Tips & Tricks - Humidity and Clay

September 23, 2008 at 6:00 pm · Filed under What's New

More than once we have received inquiries from people living in humid climates concerned with the effects of h

igh humidity on American Clay. Our answer: Don’t worry about it!

The ingredients in American Clay–potters clay, marble dust, and natural and mineral colorants–are not good hosts for mold and mildew. We have had a number of successful applications of our clay plasters in Florida, Louisiana, Hawaii and the Bahamas with no reports of problems.

Ambient moisture is not a problem for clay plaster; some clay can absorb three times its weight in water. Once American Clay plaster is applied and properly compressed, but not sealed, it “breathes” very well taking in and giving off moisture. Clay plaster is great even in steamy bathrooms, where the walls absorb the moisture and do not sweat; walls dry out when the room airs out. Mirrors even have less ’steam’ when surrounded by clay plaster walls.

Clay brings a significant aspect that to the table, the ability to absorbs water through two avenues: capillary action, and ionic attraction. This is why clay has been considered a hygroscopic material, or stated simply, it readily absorbs moisture. Many materials do this, however clay can absorb moisture faster then most other materials. This, subsequently,contributes to clay protecting other vulnerable materials from mold, fungal and pest attacks. Also, it creates an increase in comfort within the interior environment, by helping maintain humidity levels around 50%-60%; ideal for human mucus membranes, and the control of dust mites and other organisms that effect human health.

In addition, this ability to absorb and release moisture helps to diminish the possibility of mold growth. Mold and mildew are health hazards which have received a great deal of in the past 10 years. These health hazards should not be taken lightly, and using materials that help control the moisture in the building structure, like American Clay Earth Plaster, will help tremendously.

We believe the products that American Clay produces, and the ones we are developing, should have the long-range potential to improve the health of both people and planet.

NOTE: American Clay should NOT be used where it will get repeated splashing, as that will soften and erode the plaster, such as in a shower, steam room or as the backsplash to a sink. For those areas around sinks or stoves, tile should be used.

Next month we will discuss the ability of clay to store and release energy or its PCM (phase change material) properties.

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Color Changes in Dos Manos using Skip Trowel Technique

September 12, 2008 at 7:12 pm · Filed under What's New

It has come to the attention of American Clay that when using the color in the Dos Manos Classic installation system there is a slight change in color between the material mixed with water only and the material with an additive. The color change is evident while using the skip trowel technique and when the Loma base coat has not been wetted and reworked. Our clients may also notice a slight difference between our color samples and the professional application of Dos Manos.

In order to avoid this being an issue on a project American Clay recommends these steps.

Applicators should complete a texture, color and technique sample by using the application system desired for the project. If TWO different application systems are being used then TWO different samples should be made to insure consistency between the applications. This way the final product will be what is expected by the applicator and the end customer.

Maintain good controls on mixed material by using additives only where it is intended.

American Clay goes to great lengths to insure color control. That being said, with so many variables from mixing to additives to application texture, we can only ensure consistency in our product from batch to batch. Variations due to application methods or systems are solely in the control of the applicator.

With the material being natural, there may be slight variations from batch to batch. American Clay makes every effort possible to control these variations without making concessions to using synthetic products or products that may have a more negative impact on the planet. We appreciate your understanding in this matter and wish you continued success in the use of American Clay’s Naturally Beautiful wall finishes.

American Clay Enterprises, LLC

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Las Vegas Market Insider: Spreading the Sustainable World

September 12, 2008 at 5:22 pm · Filed under What's New

“By eliminating products and building practices that contribute to illness, designers can have an impact on the world.” Carol Baumgartel, ASID vice president of sales/marketing for Ameircan Clay Enterprises Inc.

The Las Vegas Market is the fastest-growing home furnishings market in the country. It is a showcase for the home hospitality and home contract furnishings industry.

The Las Vegas Market is held twice a year, and during the summer showcase this year American Clay’s own Carol Baumgartel not only attended the event, but an interview with her is featured in the Fall addition of the Las Vegas Market Insider on page 11 (and continues on page 25):

During Carol Baumgartel’s Brave New World presentation, she made it
American Clay stencils

clear that designers have an important task ahead of them.

“Your job as designers, if you choose to accept it, is to really ask the questions,” she said, referring to questions about sustainable, environmentally friendly products.

Baumgartel, ASID and vice president of sales/marketing for American Clay Enterprises Inc., helped educate everyone at her presentation, “Why Designers Are (and Should Be) at the Helm of Spreading the Sustainable Word,” about the many products available to the environmentally conscious consumer.“I want us to think about what we’re doing for our clients,” she said, beginning her presentation with pictures of traditional buildings made out of products such as adobe, rammed earth and bamboo. “People had a nontoxic environment. Modern building systems tend to seal us in. We’re trapped in these systems that don’t allow airflow or moisture in.”

While Baumgartel doesn’t recommend going back to the days when humans lived in caves, she is an advocate of natural products. Her first experience with the healing powers of the natural world came when she was in the Peace Corps and witnessed a young woman get very badly burned by oil.

“The local doctor came and applied an herb paste,” she explained. “She never had a single scar. My first thought was, ‘We don’t have anything like this!’”

After she accidently poisoned herself and was cured by another natural remedy, Baumgartel really started to contemplate what this meant.”

I started to realize there are things that people have been using for centuries that aren’t connected to modern medicine,” she said. “Things that are part of the natural world.”Then, when her son became ill as a result of working, he asked for her help. The two of them developed American Clay Enterprises, a natural alternative to the chemical-laden finishes he had been working with.

”We have to start thinking about not just a better income, but what future we are giving to our grandchildren,” she explained. “That’s what this is all about for me.”

Baumgartel explained that by eliminating products and building practices that contribute to illness, such as formaldehyde,benzene, PCBs, flawed heating and air conditioner systems, poor ventilation and other toxic materials, designers can have an impact on the world.

“Designers are the ones who have the opportunity to change what is being specified in the process, and that’s pretty amazing,” she said. For instance, products made with latex, like most paints, attract dust, pollen and dog hair. Clay products, however, are natural and repel those same allergens. “Clay creates a clean environment.”

Baumgartel advises designers to use products that are free of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and to aim for a zero-energy home, or a home that produces as much energy as it consumes.

“One of the things you learn in the natural building industry is that you don’t have to use products that look like granola,” she said. “You don’t have to live in the 1970s again.”

By using adobe; bamboo; structural insulated panels (SIPs), which come in a variety of materials but are very breathable and don’t emit gas; rammed earth, which is similar to adobe, but with very thick walls and extremely compressed dirt and clay; Papercrete, which is recycled paper with a little bit of cement; or one of many other sustainable, environmentally sound products available for structural building, consumers are helping both themselves and the earth.

”As designers, you really get to choose materials that will benefit the health of your customer,” Baumgartel said. “Sustainability is about the process of producing something that will be maintained indefinitely without any strain on the earth.”

With naturally organic materials, there are no electro-magnetic fields in the house, and there is greater breathability, which is the ability of a building system to keep airflow moving through materials to facilitate the healthy process of controlling moisture and air-quality levels.

However, it’s important to follow due-diligence processes and make sure the products being touted as “sustainable” or “environmentally friendly” really are natural and beneficial. For instance, while wood is a natural building product, most wood products are preserved with formaldehyde. Even most bamboo has formaldehyde bonders.

“You, as designers, can change the world you live in by asking questions,” she said.

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American Clay on HGTV’s “Red Hot & Green”, Sept. 17

September 12, 2008 at 3:32 pm · Filed under What's New

Be sure to watch next Wednesday…

Award-winning American Clay Earth Plaster will appear on the HGTV show “Red Hot & Green” on Wednesday, September 17th at 11:00PM e/p. Check your local listings. The all natural, interior wall plaster finish will appear in the bathroom of the Irvine, CA home featured on the show.

As beautiful as it is healthy, American Clay comes in over 40 standard colors + unlimited matchable colors and multiple textures. It contains zero VOCs, is mold inhibiting, dirt repelling, temperature moderating, flexible and easily repairable. American Clay brings an ancient wall surface to the foreground of contemporary interior finishes.

In conjunction with the show you can see American Clay in HGTV’s Marketplace - http://marketplace.hgtv.com/American_Clay

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Welcome Peggy Cunningham

September 8, 2008 at 8:46 pm · Filed under What's New

American Clay Enterprises Inc. is proud to announce the appointment of Peggy Cunningham as Sales Team Manager. Cunningham will be responsible for facilitating the regional and national availability and application of American Clay’s earth friendly, natural wall plaster finishes - both interior, and the upcoming exterior launch. Cunningham will work with channels throughout her region to develop specification of American Clay’s products.

New sales team, Peggy and Melanie Cunningham will be available to dealers, distributors and wholesalers to assist in the growth of their American Clay sales. In addition, she will assist other team members with presentations to architects, interior designers, developers, builders, remodelers, contractors, design build firms and owners to discuss the features and benefits of the various products and to help determine which finish system best fits a project(s).

“Peggy is a breath of fresh air! Her professionalism and tenacity promises to bring a new charge to this exciting line of products,” states Carol Baumgartel, VP of Marketing for the company. CEO and Founder Croft Elsaesser adds, “I look forward to working with someone who is eager to get into the trenches to promote and learn the product. Her experience with sales and the ‘green approach’ is a great asset.”

Cunningham grew up, as she says, in a “construction family” and has been involved in the green arena especially the last several years, implementing “green cleaning” programs in schools, hospitals, casinos and office buildings. She has a proven sales track record as a “Top Producer” in a variety of fields, which created strong connections in hospitality, government sector, casinos, and healthcare. She won a national award from Lifetime Television for a local domestic violence information campaign among other accomplishments during her time in radio and television.

“I’m eager to bring my skills and network to a product I feel passionately about,” states Cunningham. “When I found American Clay, it met all my criteria for the perfect job: a green product that’s fun to sell, a company with great energy, a staff that’s both enthusiastic and professional, and an opportunity to grow. As a sales person you rarely get a chance to make a difference - I can with American Clay.”

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Open House Success!

September 8, 2008 at 8:44 pm · Filed under What's New, In The News

On September 4th, American Clay hosted an open house to celebrate one year in the company’s facility that more than quadrupled its previous production space, and allowed for corporate offices, and designated rooms ACE Open House for Research & Development and for workshops, which are consistently held throughout the year. Staff was on hand - including the newest member, Peggy Cunningham - to answer questions and help with demonstrations and tours. The corporate offices themselves display a variety of American Clay plaster applications, including a thickly layered, finger-designed wall, multiple stencil examples, and samples of most all the standard colors in the conference room.

Since the move, American Clay has had quite a good year:
* Introduction of its commercial product, ENJARRE
* Hosted Albuquerque Mayer Martin Chavez’ press conference announcing the City’s new task forces on ‘green’ city investments and purchasing
* New Mexico Community Capital, the state’s sole double bottom-line investment organization, announced an investment in American Clay to accelerate the fast-growing company
* Been noted as a “Fastest Growing Public Company in NM” by New Mexico Business Weekly
* TV appearances on ABC-TV’s “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition”; Planet Green’s “Alter Eco”; HGTV shows “Living with Ed”, “Greenovate” and “Designed to Sell”; E! Entt.’s “Green That House”; and Daisy Fuentes-hosted “EcoZone”
* Garnered print press in Popular Mechanics, Commercial Building Products, Sources + Design, Contract Magazine, Architectural Products, Walls & Ceilings, Eco-Structure, Natural Home, GreenBuilder, Metropolitan Home, Sunset, Domino, BobVila.com, Sprig.com, HGTVpro.com, etc.
* Participated in top trade shows, Greenbuild, Dwell on Design, AltBuild Expo, and multiple speaking engagements across the U.S.

Trying it out

Croft at Open House

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Thank You from the Yestermorrow School

September 8, 2008 at 2:44 pm · Filed under What's New, Workshops, Projects

The Yestermorrow Design/Build School in Warren, VT recently had a special workshop featuring American Clay. With help from our team here in Albuquerque as well as American Clay dealer Planet Hardwood, the course was a huge success. Instructor Mark Chalom sent in a terrific thank you letter, provided below, expressing his enthusiasm and gratitude for a job well done!

Dear American Clay staff,

I wanted to thank you for facilitating the American Clay workshop we had at the Yestermorrow School. …

We had about 12 participants both from the Natural Materials class and the 2-week design-build course. With the experience I had from working with the material and a workshop with Keely, the Natural Plaster instructors, and the staff from Planet Hardwood, we were well equipped to present and teach the process.

It was enjoyable to see how participants who never plastered before amazed themselves with the results they achieved. Empowerment is what the school is about.

Thank you again for your help in allowing this out-of-the-normal workshop platform to happen. Already the local networking in Vermont has kicked in and more folks have connected through this program. I also had the privilege to visit the Planet Hardwood showroom. It is a wonderful store providing well researched green products which American Clay is a part of. The AC display and sample walls are very well done and represented. There is plenty of room for folks to try their hand and they have a center area for AC workshops which will begin soon.

I enjoyed meeting this crew, well educated in green technology. … A great resource for all. Thank you again on behalf of myself, the participants, the Yestermorrow staff and the folks at Planet Hardwood.

-Mark Chalom

Yestermorrow Workshop

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About.com Gets American Clay

September 3, 2008 at 5:03 pm · Filed under What's New, Techniques

A fan of American Clay recently published a 6-page entry on About.com, giving a detailed explanation on how to put clay on your walls. He did a great job and we just want to say Thanks! We couldn’t have done a better job ourselves!

The article specifically shows an application of one of our Try-It Kits, which can be purchased from our online store.

Check out the entire article on About.com here.
Try-It Kit

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Flower Shop Goes Green

September 3, 2008 at 4:07 pm · Filed under What's New, Green, Projects, In The News

Mike Potts from Marquette, MI did his neighborhood a favor when he chose to save a local historical building from demolition. Instead of seeing it fall into disuse, he’s pulling out all the stops to renovate it into “a model for recycling, reuse and green renovation,” reads the Mining Journal’s article featuring the project. With American Clay as the elected wall-covering, Potts plans to create a green flower shop downstairs and an apartment above.