Solid Hardwood, Engineered and Laminate Flooring - COW MANURE FLOORS

Please advise origins, techniques and processes of creating a cow manure floor. All suggestions and leads welcomed. THANKYOU

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Dear Wingara, Just purely out of curiousity What in the heck is a cow manure floor????


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Thanks, Karolee

Dear Antikol,

Apparently its an age old technique of creating floors from cow manure or dried cow pats. But that is all the information I can find. Because we live in a dairy area it seemed appropriate to use the resources available to us. I have also been told that it originated in Africa - fact or fiction I don't know. THANKS FOR YOU QUERY

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Believe or not, the early European settlers in Africa did use cow manure for floors. It was picked up from the natives. Manure was mixed with water into a slurry. Clay based soil was also added if available. It was spread over a leveled dirt floor or over walls in many layers. As each layer dried another was added until it was a thick hard surface. Fresh manure could be used to "polish" the floor surface. Whitewash was often put over the walls. I'm not sure how the the whole thing smelled so I'm glad for more modern flooring.

Your question made me wonder if I could find anything on the internet. I finally looked under "wattle and daub" and found references to manure flooring. Guess it wasn't only the African natives who thought of it. It has apparently been used for a long time in many countries. Depending upon the location,the mixture apparently could consist of any combination of manure, dirt,clay, lime and sand mixed with water. There were not any specific formulas mentioned. Guess it was trial and error until you came up with the right proportions. You might check Amazon or Barnes and Noble's websites for books. I'd start with the reference 'wattle and daub". It seems to get the most response. Hope this helps.

I do not know where you live, but from your question I know it is not the USA. It is against every known building code to use those floors in this country. Good Luck.
There you go, instant floors. Just keep feeding the cows.