Building with Mud

[Andy Hamilton]

It is ok I have made it a bit smaller, well a lot smaller and hosted it on this site. So it should work a bit better now.

[Boots]

Oh, THANK GOODNESS you found it before Muddy did!



Tis Ok Muddy - all is very routine here. Nothing amiss...

[Muddypause]

No problem, Boots; I've no idea what you're talking about.

Mind you, I did try to open this thread earlier today; I gave up after about 20 minutes of something downloading. Wonder what that could have been! Nice picture of the bricks, though.

[hedgewizard]

Yeah, but what stops them from softening in the rain?

[Boots]

Giving you this link Hedgy...

http://www.greenhouse.gov.au/yourhome/t ... /fs34d.htm

Sure beats me explaining it all. Our bricks are about 75% Clay and the extension will also involve a veranda extension extruding beyond the walls... As I said, still not sure what I will render with, but heaps of time to decide. The veranda has been included because when (looks hopefully toward the sky and sighs...)it rains here its in hard fast downpours, so they will catch it and assist in protecting the walls. Gardens will be pulled back from the area... at present my gardens envelope the house.

If you are interested - it is happening everywhere as much as I can gather... they build in mud in the UK too, I think.

[Boots]

The house behind Catweazle in your sig, lookslike mud brick...

[wulf]

That's a fascinating page you linked to, Boots. Are you going to use a timber frame at all or rely purely on the bricks?

Wulf

[Boots]

Hi Wulf,

What we are doing is extending by enclosing both back and front existing verandahs, so my frames are already in place, which saves quite a bit of effort. Will still need to install door and window frames, but the structure itself exists - which simplifies things a lot. Am also using the existing foundations that formed the verandahs, so the task is by no means a full build.

Gotta fly - just been told baby goats are starving... so best prepare some bottles.

[hedgewizard]

Aha!

After brushing to get a fairly even surface, the final finish is a mud slurry, typically finished by hand. This slurry may also be the final waterproofing coat (eg. A mud and cow dung mix) or it may have a further clear coat of proprietary waterproofing material. Linseed oil and turpentine can be used to provide a final finish.

Thanks for the link!

[Boots]

Well, bricks are still progressing. At most I get out about 15 a day. Well, an arvo actually, cos I haven't had a spare day in yonks. Just usually wait till after 4 when its a bit cooler and spend an hour or so forming some before its time for evening feeds.

I am still enjoying it, though the helpers have lost interest and only ever seem to appear just before I'm ready to finish up It is hard not to let your imagination run riot when you are doing it. I get all these designs in my head... Funky igloo birthing huts for the goats... A mud maze for the pig... Big Castle like walls to keep out the nutcase of a neighbour But at 15 bricks a day, well... you soon come back to reality!

Have decided I will give Wheat flour and milk a whirl as a sealant on the walls. I read somewhere an old house was still standing 100 years on, due to this sealant, so think I might try it. No idea why it would work...as there doesn't appear to be any real science in it, but there must be something to it, I guess. While turps or something oil based probably makes more sense, it is not very appealing to me. Something intuitive I think, is saying "Nah, stay away from that turps stuff".

Not sure if anyone else might have some suggestions here? Am certainly trying to keep it in mind...

[ina]

Have decided I will give Wheat flour and milk a whirl as a sealant on the walls.

Might come in useful in case of a famine, too! Just scrape your daily portion of cereals off the walls, mix with water, hey bingo.

[Stonehead]

Have decided I will give Wheat flour and milk a whirl as a sealant on the walls. I read somewhere an old house was still standing 100 years on, due to this sealant, so think I might try it. No idea why it would work...as there doesn't appear to be any real science in it, but there must be something to it, I guess. While turps or something oil based probably makes more sense, it is not very appealing to me. Something intuitive I think, is saying "Nah, stay away from that turps stuff".

Not sure if anyone else might have some suggestions here? Am certainly trying to keep it in mind...

Ah, where to begin...

First, you have to decide how you're going to finish your mortared joints. Do you want a smooth wall with the mortar and the bricks flush? Raked joints so each brick is crisply defined? Or do you want a shadowed effect - with the joints slightly recessed and the mortar rounded up the edge of the brick?

Then you have to decide your wall finish - will you leave the bricks as is? Or will you go over them with a stiff brush while the mortar is still wet? Or perhaps gently blast them with a pressure washer to expose the aggregates? Or just bag it with some damp hessian or muslin (different fabrics give different textures)? Or do you want to render - in which case you can use lime mortar or mud mixes.

And finally you have to decide how you're going to seal the surface. My favourite is clay slurry - find some clay with a nice colour, mix with water to make a "paint", strain it through some old stocking to get rid of the chunkier bits, and then paint it on. You add a proportion of sealant to the final coat to make it dustproof and easy to clean. Or if you're lazy (or want more colour options), there are companies that make earth paints for mud brick walls.

You can also use lime wash (add tallow to waterproof it) and this can be coloured as well. I limewash the interior and exterior stone walls around our croft, although there's still a vast amount to be done.

(And if you're wondering, my parents went through a mud brick phase many years ago and I've considered it a couple of times. However, I've now decided I'm more of a stone man. Or should that be stoneage man... )

Stonehead

[Boots]

Hey Ina... Did you hear about the guy who was found dead with a weetbix in his mouth? (I hope you have weetbix over there, or this won't make much sense..) Anyway, police are currently looking for a cereal killer...



Stonehead - Am heaps glad you have popped up. As a kid I lived in one of many stone cottages in early Adelaide (South Australia) and they really are excellent. Look great and are heaps cool. The one I remember is still going strong today.

Unfortunately, we have no big stones here, just stacks of clay, so mud is the go.

I am thinking I will finish differently for the inside and the outside, so will slurry the inside with clay then bag on a milk and wheat mix to get a nice smooth wall (that's the plan )and then accentuate the bricks on the outside by wetting down and sealing with just a mud slurry... most likely adding something here, just not sure what yet... tallow sounds interesting...

Whatever it is, needs to be available, so everything I read I just apply the old "Is that handy to me?" as a deciding factor.

I don't spose you know anything about sealing with blood do you? I have read (and seen pictures) of the most amazing floors that just come up looking fantastic - like a polished dark marble, and would like a bit of info on this. I don't think it has ever been used on walls - but for floors it has been used for many years, I think. I do have an abbatoir near here, and have no idea whether I may be able to actually get it, (or actually work with it ) but would be interested in more info on it.

[ina]

Hey Ina... Did you hear about the guy who was found dead with a weetbix in his mouth? (I hope you have weetbix over there, or this won't make much sense..) Anyway, police are currently looking for a cereal killer...

They are called weetabix here - but it's the same stuff!

[hedgewizard]

That's nothing. There were a couple of lads found dead in Dublin last week with their lungs clogged full of cement dust.

Police say they think they were glue-sniffers who moved on to heavier things...