Construction of an adobe house - the revival of old technologies in modern times

Features of the building material - clay

It is a mistake to think that clay as a construction raw material has not been used by modern craftsmen for a long time. Indeed, the rate of its use has decreased, but in recent years, due to the “fashion” for natural materials, clay has been reintroduced into residential construction. The mineral has excellent astringent and preservative properties, mixes well with various fillers, after hardening it becomes quite strong and hard, and has high heat-insulating properties.

Most often, clay is used as a means for plastering wooden houses, but it can also serve as an effective load-bearing material for building environmentally friendly houses. Clay is suitable for building walls no worse than concrete and brick, and you can find it literally under your feet. The technology for building adobe houses is very old, more than 10 thousand years old, and some buildings have stood for more than one century.

The main condition for the reliability of construction is the arrangement of a solid foundation, because the weight of the walls will be significant. After drying, the clay particles tightly adhere to each other.

Chock: birch or coniferous

Wood in houses built using Cordwood technology ranges from 40 to 60%. The rest is the solution and insulating mixture. 30 different types of wood are used, but softwood stumps are preferred: Pacific yew, juniper, bald cypress, cedars. Chunks of Douglas fir, western larch, pine, and poplar are also suitable. You can take alder and aspen, but not birch logs! Birch logs are the most unsuitable material for such projects; all stories on the topic “I built a house from birch logs” end sadly.

Before use, firewood must rest for a year, or better yet, three, otherwise significant shrinkage is possible (up to 10 cm).

Member FORUMHOUSE Metamorphos:

– Of course, the type of wood is important. As you know, oak only gets stronger from moisture

It is important how to treat the wood: stain (to enhance the color and texture), moisture-bio-fire protection, resin-based compositions (crystallize the structure of the wood, blocking the pores), as well as various waxes and varnishes (give the wood shine and water-repellent properties). At a minimum, end machining is required.

After it, the hut will have a luster.

Well-dried wood is prepared for construction: the bark is removed from the hemp, the end edges of the firewood are sanded to smooth out burrs that will accumulate moisture.

Before you start stacking firewood (or at least its ends), it is advisable to soak it with an antiseptic or burn it with a blowtorch.

Solution for laying firewood: choosing the best

Experts give various recipes for mortar for building with firewood. Here it is: 9 parts sand, 3 parts sawdust (preferably from softwood), the same amount of building lime, 2 parts Portland cement. For external waterproofing, silicate plaster and linseed oil are used. Another recipe suggests mixing 3 parts sand, 2 parts wetted sawdust, 1 part Portland cement and 1 slaked lime.

Some builders plant firewood on a mixture of clay and sand or straw. The name of this “clay” technology is “clay mortar”.

Houses made of clay, photo. Projects in Russia.

According to FORUMHOUSE member Vatar, it is undesirable to do this:

“It was our Kulibins who began to make clay mortars, sculpt them from clay, and then scrupulously cover up the cracks every year. I know from my own experience working with clay mortar how difficult it is to choose a composition with the least amount of cracking. In addition, the clay for the solution must sit outside during the winter. Alternatively, you can experiment with the composition clay-lime-sand-sawdust, and the ratio of clay to sand should be no more than 1 to 4.

If the gazebo is made of logs and clay, processing the ends with a blowtorch will be more organic.

Gazebo made of logs and clay, processing of ends.

Sawdust with lime (or a mixture of sawdust soaked overnight with vermiculite), polyurethane foam, fiberglass, cellulose, and polystyrene are used as an insulating layer when building a block house.

Metamorphos forum user suggests this solution:

– To reduce the thermal conductivity of cement, you need to knead foam concrete (perlite concrete, expanded clay concrete, or, at worst, sawdust concrete), use various additives in the form of lime, PVA glue (this will ensure a reliable bond between the cement and the wood), and all sorts of plasticizers. It would be good to tint the concrete with pigment at the mixing stage, because the whitish-gray color does not look very good with wood. As an option, during laying, concrete is placed in the inner layer (about 15 cm), and the outer layer (the same amount) is filled with two-component polyurethane foam with a density higher than 35 kg/cub.m. This will provide the necessary strength, the absence of cracks when drying and good thermal insulation, and the yellowish color of the polyurethane foam in this case will not spoil the appearance.

Advantages and disadvantages of houses made of clay

The main advantage of adobe technology is the low cost of building materials. For construction, you will only need the cheapest raw materials, which are easy to find in a quarry or even on your own site. The work does not require expensive tools or special equipment.

Other advantages of clay houses:

• the ability to build any building according to your own design;
• easy correction of defects and making changes to the project directly during construction;
• low risk of clay ignition, no open combustion even in direct contact with fire;
• complete safety and environmental friendliness of materials;
• formation of a special microclimate inside the home (warm in winter, cool in summer);
• low thermal conductivity of clay walls, ability to accumulate heat;
• hygroscopicity - the ability to absorb and release moisture.

Among the disadvantages, it is worth noting the strict seasonality of house construction and material procurement. Clay will have to be mined in the summer, and you should look for raw materials of medium fat content. Otherwise, the house will not gain the required strength. You can only work in warm, dry weather, and all stages last quite a long time and are labor-intensive. It is better to invite helpers to build the house - it will be unrealistic to cope with the preparation of blocks and kneading of clay alone.

Another disadvantage of the technology is that the outside of the house will need to be carefully protected from moisture, because without finishing the walls can deteriorate. Since the mortar composition is adobe (a mixture of clay and straw), rodents are often interested in it. To prevent damage to the building, you will have to protect its lower part with a special mesh and treat it with plaster.

Description of technology

“Clay”, as a technology for building a house, is a construction method using pieces of wood (these can be logs, chocks, chopped branches of medium diameter. All this material is connected using mortar. It can be cement or clay.

Laying walls using the “claystone” technology from logs Source rulandia.ru

For work, a binder composition is first prepared, and then fragmented lumber is laid on it. The thickness of the walls in such houses directly depends on the length of the chocks. Wood is retained very well in mortar, so such structures can stand for centuries without signs of destruction.

Types of clay masonry

Houses using adobe technology can be built in different ways. The three main techniques are described below.

Formwork

The technique using removable formwork is used more often than others. First, a mixture of clay, sand, and straw is prepared, then it is compacted into formwork less than 20 cm high. To enhance the adhesion of each subsequent layer to the previous one, the upper part of the layer is made in the shape of a ridge. If necessary, the layers are strengthened by laying reed stems. New layers of clay with straw are laid after the previous layer has initially set and dried, but before a dense crust has formed.

Block masonry

After mixing the clay, bricks are formed and allowed to dry completely. The finished material is used to produce masonry similar to brick. Between the rows, the bricks are coated with a clay-sand mixture. All the mortar that was mixed to make bricks is used immediately, since it quickly hardens and hardens.

Masonry from bags

This technology is considered the least labor-intensive of all available. It involves constructing walls from bags filled with clay-based mortar. The construction process will take less time, and the finished structure will be very durable. The sequence of work on the “bag” technology is as follows:

• strong polypropylene bags are filled with a construction mixture with clay;
• compact the bags so that they take on a nearly rectangular shape;
• necks are sewn up with galvanized wire;
• lay the first row of bags, compact them again, and moisten them with water;
• barbed wire is distributed and secured with staples on top, a seam is formed from a mixture of sand, clay, lime and cement;
• lay the next layer of bags, repeat similar manipulations;
• additional strength of the structure is given with the help of sharpened steel reinforcement, driving it vertically directly through the bags;
• allow the solution to dry and gain strength, then arrange the floors and roof, make a concrete screed on the floor;
• While the house does not have a roof, cover it on top with plastic film or roofing felt.

Clay roofs. How to build an adobe house

An adobe house is an environmentally friendly structure that does not require large material investments. In addition, properly built adobe houses have increased earthquake resistance and fire resistance, and are much more durable than stone buildings. The design is quite lightweight, which allows you to save on installing the foundation. Clean air in an adobe building improves physical health.

You will need

• - Clay;
• - straw or sawdust;
• - shields;
• - mixture for plaster;
• - mineral wool;
• - building material for the roof.

Instructions

1

Before building an adobe house, select a suitable site. An adobe house should be located in a dry place on a hill. If you plan to build in flood zones, make sure the foundation is high enough. Despite all the advantages, adobe buildings do not tolerate even short-term flooding.

2

Install the formwork on the foundation. Use steel or wooden panels as formwork. Carefully connect the walls with reinforced rods. Level the box using a level.

3

To knead the clay, make a wooden box. To build an adobe house, you can use unfired clay mixed with straw or sawdust.

4

Prepare the solution at the rate of 1 part clay, 3 parts sawdust or straw. Pour the ingredients into a wooden box, mix thoroughly, moisten with water, put into formwork with a shovel if you use sawdust, or with a pitchfork if you use straw. Inside the formwork, thoroughly tamp the mixture using a bayonet shovel so that there are no voids left.

5

As the clay dries, rearrange the shields and continue pouring. Drying times depend on air temperature. In hot weather, this usually takes no more than 3-4 days.

6

After pouring is completed, remove the formwork. Install the mesh and plaster the walls on both sides. For plaster, use 1 part clay, 3 parts sand. Add 1 kg of lime paste and 200 g of Portland-500 cement to a 10-liter bucket of the mixture.

7

If your region has very cold winters, cover the outer walls with a thick layer of mineral wool and finish them as you wish.

8

To install the roof along the entire perimeter of the walls, secure the timber with anchors. Make stands. A light gable roof is most suitable for an adobe house.

Additives to clay

The basic solution is made from straw, clay, sand and water, but to optimize its properties, the addition of various additional components is encouraged. The most popular substances are the following:

1. Flax fiber. If necessary, they can completely replace straw. The fiber makes the clay walls stronger and makes the entire structure lighter.
2. Lime. Protects the house from rot, mold, and prevents the infestation of insects.
3. Cement. The introduction of the substance into a clay solution in a volume of 10% of the total mass significantly strengthens the masonry.
4. Plasticizers. They make the mortar more plastic and facilitate the formation of bricks.
5. Foam glass. Strengthens the mortar and reduces shrinkage.
6. Vermiculite or expanded clay. They are used to further reduce the thermal conductivity of walls.

Compound

Here are the main components that make up it:

• clay;
• clean sand (necessary for making high-density blocks or if the clay is too oily);
• fresh or last year's straw without rot or other defects;
• lime;
• water.

In addition, add to the mixture:

• cement or gypsum, which accelerates the strength gain of the blocks and makes them a little stronger;
• whey, which slows down the setting of cement;
• table salt, which reduces the freezing point of water;
• manure (added to increase the plasticity of the mixture or reduce heat loss);
• bone and flesh glue, increasing the strength of the finished product.

Requirements for the material and its preparation

The required amount of medium-fat clay is prepared in the summer and allowed to sit in the cold in winter - this will seriously increase the strength of the material. It is not recommended to use freshly collected clay. The fat content of the clay should be close to the average level. The amount of sand is selected experimentally to bring the fat content of the composition to the required limits.

After receiving a sample of the mixture (sand plus clay), a small ball (up to 5 cm in diameter) is formed, allowed to dry completely and thrown down from a height of human height. If the mass is of high quality, then the ball will not crack and will not break. The straw is taken from the August harvest, and it is also allowed to rest and dry well. Damp straw cannot be used for construction - it will rot.

DIY bricks and blocks

Traditionally, the solution is mixed in a hole dug near the place where the finished blocks are stored, so we recommend doing the same.

Here is the procedure required to make your own adobe blocks:

1. Dig a hole in the ground (the size of the hole depends on the number of those who will participate in the batch) with smooth walls and bottom.
2. Sew up the hole with a board or cover it with thick plastic to prevent water loss.
3. Grind the clay to lumps 1–2 mm in size and pour it into the hole.
4. Fill the clay with water.
5. To speed up the dissolution of the clay, wear rubber boots and walk along the bottom of the hole, stirring the solution.
6. When the solution is ready, add sand and straw, as well as other components, and mix thoroughly with your feet. Do not pour out all the materials at once, but add them in small portions, gradually trampling them into the main solution.
7. Make several identical shapes from boards or iron.
8. Place the finished mixture into molds with your hands and compact in any convenient way.
9. Take the mold to a temporary storage area for blocks and there remove the block blank for initial drying. If the mixture is made correctly, the block comes out of the mold easily.
10. After 3–7 days, transfer the bricks or blocks to a place for long-term drying, and after another month to a storage place.

Sequence of work

Construction technology includes such important stages as preparing sites, producing adobe bricks and laying walls, as well as forming the roof and finishing the house.

Site preparation

Several construction sites are being prepared for the construction of the building. The main one is intended for the house itself. It should be located in a dry area with low water levels in the soil. It is important that the house is in a sunny place, and there are no large, spreading trees nearby. In addition, sites for making bricks are prepared:

1. First site. This is where the adobe mortar will be mixed. The size of the area should be approximately 2.5 * 2.5 m, the recess should be 50 cm. The bottom should be covered with thick film or oilcloth.
2. Second site. It is located in the sun and has a slight slope. The finished bricks will dry here.
3. Third platform. It is laid out in pallets or boards on which the blocks will be dried. The place should be in the shade, accessible to wind blowing.

Foundation

Most often, strip foundations are used for clay houses. To build the foundation of the house, the area is marked using pegs and ropes. Then they dig a trench, selecting its width depending on the dimensions of the future walls (usually at least 40 cm). The depth of the underground part of the foundation, as a rule, is 0.8-1 meters, but not less than the freezing point of the soil.

Crushed stone is placed at the bottom of the dug trench, then sand, and the mass is compacted well. Formwork is made from wooden blocks or panels 0.5-0.7 m high, reinforcement is installed in the form of a mesh with cells of about 0.25 m. The reinforcement is tied with wire. The foundation is poured with concrete mixture and compacted manually or mechanically. Leave the concrete to dry for 4-6 weeks.

Preparing the blocks

Sand and clay are placed in the pit on the prepared site in the required ratio, which is determined experimentally. Soak the mass in layers with water and leave under the film for 2 days. Afterwards straw is added, which has been previously moistened and kneaded. The finished mass is well trampled with feet or in some other way, and then compacted into molds. Excess is removed with strong steel wire. The blocks have 5 holes to remove moisture.

Clay bricks are laid on a site on a slope, left until evening, and then taken away to dry for 6-9 days in the shade (to the third site). When drying, small gaps are left between the bricks for ventilation. The workpieces are turned over every day.

Wall masonry

Dried bricks are laid in rows, secured with clay-sand mortar. Make 2 rows at a time and leave them to dry a little. In the area of ​​future windows and doors, wooden lintels are placed so that their edges extend 15 cm into the walls on both sides. The wood is thoroughly waterproofed first. In order to strengthen the masonry, stalks of reeds are placed in the corners, which can replace the reinforcement.

Roof and trim

Overlappings are done as the house dries out. Wooden beams with sheathing are mounted, covered with clay and straw cakes on top, and boarded underneath. A gable roof is formed, extending it 0.7 m or more to protect the building from precipitation. The roofing material can be anything - its weight does not matter. Canopies are placed over windows and doors, and drainage pipes are installed under the windows.

The outside of the house is decorated with plaster or tiles. Internal walls are plastered over fiberglass mesh, then painted or applied with decorative mixtures. Wooden elements are treated with fire retardants to reduce fire hazard. If the construction technology is followed, the adobe house will stand firmly and reliably and will last for many years.

Raising the walls

Next, a frame made of 150 mm by 150 mm timber is installed on the foundation. After that, frames are made, which will subsequently form the frame. The frames are assembled from boards 100 mm by 50 mm. Fasten two boards so that there is a distance of 150 mm between them and install them on timber with a distance of 40 mm - 50 mm, not forgetting about doorways and windows.

Also in the fall it is important to keep an eye on the corners and check them all the time. After the frame of the first floor is assembled, the top frame is made with the same timber 150 mm by 150 mm.

Using the same technology, the second floor is assembled, if provided, and the construction of the roof begins. It is better to make a gable roof in an adobe house, since it is lighter and easier to manufacture. Also, very often the roof in adobe houses is also made of adobe.

After the roof is covered, they proceed directly to hammering the walls. To do this, formwork is made, which will be raised as the walls dry.

There are two types of adobe: heavy and light.

In heavy adobe, the main component is clay and most often it is used to make blocks from which they are subsequently assembled at home. Light adobe contains only 10% clay; the main component is straw.

Roof

The roof for an adobe house is usually made in the standard way - on a rafter frame. When building small adobe houses, narrow end walls are sometimes also erected in such a way that their upper edge has a trapezoidal shape (the middle is higher than the edges). Next, two beams of logs are laid along the length of the building.

The next step is something like this:

• boards are stuffed between the beams and the mauerlat (they, for obvious reasons, will be located with a slope);
• boards are stuffed between the beams;
• lay the roof with a layer of adobe mixture;
• After the mixture has dried, cover the roof with roofing felt in 2-3 layers.

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Rules for adobe construction

To avoid mistakes that can cost owners dearly, it is better to familiarize yourself with some recommendations.

1. When constructing monolithic walls, the layer laid per day should be up to 300 mm thick, this is the maximum. Otherwise, the walls may “float”.
2. The rafter system of an adobe house requires a mauerlat, which relieves adobe walls from uneven loads. It is made from boards.
3. Reliable protection of the structure is mandatory on rainy days, when any work completely stops.
4. Plastering with lime mortar is carried out after the building has completed shrinkage, about a year later.
5. Reinforcing mesh through 3-4 rows of blocks is necessary if you are building a two-story house or a building with an attic.
6. To protect the walls from getting wet, the roof overhangs must be at least 700 mm.

An adobe house is an opportunity to create an unusual structure at minimal cost, which will be very different from typical buildings. If the first experience is successful, then knowledge of the process of building an environmentally friendly, breathing home with your own hands and feet will no doubt prove useful in the future.

To get acquainted with all stages of work, it is better to watch a very interesting video, consisting of several parts:

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