The Outdoor Bath “House” It seems Achim is just as much a water-being as I am, and has envisioned a spa for Valle de Sensaciones, under the open sky. In the picture you see above, on the left side, the left of the wall will spiral in to an inner chamber of 3 shower-heads; on the right side will be a row of sinks and a shelf for personal things. Just on this side of the wall in this picture, on the right, will be 3 personal-sized tubs. Where the dirt pile is, bottom-left, will be a communal bath. Where the grass is, bottom-right, will be a heated water mattress for massage and relaxing. All this will be heated by a central fire; and joined by a sculpture of planted bodeas. Here, lynn is applying the lime-plaster to the already built, cinder-block retaining wall (where the sinks and their shelf will go). The lime was added to small-gravel sand (the smallest available) 1:3 parts, then mixed with just enough water. We found it stuck better smearing it on with our hands vs. a trowel. Make sure you use good gloves, and a dust-filtering mask when mixing the lime. Though this wall will get a mosaic, this could take a couple years to complete. For the meantime, we painted it blue: using cobalt blue pigment mixed in water, we rubbed the color in with a sponge. Moving the surface of the plaster (mm’s) as we did this ensures that the pigment should remain even when it rains. The timing of this is a bit tricky: wait long enough so that the plaster doesn’t fall off when you rub it, but not so long that you won’t be able to rub it in! Natural Building: Abroad Friday, May 9, 2008