Earth building

This article was originally published on Sustainable Build. It was written by Jennifer Grey.

[edit] Introduction

Earth building is the practice of construction using unfired, untreated, raw earth. It has been successfully used around the world for over 11,000 years, and it is estimated that around half the world's population today live and work in earth buildings.

Earth is one of the most abundant, basic building materials. It is low technology, easily worked with simple tools, and yet can be used by anyone to construct walls, floors and roofs of advanced architectural design.

Earth buildings are highly durable, have good humidity regulation and sound insulation, and are non-toxic, non-allergenic and fireproof. They provide excellent thermal mass and insulation when built with thick walls, and when used with passive solar design.

Earth buildings have very low embodied energy, and low environmental impact, especially when the material is sourced on site.

As a building material and methodology, earth is the ultimate sustainable solution.

[edit] Types of earth building

The techniques and methods for earth construction vary with culture, climate and resources, but within the sustainable building movement they can be categorised as: cob, rammed earth, wattle-and-daub, light straw, earthbags, earth bricks, earthen floors, and earth plasters and finishes.

[edit] Cob building

The word cob means 'lump or rounded mass'.

Cobs are made from moist subsoil mixed with sand and un-chopped straw, and kneaded into stiff mud loaves that are then rammed together by hand to form a self-designed structure. The soil mixture should be approximately 1 to 2 parts clay (binder) to 1 part silt, 2 to 3 parts sand, and 3 to 4 parts gravel, and there should be around 3% straw to act as a strengthening binder and to prevent cracking.

Cob dries almost as hard as concrete and can be used for self-supporting, load-bearing walls. Thick walls are built (up to 6 ft wide) by working in layers, letting each one harden before adding the next layer. The wall is then plastered with clay or lime plasters, or left unfinished, but in wet climates an overhang or shelter might be necessary to protect an unfinished wall.

Building with cob is simple, cheap and requires few tools other than hands and imagination. It can be time-consuming, but there are many advantages to cob including its extreme durability, strength, fire-resistance, insulation properties and the ease with which it can be aesthetically shaped and sculpted.

For more information, see Cob building.

[edit] Rammed earth

Moist subsoil is layered into a temporary formwork (shuttering) and then rammed (tamped) for compaction by manual or mechanical means. The layers can be rammed continually until the wall is complete, with no need to wait for each layer to dry out. The walls are then allowed to dry naturally once the frame is removed. Rammed earth is stronger than cob, but more expensive because of the shuttering required.

For more, see Rammed earth.

[edit] Light earth or straw clay

A combination of cob and rammed earth, this involves coating loose straw or other fibrous material with a clay slip that is rammed tightly in layers into a timber frame. It is lighter than cob and has a higher insulation value, but is not as strong and must only be used as an infill with the timber frame.

The walls are allowed to dry before final plastering takes place. Light earth has also been used between rafters as roof insulation, and as insulation underneath earthen floors.

[edit] Wattle-and-daub

One of the oldest earth techniques, this involves weaving thin branches together (wattle) as a support for mud plaster (daub). It does not have the super-insulation properties of straw-bale or clay-straw, but provides good thermal mass.

For more information, see Daub.

[edit] Earthbags

These are soil-filled sacks that can be used to create walls and dome structures. This technique is still being explored, but seems to offer a quick and easy method for natural building, and may be especially suitable for temporary or disaster relief housing.

Moist soil is put into a burlap sack or plastic bag, stacked into place on a wall, and then compressed using a simple hand tool. Earthbags are increasingly being used as foundations for cob and straw bale houses.

[edit] Earth bricks

These are made from an earth and straw mix, similar to cob, placed into moulds to form bricks or blocks, and then dried out in the sun. The most popular type is adobe brick. Normal bricklaying techniques are used, using an earth or lime mortar. Earth bricks have load-bearing structural properties but provide poor insulation.

• Unfired Earth bricks: as above but dried in the sun. Many of the examples below may also used material such as straw, hair or other material to help tie / bind the blocks together.
• Fired Earth bricks: as above but usually higher clay content and then fired in an oven.
• Stabilised Compressed Earth Blocks (CEBs): Earth bricks which are then compressed with a manual or powered compressor and where the base mix cement or lime for enhanced strength and weather resistance.
• Unstabilised Compressed Earth Blocks (CEBs): Earth bricks which are then compressed with a manual or powered compressor and the base mix contains only earth and water, suitable for dry climates or interior walls.
• Interlocking CEBs: Shaped with grooves or notches to allow blocks to interlock, reducing the need for mortar.
• Insulated CEBs: Incorporate natural insulators like sawdust or perlite for improved thermal performance.

[edit] Earthen floors

This involves pouring one or more layers of an earth mixture over a substrate of gravel, pumice or sand. The site needs to be carefully prepared first to ensure drainage and low moisture.

Hardening agents are sometimes added such as blood, manure or lime. When the floor is completely dry, it is sealed with successive applications of linseed oil and turpentine, and waxed for protection.

[edit] Earth plasters and finishes

These are made from clay slips or lime and are becoming increasingly popular. They are non-toxic, and allow walls to breathe, so that any moisture trapped inside the walls can evaporate out.

--SustainableBuild

[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings

• Adobe.
• Architecture of Christiania.
• Arup and Better Shelter at the Working Together For Disaster Relief conference.
• Biomass.
• Clay.
• Cob building.
• Construction materials.
• Do green buildings pay?
• Earth plaster.
• Earthen construction.
• Earthship.
• Hemp lime construction: A guide to building with hemp lime composites.
• Hempcrete.
• Mud brick in Iran.
• Practical Building Conservation: Earth, Brick and Terracotta.
• Rammed earth.
• Recyclable construction materials.
• Retrofit.
• Rubble trench foundation.
• Sustainable development.
• Sustainable materials.
• Terracotta.
• Unfired clay masonry: An introduction to low-impact building materials.
• Vernacular earthen architecture.
• Wattle and daub.
• Ziggurat.