawaiian wahine would love to be doing.

Any experiences with or without sealant over grout? Love to hear from you.


Thanks, Pete the floor is beautiful.

BUILDING THE VARDO: Lasagne style flooring

BUILDING THE VARDO: Lasagne style flooring

Building a home by hand takes time, lots of time. I read a description from Jim Toplin's website about building a customized wagon (vardo) and there was a WARNING to it. Saying in essence that building such a wagon took Toplin, a master wood craftsman 2,000 hours to construct. We didn't get the message in time ... oh wait, we did know it would take time and energy and did it ANYWAY. We had motivation. Back in November, 2008 Susie Collins from The Canary Report posted this story "Tiny home is safe alternative for woman with MCS." Another 1000 hours later, and we are still at it.

Today Pete's inside working on the tile floor. The pictures above are the story beneath those tiles, the many hours of work to layer materials like lasagne to create a safer than plywood subfloor. There is a plethora of information available if a person has the time and brain-power to sort through everything. I researched everything from Debra Lynne Dadd's MCS Building Forum and, emailed our MCS safe builder friend, Leslie Lawrence, went to other blogs and in the end came up with a decision laced generously with prayer.

VARDOFORTWO Lasagne style Floor Recipe:
(from bottom to top in the pictures above)

1. Galvanized metal sheets to protect the vardo from road wear and moisture while stationary.

2. Additional oak cross pieces screwed in horizontally (left to right) to hold denim insulation. Yes, we finally decided to go with the denim. Each cross piece was also notched and routed to hold the metal bars that would go over the denim.

3. Denny Foil, foil vapor barrier was layered over the denim to seal any dust or smell from the denim as it off-gasses.

4. Lengths of steel cut especially to fit over the oak cross pieces were screwed fast. These were Pete's choice as a plywood substitute. Even though some sources said exterior plywood might be okay to use for our MCS-safe home, we decided not to use it. Laying the steel in this tight pattern was Pete's idea to create a web of strength.

5. More Denny Foil covers all the wood, steel and insulation.

These 5 lasagne layering steps prepared Pete to get closer to the tiling ... See that in the next post.


These are a few of the reasons I appreciate Pete, everyday. Mokihana