Materials - Earth
 

Title Page Global Summary Building Summary Design Options Materials   Stone   Glass and Plaster   Metals   Earth   Wood   Strawbale   Planted Roofs Ventilation Energy Savings   Building Config.   Room Layout   Solar Orientaion   Cooling/Heating   Water Heaters Water Conservation   Landscaping   Rainwater   Waste Water Readings Examples     Thesis EcoResearch Bibliography Portfolio				The most ancient of all worked materials.  Mud walls, dried in the sun and protected from excessive wet, can last for centuries and, once fired, earth can survive for thousands of years to provide buildings and artefacts of extraordinary beauty and diversity.  Earth is an abundant material easily dug at little or no cost.  It has excellent thermal-storage qualities.  A properly built earth house is durable as well as fire, rot, and termite proof.  It has an indoor climate that regulates air moisture and sound and helps to absorb and expel polluted air.      In construction, it uses only about 3% of the energy expended on similar concrete building.  The best soil for bricks contains 75% sand and a minimum of 10% clay.  For rammed earth, less sand and more clay and silt is preferred.  Well-compacted soil usually requires no stabilizers, but poor soils will - cement and bitumen for sandy soils and lime for clay soils.  An earth house is less suitable in wet, temperate regions of the world unless it is built up on a well-drained damp-proof foundation and with a wide roof overhand.  rammed earth home in Tucson, Arizona by Rick Joy advance
				owen.rose@mcgill.ca