Jason mixes components for the kitchen floor
Recent Roving Webcam views have focused on the Anderson Kitchen floor installation. For some, it came as a surprise that the floor would be clay instead of wood, but it should come as no surprise to blog readers that this decision was thoroughly researched.
Discussions about the kitchen floor began long before the current reconstruction. Partial excavation of the kitchen in 1975 led archaeologists to speculate that the patches of clay they’d uncovered could have been remnants of a floor. Last summer’s excavation provided the opportunity for a new generation of archaeologists to examine the evidence for themselves, and to make an independent assessment. After locating an 18” swath of the kitchen floor that had not yet been explored, archaeologists collected samples of clay, turning them over to Architectural Conservator, Matt Webster, for analysis.
While it was clear that the clay encountered inside the kitchen was not naturally occurring, it was analysis that demonstrated how, and of what, this mixture was concocted. Unlike the mortar samples from the Anderson kitchen, which closely resembled samples taken from, and recreated at the Coffeehouse, clay flooring material had never been sampled before. After being carefully weighed, the clay samples were broken into their basic components, by first dissolving the lime, then separating and weighing the remaining material to provide percentages for mixtures. The results showed that the floor of the Anderson kitchen was composed of clay, a very fine sand (most likely collected from local creeks and rivers), quick lime (made by burning oyster shell), and brick dust. Adjusting for differences in the weight of each material, the “recipe” worked out for this mixture is 4 parts clay, 2 parts sand, ¾ parts quick lime, and 1/10 part brick dust.
“Off camera” at the Armoury property, the Building Trades team prepared both the component ingredients, and the final clay floor mix that has been applied in the kitchen. While analysis may have provided the list of ingredients, there were still unanswered questions and the need for experimentation: How much water was necessary to make the clay workable without making it too wet? Would it be possible to lay sections of the floor without having it crack? All of these have been learning experiences. And there has certainly been the opportunity to practice, as more than 566 gallons of the clay mixture have been required to cover the kitchen floor.
On camera, Webcam watchers have seen the final clay product being tamped in place. After some initial fears that the clay would crack, Jason Bill, Josh and Harry seem to have worked out the kinks. We hope you have enjoyed watching their progress!
Contributed by Meredith Poole and Matt Webster
- Jason mixes components for the kitchen floor
- Preparing flooring for the Anderson kitchen.
Ryan says
I missed most of the construction of the fireplace and chimney, and for the life of me cannot find any good sources or information on 18th century fireplace and chimney construction (not including the Rumford stuff which is well documented but is too late for most of CW). Can Matt Webster or someone else recommend a source of info where the CW architects go to when they’re designing a period residential fireplace/chimney from scratch, for modern construction with period correct bricks and mortar? Thanks for any help.
Ryan,
I’ll check in with Matt, and I will post a series of start to finish images of the Anderson kitchen chimney construction. Clyde Kestner graciously provided me with the latter about a month back, and I have not yet posted them. Your’s may well be the question selected for the next “Readers’ Questions” post!
Ryan says
Awesome - I can’t wait. Thanks!
Jacki,
You’re right…that is a little misleading. The water amounts were quite flexible. Having watched the process over a few days, there was a great deal of experimentation, trying to get the proper consistency. If you are really going to attempt this yourself, you might want to get in direct touch with Matt Webster or Jason Whitehead.
Jacki says
I love the clay floor. On the formula he wrote Parts, how much volume is he considering to be a Part? We are building a stone kitchen behind our 1830 house and would consider trying this. We love you guys and the love and dedication you put in. Thanks for making history live on.
Jacki,
The “parts” are based on volume, rather than weight. So you can pick any volume : (a cup, a scoop, a bucketful), but you will need 4 cups(/scoops/bucketsful) of clay for each 2 cups(/scoops/bucketsful) of sand, 3/4 cup(/scoops/bucketful) of burned shell, etc. Make sense?
Jacki says
I thought so but the 1-2qts of water made me think there were certain amounts used.
Rick Brouse says
Yeah, Mimi….next to the Raleigh? I was just in CW 1 1/2 weeks ago and did not see the Scaffolding. ?? Of course this is not a Raleigh Tavern blog, so perhaps we will not find out what it is?
Mimi and Rick…
There IS an answer to this, even without a Raleigh Tavern blog! I have farmed the question out to Matt Webster who can give a more complete and informed answer than I might. Your curiousity will be satisfied by tomorrow…..
Mimi and Rick,
Here it is. According to Matt Webster:
“The activity you saw is at the Alexander Craig house. We have over 600 structures to maintain in the historic area, and with spring finally arriving we can start our exterior work. The work at Alexander Craig is part of our masonry preservation initative, where we are focusing on 48 structures that have various masonry preservation needs. The problems at Alexander Craig are due to the use of incompatable materials in the chimney stacks. The two materials we are dealing with are Portland cement and lime based mortar. Portland cement was used widely to repair old buildings and has caused problems because it is very hard and does not allow moisture to migrate. This is great with new construction materials, but with the older softer materials it causes deterioration and will sometimes shatter (spall) the bricks when they try to expand. This was the case at Alexander Craig where the brick shattered and interior mortar deteriorated because moisture could not get out. Fortunately the portion of the chimney that is original was not impacted and we will have everything repaired in a few weeks.”
Hope this solves the mystery.
OH No !
Eleanor must must away from the site.There appears to be concrete and rebar on the the site.Do you think she will approve? I believe the kitchen foundation was laid brick complete with termite shields (I think) anyway guess the code gang has their say uh.She will approve of it anyway when finished .P S.must have been those tender vittles that changed her mind.
Kerry,
Eleanor never leaves the site! Rest assured that all aspects of the Armoury plan have met with her approval (as well as that of code compliance!).
Is it normal to have someone working on Saturday? Just saw someone enter the building and take things out. Felt a little odd to watch. I sure hope it was supposed to happen.
Margaret,
Boy, this webcam is great! We’ve got viewers keeping track of all sorts of things for us!
Thanks for the tip. I just went out to check, and all appears to be in order. We do, occasionally, have craftspeople coming in and out, especially when we’ve just finished a project, such as the tar painting that happened this week. We appreciate the extra set of eyes, however! Many thanks.
What is going on next to the Raleigh Tavern? Is that scaffolding?
Ryan says
Very nice. It was great watching the guys plaster the walls yesterday. Are you going to paint the roof? (Of course it was pretty common to paint shingle roofs then.) Also, why is no attempt made to stagger the seams on the clapboard siding? Looking great!
Ryan,
Garland Wood replies:
“The shingle roof is NOT going to be painted. We have some examples of painted shingle roofs in Williamsburg like the roof on the St. George Tucker house, but don’t feel as if this backyard kitchen had paint on the shingles. As for the clapboards, occsasionally we see surviving examples of staggering, but far more typically there was no attempt made to stagger the joints.”
mitch says
The paint looks great! can’t wait to see it in person next week!
The guys are doing a great job on the kitchen walls, looking good. The plaster looks like more of a mortar consistency and appears green at times. What is the makeup of 18 century plaster? Will the walls be painted or left natural color. Any luck on locating the tinsmith shop?
Hi Ron,
What you are looking at on the kitchen walls is the “brown coat” or base coat. In real life, it is…well…brown-looking, rather than the green that you see via the web cam. As we have determined from archaeological plaster samples recovered from the site, there will be lime washes over the brown coat, which will give the walls a white appearance. According to paint analyst Natasha Loeblich, who conducted the study on the kitchen plaster, the brown coat includes sand, stone, shell, and small clumps of white plaster, perhaps from another building. There also seems to be a bit of horse hair in the mix to strengthen the plaster.
As for the tin shop, thanks for asking! At about 3 1/2 feet below grade we have finally started to encounter 18th century soil layers. It’s going to be a deep hole! While the layers to date have yielded a curious mix of 18th, 19th and 20th c. artifacts, many of them are promising indicators of Armoury activity: French gunflints, quite a bit of what appears to be brass scrap (wrong metal for us!), as well as the usual household debris,including animal bone, wine bottles, ceramic, and tobacco pipe stems. Once we get below the more modern intrusions, we are hopeful that the signs of tinsmithing will emerge! Will keep you posted.
Robin McClarren says
Love the last ingredient of the “floor formula” . We know CW is a wonderful place to visit, must be a wonderful place to work as well. 🙂
Robin,
Glad you caught that last ingredient! When I spotted that recipe on the rafter, it seemed too good to pass up!
Rick Brouse says
My wife & I had a quick stop in CW last Thursday as a side stop on our trip from PA. to Myrtle Beach. First off I would like to thank CW (Meredith and s host of other folks)for a personal behind the scene tour of the site and kitchen. What a wonderful opportunity! CW folks are not just great people in terms of their passion for what they do for a living but also their willingness to teach, enlighten and talk with history buffs like myself about what it is that they do and what they are doing. After finally visiting the site, I’m even more interested in seeing the progress and eventual finished project. Thanks CW (Meredith) once again.
Rick (& Alice) Brouse
Rick and Alice,
It was my pleasure! I only wish I could have turned Thursday’s weather around a little bit. Hope that Myrtle Beach was the escape you hoped it would be, and we look forward to catching you on your next trip. Until then, keep asking the questions that keep us on our toes!
Meredith
Ryan says
Thanks very much. It seems to me an easily repairable material - low spots from repetitive wear could probably be moistened and built back up with fresh clay. The clay would probably allow much better adhesion of a repair than a harder material like concrete.
Ryan says
What will the finished floor be like, hardness-wise? It won’t be as hard as concrete, certainly…or will it?
Ryan,
At the moment, the floor is very hard packed .. though as you say, not as hard as concrete…with just a bit of a loose sandy surface. With foot traffic (and spills?!) the sandiness may subside a bit. It’s difficult to predict how our own use of the building, which will include lots of visitors (with any luck!), will effect the durability of a floor that, in the 18th century, never saw such heavy foot traffic. Another learning experience!
Oh Dave, let’s not go too far. That particular invention might leave me unemployed!
mitch says
sort of like ground penetrating radar!
Yes I have enjoyed both, building trades working in the kitchen and archaelogy digs outside. I also enjoy reading CW’s explanations to our questions which has been a valuable learning source to me and I am sure to many others. It is amazing with today’s technology you are able to analyze things like the clay floor remnants to determine mixture composition in order to create a pretty accurate formula. Once again you folks are great, I look forward to seeing more, thanks.
Thanks, Ron!
Technology really is an enormous help, expanding the range of what we are able to be curious about. Just 35 years ago when the kitchen was first excavated, no one thought to collect samples of mortar, plaster, or clay, mainly because the technology to analyze these materials was not yet part of our research “arsenal.” And who knows what WE are not collecting today that could be useful 35 years down the road? From an archaeological standpoint, it’s why we always leave portions of a site unexcavated: so that the next generation can ask new questions using technology we can not yet imagine.
By then, you will be able to waive your telephone over the site and it will show a 3D image of the original structure.
Keep up the good work, we enjoy your cameras and posts.