| |
|
|
|
|
We've
just started another natural building project using home-made clay lump
blocks. Here's a short video showing how we make earth mortar  .
First,
we mashed up old clay lump blocks with a giant tamper, then ran the
earth dust through a garden sieve. The stones were 'harvested' for
another project. Earth dust was stirred 50/50 into a swidgy clay mix.
Depending on how dry/wet the
materials are we added more rainwater (harvested from our oak shingle
roof in 500L IBC tanks).
A sloppy mix works well with the dry clay lump
blocks as they absorb moisture quickly from the earth mortar.
The
photo shows Gerry, Mel, Sue and Katy. Gerry told us
a wonderful tale about making clay lump in Ireland in the early 60s.
Fifty five
years later the process is the same!
The
benefits of using earth mortar
are:-
- Free 'waste' material
- Easy to use
- No special tools or
skills needed
- Recyclable
- After use will return
to the earth
- Non-polluting
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|