Hello folks,
As we East Anglians sit slap bang in the middle of summer, like 99 Flakes in blobs of Mr Whippy ice-cream, the mud goes on. I’ve just finished leading a group of mud enthusiasts in the joyful task of pimping up a composting toilet at Orchard Barn. I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of seeing how three simple ingredients - clay, straw and sand - can create so many incredible construction materials.
Cob, adobe brick, earthen floors, mud mortars, daubs for wattles, light Clay Straw, and all manner of plasters and renders are just a few of the options! We used three different mixtures for the Orchard Barn toilet, adding a daub, a plaster and an earthen floor. Lucky toilet!
Here’s a quick cheat-sheet-style summary.
Cob is a load-bearing material used to build houses.
Adobe bricks are mud bricks and probably one of the oldest building methods. They have been used all over the world.
A mud mortar is the mortar that sticks bricks and stones together.
Wattle and daub is a technique whereby you weave willow or hazel whips into a fence and then coat it in a clayey daub.
Light Clay Straw is an incredibly easy way of creating insulating walls.
You can read my more in depth article on different types of mud building here:
Building with the earth beneath your feet is one of the most empowering, satisfying, and affordable ways to build. So why don’t more people do it?
Two reasons:
1. Because people just can’t imagine how strong clay based construction is until they see it.
2. Most people never learn the fundamentals of how earth building ingredients actually work.
You can hear me yabber about it in the video below:)
COUPON CODE: SPECIALINTRO50
Learn exactly how to make cob, adobe bricks, mud mortars and fillers, wattle and daub, earthen floors and Light Clay Straw insulation from the earth beneath your feet. Clay is one of the most abundant materials on the planet, and it’s there in your back yard. You will be amazed how easy it is to build with your own soil.
As with all my courses, there are plenty of videos, lectures and the whole course is also distilled into illustrated PDFs for you to refer to quickly later. Everything is downloadable.
This course is for you if you’re:
Planning to build your own home, studio, or outbuilding using some sort of mud building technique, and don’t know where to start
Already building and want to actually understand your mixtures instead of guessing
Restoring an old cob, adobe, or timber-framed building
A homesteader, permaculture nut, or heritage-building geek who just loves this stuff
An artist who’d like to start working with cob, adobe or wattle and daub.
It’s just £52.80 (plus your local digital VAT). This is a very special introductory price.
Offer ends 19th August. After that, the course goes up to full price (£105) and you’re back to guessing:)
Have fun with the dirt!
Atulya
Comments
Nothing yet. Say the first thing.
Sign in to join the conversation.