EART-SOIL

AS BUILDING
MATERIAL

The thing that hit me in the eye,

right from the beginning, was that
an enormous amount of use was
made of mud! The first thing I
discovered was that mud is one
thing in one place and a different
thing in another. It is used for
different purposes and is used in
different ways! There are different
techniques of sticking it together
and making it into a wall or
whatever. This varied considerably,
even sometimes in a matter of a few
miles, from one district to another
Laurie Baker

EART-SOIL

AS BUILDING
MATERIAL

Mud as a construction material

has been extensively used since
Neolithic times.
Mud construction is mainly found
in places which are
relatively dry and
have mud in abundance.

EART-SOIL

AS BUILDING
MATERIAL

WE PREJUDICED?
Why isnt mud considered modern?
Is it true that mud is not as strong as
cement and steel?
Are concrete and steel perceived to
be better simply because they are
seen to be the result of modern
scientific and technological processes?
Is this a problem of mud itself or is
this merely a problem of the modern
mind?

SOIL SOURCE
Mud required for building can be
taken from the plot itself.
The soil is collected after depth of
60cms only.
As the top layer is full of organic
matter, it isnt used.
Below it is sand and clay which are
dug out in heaps.
Do not use hard rock.
Soil to be used should be devoid of
organic matter.
Top should be replaced after
excavating.

SOIL TYPES
Gravel: Small pieces of stone varying
from the size of a pea to that of an egg.
Sand: Similar small pieces of stone
(usually quartz), which are small but
each grain, is visible to the eye.
Silt: The same as sand except that it is
so fine that you cannot see individual
grains.
Clay: Soils that stick when wet - but
very hard when completely dry.
Organic Soil: Soil mainly composed of
rotting, decomposing organic matters
such as leaves, plants and vegetable
matter. It is spongy when wet, usually
smells of decaying matter, is dark in
color and usually damp.

SOIL USABILITY
Gravel: alone is of no use for mud wall
building - the tiny lumps of stone have
nothing to bind them together.
Sand: similar to gravel, it is of no use for
wall making by itself - but if mixed with
clay, it is the ideal mud wall building soil.
Silt: by itself is also no good for building
walls. It will hold together but is not
strong. Furthermore, it will not compact
so it is also of no use for pressed blocks
or rammed earthwork.
Clay: can be rammed or compressed but
in drying out they often shrink. During
the monsoon they get damp and expand
again and crack form.
Organic Soils: are mainly useless for
wall building.

TESTS
Field tests
Colour tests
Touch and smell test
Biscuit test
Hand wash test
Cigar test
Adhesion test

Lab tests
Sieve test
Sedimentation test

COLOUR TEST

Procedure -Observe the colour of

soil.
Interpretation
Deep yellow, orange and red,
ranging to deep browns indicate
iron content which is good as
building mud.
Greyish or dull brown, ranging
to dirty white indicates more
clay.
Dull brown with slightly
greenish colour indicates
organic soil.

TOUCH & SMELL

Procedure
Rub small quantity of dry soil
on palm to feel its texture.
Moisten the soil and rub
again.
Interpretation
Soil that feels course when
dry but sticky when wet
contains lumps of clay.
Soil that feels course when
dry but gritty when wet
contains sand.
Soil that feels course when
dry but little gritty when wet
contains silt.

BISCUIT TEST
Procedure
Make a smooth paste from the soil
removing all gravels.
Mould it into a biscuit of 3cm
diameter and 1cm height.
Leave it to dry and observe for
shrinkages or cracks.
Break the biscuit to noting how
hard it is.
Interpretation
If biscuit cracks or leaves gap from
the mould then it contains more
clay.
If its very hard to break then soil
contains more clay.
If it breaks easily and can be
crumpled between finger then it has
good sand-clay proportion.
If breaks and reduce to powder

HAND WASH TEST

Procedure
Play with wet soil till your hands
get thoroughly dirty.
Wash your hands to see how
difficult it is to clean.
Interpretation
If hands get cleaned quickly,
then soil contains more sand.
If it takes little time to clean and
feels like flour then soil contains
more silt.
If it feels soapy or slippery and
takes time to clean then soil
contains more clay.

CIGAR TEST
Procedure
Make a smooth paste from the soil
removing all gravels.
Roll it on palm to make a cigar.
Slowly push it outside your palm.
Measure the length at which it
breaks.
Interpretation
Length below 5cm - too much sand.
Length above 15cm - too much clay.
Length between 5cm to 15cm - good
mixture of sand and clay.

ADHESION TEST
Procedure
Make ball out of wet soil.
Pierce a knife into it and
remove.
Observe the knife after
removing.
Interpretation
If little soil sticks on the knife
then it has more silt.
If lot of soil sticks on the knife
then it has more clay.
If the knife is clean after
removal than the soil has more
sand.

SIEVE TEST
Procedure
Pass soil from series of
standard sieves set on top
of on another with finest
sieve at bottom.
Observer the soil collected
in each sieve.
Interpretation
Silt will be collected in
lowermost sieve.
Gravels will be collected
on top.
Sand and lumps of clay
will be collected in

SEDIMENTATION TEST
Procedure
Take a transparent
cylindrical bottle or jar of
1Lt. Capacity.
Fill it with soil and
water.
Shake well and allow it to
settle for 30 min.
Interpretation
Coarse gravels will be
settled at bottom, followed
by sand, silt and clay on
top.
Measuring the layers will

STABILISERS
When the available soil is not
suitable enough for construction
then the soil can be used by
manipulating its composition by
adding suitable stabilizers.
Stabilizing enhances the
given property of the soil
type.
Increase Tensile and Shear
strength.
Reduce shrinkage.

STABILISERS
Most common and effective stabiliser
is Soil itself.
Cement, is the best example of a
modern contemporary stabiliser.
Various other indigenous stabilisers
include
Straw
Plant Juices
Gum Arabic
Sugar Or Molasses
Cow Dung
Animal Urine
Tannic Acid
Oil

STABILISERS
Most common and effective stabiliser
is Soil itself.
Cement, is the best example of a
modern contemporary stabiliser.
Various other indigenous stabilisers
include
Straw
Plant Juices
Gum Arabic
Sugar Or Molasses
Cow Dung
Animal Urine
Tannic Acid
Oil

EARTH TECHNIQUES

EARTH TECHNIQUES

Cob
Pise or Rammed earth
Adobe
Pressed bricks
Wattle and daub method
SYSTEMS OF BUILDING
COB is good for anything except height.
It is particularly good for curved or
round walls.
PISE OR RAMMED EARTH is strong and
ideal for solid, squat, single storey
houses.
ADOBE or SUN DRIED BRICKS can easily
cope with two storey houses.
PRESSED BRICKS smooth and very
strong and can build three storey.
WATTLE & DAUB is elegant and fine for
Seismic Zones.

COB

Cob or cobb or clom (in Wales) is a

building material consisting of clay,
sand, straw, water, and earth, similar
to adobe. Cob is fireproof, resistant to
seismic activity,[1] and inexpensive. It
can be used to create artistic,
sculptural forms and has been revived
in recent years by the natural building
and sustainability movements.
The walls of a cob house were
generally about 24inches thick, and
windows were correspondingly deepset, giving the homes a characteristic
internal appearance. The thick walls
provided excellent thermal mass
which was easy to keep warm in
winter and cool in summer.
Walls with a high thermal mass value
act as a thermal buffer inside the

COB
With only a little water to form a very stiff
mud, a large lump is roughly moulded into
the shape of a huge elongated egg.
The usual size is anything between 12 to
18-inches, (30 to 40-cm) long and about
6-inches (15-cm) in diameter.
A row of these cobs of mud are laid neatly
side-by-side - preferably somewhat
pressed together.
Then another row of cobs is laid on top.
When three or four courses have been
laid, one above the other, the sides are
smoothed over so that the holes and
cracks disappear.
Openings for doors, and windows are a
problem, which can be solved by using
temporary vertical planks or shuttering.
Another very simple shuttering for

RAMMED EARTH

Rammed earth, also known as

taipa[1] (Portuguese), tapial
(Spanish), and pis (de terre)
(French), is a technique for building
walls using the raw materials of
earth, chalk, lime and gravel. It is
an ancient building method that has
seen a revival in recent years as
people seek more sustainable
building materials and
natural building methods. Rammedearth walls are simple to construct,
incombustible, thermally massive,
strong, and durable.
They can be labour-intensive to
construct without machinery
(powered tampers), however, and
they are susceptible to water
damage if inadequately protected
or maintained. The second method

RAMMED EARTH

Building a rammed-earth wall involves

compressing a damp mixture of earth that
has suitable proportions of sand, gravel and
clay (sometimes with an added stabilizer)
into an externally supported frame or mould,
creating either a solid wall of earth or
individual blocks. Historically, such additives
as lime or animal blood were used to stabilize
the material, whilst modern construction
uses lime, cement or asphalt emulsions.
Some modern builders also add coloured
oxides or other items, such as bottles or
pieces of timber, to add variety to the
structure.
It is also an attempt to increase the strength
of the wall by ramming it. It is known as the
Rammed Earth method.
Two parallel planks are held firmly apart by
metal rods and clips or bolts, or by small
crosspieces of wood.

RAMMED EARTH

When one section is completed and hard,

the two boards are moved along and the
process is repeated
The two planks are then raised up and a
second course of rammed earth is repeated
over the first.
The compression strength of the rammed
earth increases as it cures; it takes some
time to dry out, as much as two years for
complete curing. Exposed walls should be
sealed to prevent water damage.
The compressive strength of rammed earth
can be up to 4.3MPa (620psi). This is less
than that of concrete, but more than strong
enough for use in domestic buildings.[3]
Indeed, properly built rammed earth can
withstand loads for thousands of years, as
many still-standing ancient structures
around the world attest.[4] Rammed earth
using rebar, wood or bamboo

Holy Cross Episcopal Church) in Stateburg

, South Carolina,

EDEN PROJECT

ADOBE

Adobe is a natural building material

made from sand, clay, water, and some
kind of fibrous or organic material
(sticks, straw, and/or manure), which
the builders shape into bricks using
frames and dry in the sun.
Adobe buildings are similar to cob and
mudbrick buildings. Adobe structures
are extremely durable, and account for
some of the oldest existing buildings in
the world. In hot climates, compared
with wooden buildings, adobe buildings
offer significant advantages due to their
greater thermal mass, but they are
known to be particularly susceptible to

ADOBE

Buildings made of sun-dried earth are

common in the West Asia, North Africa,
West Africa,[3] South America, southwestern
North America, Spain
CompositionAn adobe brick is a
composite material made of clay mixed with
water and an organic material such as straw
or dung. The soil composition typically
contains clay and sand. Straw is useful in
binding the brick together and allowing the
brick to dry evenly.{{[9] }} Dung offers the
same advantage and is also added to repel
insects. The mixture is roughly half sand
(50%), one-third clay (35%), and one-sixth
straw (15%) by weight.
Bricks are made in an open frame, 25cm
(10in) by 36cm (14in) being a reasonable
size, but any convenient size is acceptable.
The mixture is molded by the frame, and
then the frame is removed quickly. After

ADOBE

The same mixture to make bricks, without

the straw, is used for mortar and often for
plaster on interior and exterior walls. Some
ancient cultures used lime-based cement
for the plaster to protect against rain
damage
Reinforcement can include manure, straw,
cement, rebar or wooden posts. Experience
has shown straw, cement, or manure added
to a standard adobe mixture can all
produce a stronger, more crack-resistant
brick
An adobe wall can serve as a significant
heat reservoir due to the thermal properties
inherent in the massive walls typical in
adobe construction.

ADOBE

Blocks shall be kept covered with air

tight polythene sheets for first 48
hrs with relative humidity up to 100.
Polythene sheets shall be removed
after 48 hrs and the blocks shall be
kept in shaded area like having
enough air circulation.
Sprinkle water over blocks daily, as
many times needed, during 28
days.
Write date of production on block
corner.
Cover stacks top with coconut
leaves or any other cover to avoid

Image:Iran, Bam.

COMPRESSED EARTH BLOCK

Compressed Earth Block

often referred to simply as
CEB, is a type of
manufactured construction
material formed in
mechanical press that forms
an appropriate mix of dirt,
non-expansive clay, and an
aggregate into a compressed
block
CEB blocks are installed onto
the wall by hand and a slurry
made of a soupy version of
the same dirt/clay mix, sans
aggregate, is spread or
brushed very thinly between
the blocks for bonding.

COMPRESSED EARTH BLOCK

The advantages of CEB are in the

wait time for material, the
elimination of shipping cost, the
low moisture content, and the
uniformity of the block thereby
minimizing, if not eliminating the
use of mortar and decreasing both
the labor and materials costs.
CEB can be pressed from humid
earth. Because it is not wet, the
drying time is much shorter. Some
soil conditions permit the blocks to
go straight from the press onto the
wall. A single mechanical press can
produce from 800 to over 5,000
blocks per day, enough to build a
1,200 square feet (110m2) house
in one day. The Liberator, a high
performance, open source CEB
press, can produce from 8,000 to

WATTLEANDDAUB

Wattle and daub method is an old

and common method of building
mud structures.
There bamboo and cane frame
structure that supports the roof.
Mud is plastered over this mesh of
bamboo cane and straws
Due to excessive rainfall the Wattle
and Daub structures gets washed
off.
However, the mesh of cane or split
bamboo remains intact and after
the heavy rain is over the mud is
plastered on again.

EARTHBAG CONSTRUCTION

This method was developed from

the bunkers made by the military
The basic construction method
begins by digging atrench.
Rows of woven bags (or tubes) are
filled with available inorganic
material
After the foundation is laid, each
successive layer will have one or
more strands ofbarbed wireplaced
on top.
The weight of this earth-filled bag
pushes down on the barbed wire
strands, locking the bag in place on
the row below.
The most popular type of bag is
made of wovenpolypropylene.
Organic/natural materials such
ashemp,burlapor other natural-

FOUNDATION

Often it is feasible to build the walls

of a home on mud, but some more
solid material is needed for the
foundation and basement.
If stone is locally available it can be
used.
There are times when the topsoil
may be soft and useless but there
may be reasonable harder subsoil
capable of carrying the weight of a
single storey mud house. In this
situation remove the soil from the
trench you would normally dig for a
stone or brick foundation.
Slightly dampen the excavated soil
and then replace a part of it to fill
the trench about 6 to 9-inches. Ram
this very hard - then repeat until the
trench is full.
If there is bamboo is available, it

MORTAR

SUITABLE MORTAR FOR

MASONRY
Stabilised Earth Mortar is best
suited for masonry using mud
blocks.
Mud mortar shall be stabilised 1.5
times more than the mud blocks.
Add course sand (0.2 to 2mm) to
reduce shrinkage.
Prepare plastic mix rather than dry
mix.
Ideal mix = soil suitable for mud
block + 40% to 50% of sand by
weight + 7.5% cement.

MORTAR

Test the mortar before use

Procedure
Start with a mix of 1 vol. Cement
+ 6 vol. Soil + 6 vol. Sand.
Apply a layer of 1cm mortar on a
block soaked in water and let it
dray in shade.
Observe the mortar for cracks.
Interpretation
If cracks appear, reduce the soil
and increase the sand
proportion.
1 cement + 5 soil + 7 sand.
If mortar is too crumbly,
increase the soil and reduce the
sand proportion.
1 cement + 7 soil + 5 sand

TREATMENT AGAINST
TERMITES

Mud is the natural home of

termites so in areas where
they are common the same
precautions have to be taken
as in all buildings to prevent
their moving up into the walls
and eating wooden frames
etc.
A one-inch thick layer of
mortar (one part of cement
to 3-parts of sand) can be
laid all over the top of the
basement wall before
building the mud walls above
it. This is helpful in keeping
out both termites and damp.

TREATMENT AGAINST
TERMITES

Even better is to construct an

apron of burnt brick or stone
(or it can be rammed earth)
all round the building (to
prevent damage to the walls
by splashing, of rain water)
and this too can be plastered
over with a rich cement
mortar.
Any thin sheet metal may be
laid over the basement wall
with a 3-inch downward
projection before starting to
build the superstructure mud
wall above. This is expensive
but very effective.
There are various chemicals
on the market, which can be

WATER

Water and dampness are one

of the major problems for
mud as construction
material.
The best way of protecting
any wall from either rain or
sun is to have a good big
overhang to your roof.
The sloping, or pitched roof is
better because the walls
need not be so high as for a
flat roofed house.
Provide trenches round the
house to receive dripping
water and drain it away.