Can any of you enlighten me to the difference between torchis and en enduit - I have a builder coming round this afternoon to look at walls and he has asked me which I want. Thanks.
As with many things French, as John says, they have their own interpretation and that, to add fine detail, may not be the same between one village and another let alone nationwide. Here things are done with one very particular 'local sand', go the other side of the D road and one village down and they use an entirely different one. The stonework looks very different although the stone is the same colour. Now progress with your definition and challenge a panel of French artisans from a dozen locations...
As John says, it is cob. I lived in Cambridgeshire with Essex next village half a mile on but Suffolk roughly three quarters of a mile away as the crow flies. The difference in the way cob was made and applied went with the very noticeable different types and colours of brick and how wood was used where it is. My conclusion is that it is a case of trying to define the indefinable on the 'nobody is right' basis, which also comes out 'nobody is wrong'.
That maybe the case Tobias but my WRONG statement seems to mention rustic finish just as yours does, are you also wrong then?
In the UK we call it cob.I however NEVER claim to be an expert in anything, that's tabloid and media language to describe the only person they can get hold of at the last minute to try and sound better.
Yep, the enduit might be chalk rather than lime but spot on.
Torchis is a mix of straw and clay/mud so giving a rougher rustic finish.
Enduit is normally a smooth lime plaster finish
Being French they may have their own interpretation............