House made of straw and clay. Clay house: step-by-step construction instructions. relative ease of construction

Adobe is one of many methods of building from raw earth, the most common building material throughout the world.
What is adobe? Adobe is a composite material consisting of earth, water, straw, clay and sand, which is laid by hand in the construction of buildings while it is malleable.

There are no molds like rammed earth, no bricks like adobe, no additives or chemicals, and no machinery required. This is an ancient, time-tested material. The viability of adobe has been fully proven throughout the world for centuries, and maybe even millennia.

Building houses from adobe is the least industrial, safest and simplest natural construction method. Clay has been used as a building material since ancient times. Even in Assyria and Babylon, many thousands of years before the birth of Christ, buildings were built from unfired clay. outbuildings, houses and entire palaces. The technology was simple: wet clay was stuffed into special wooden molds and then dried in the sun.

There are tens of thousands of comfortable adobe houses in England, many of which have been in use for over five centuries. Yemen's medieval 10-story skyscrapers, built partly from adobe like those at Taos Pueblo, have been continuously inhabited for 900 years. Most of both the Great Pyramids and the Great Wall of China are made up of land, and the oldest known human habitations at Jericho were 9,000 years old.

Like any other building, an adobe house needs good roof and a strong foundation to protect against water damage. Traditionally adobe walls are protected from rain by lime plaster or trim, although on sheltered sites in England unplastered houses have stood for centuries. The 30 to 60 centimeter thick adobe walls provide enormous thermal mass and good insulation, ideal for a passive solar system.

Cob structures do not require much additional heating in the winter and remain cool and comfortable on hot summer days. Saman is one of the cheapest building materials that you can imagine. Often the soil that is dug out of the hole for the foundation is enough. With ingenuity and forethought, the cost of the remaining components (doors, windows, floors, etc.) can be significantly reduced. Total costs depend on size, design.

HOW TO MAKE A HOUSE FROM SAMAN?

First, let's prepare the adobe mixture.

A hole dug in the ground is optimal for preparing the mixture. The size of the pit will depend on the number of people who will stir the mixture. The depth of the pit should be about -10-30 cm. To make stirring more convenient. If possible, it is also worth putting film in the hole so that the mixture does not mix with the soil. But if you have a concrete mixer, then please, you can use it.

1. So, in order to build a house from adobe, you need clay, which is used to lay bricks when building stoves, sand from the river, water, straw. The clay is initially soaked in water. The proportions of water and clay are important. The optimal proportion will be when the clay in the mixture is 10-25%. And to better determine the best one, simply conduct several batch tests in the following proportions: 3:1, 2:1, 1:1, 2:3, 1:2, 1:3.

2. Then add water. To determine the optimal amount, make a lump from each pile. Then drop it at the level of a meter, if it flattens, then there is too much water, if it crumbles, then the lump is dry or there is a lot of water in it. If the lump falls and retains its shape, then it is in the ideal consistency.

3. After determining the optimal proportions of sand, water and clay, you can begin preparing the amount of mixture you need. A tarp is ideal for this, place the mixture in the center, lift the edges of the tarp up, stand on it and stomp your feet.

4. Now it's time to add the straw, but don't forget to stir the mixture. As soon as it becomes difficult to mix, take a piece of the mixture and try to form a lump out of it. Then throw it up, if it retains its shape when it falls, then the adobe mixture is ready.

The house can be decorated with relief and bas-relief. You can even paint the walls...

MOLD FOR CASTING BLOCKS:

We cast the blocks like this:

And you can choose a house plan to suit every taste, if you are not afraid to get creative... For example... like this:

Let's start building a house from adobe.

You have already formed the blocks for masonry, and from this you can begin. Just first, it’s worth mentioning that at the base the blocks should be a little wider because they bear the heaviest load. If the walls of the house are high, then the upper blocks can be made narrower. Laying blocks is done in the same way as during construction, only without cement. The blocks are stacked on top of each other.

If the lower blocks leak, just cut off the excess and wait until they dry. You can first practice in a flowerbed or make a fence, and then start solving the question of how to build a house from adobe.

The arch can be made like this:

Children, too, will find work... It’s better to build a house with the whole family!

.... Here, the house is ready!

Can be built in the garden small house for children, which almost every child dreams of in childhood.

The architecture of adobe houses can be very diverse!

Is a mud house a good idea? They are constantly viewed more as a curiosity, however, houses are built from this material that are not inferior to houses built using other available technologies. Are you at the stage of choosing a house project? Maybe a house made from clay with your own hands will be ideal for your family.

Today's clay houses are able to fully satisfy the needs of individual developers, making it possible to comfortably and conveniently use new home. They are built en masse in countries with a high environmental culture. Well known in the USA, Canada, Australia, Germany or Sweden. Russia, unfortunately, is not very open to novelty, but we are beginning to approach such houses with an increasing degree of trust.

A house made of clay, wood and straw, but not a mud hut

Modern technology for making a house from clay makes it possible to build a building that will in no way resemble its own appearance ancient huts. In addition, in ecological houses made of clay there are no problems with interior and exterior finishing, which are used in traditional construction technologies. Clay accumulates heat well, and, in addition, quickly absorbs and releases moisture. For this reason, in houses where this particular material is used, air humidity that is friendly to the human body always reigns. In addition, houses of this type become a real refuge for allergy sufferers, since the clay also prevents electrostatic charge, thereby limiting the formation of dust in the room. It also preserves wood, making it resistant to biological corrosion.

The walls of an eco-house made of pressed straw and clay 50-60 cm thick are warm and energy efficient. Such insulation in the autumn-winter period consumes only 15-30 kW/h per m² of surface (standard 90 kW/h). If there is heating with electric radiators, heating bills will be reduced by 3 times compared to traditional houses.

Construction technologies

Current regulations allow the use of two technologies during the construction of houses made of clay. The first of these involves the use of a structural frame made of steel, wood or precast concrete elements. Such a frame is filled with so-called light clay. The concept of light clay should be understood as a mixture of fatty clay with a large amount of fillers. The filler can be, for example, straw, sawdust, reeds. However, despite the fact that straw has a good degree of thermal insulation, it is not a durable material. In order to increase the strength of the walls of the house, you can use other available construction technologies. Fillers are used for reinforcement, they prevent the appearance of cracks in the walls. The material used as an admixture to the clay should have as much strength as possible and minimize wall shrinkage. Thus, you can build walls by tamping clay into formwork with your own hands, but ready-made ones are also available in the market clay blocks. Walls made from such blocks are insulated from the facade mineral wool or insulated with light clay. In the case of building houses with an attic, it is better to use cellulose wool (ecowool) to insulate the roof. This is a fully effective material for eco-construction.

Advantages

Environmentalists, as well as seekers of solutions with low economic costs, are able to appreciate positive aspects houses made of clay. In fact, it is impossible to disagree with them. The material is environmentally friendly. In addition, environmental and other materials used in this construction technology, that is, straw, stones, wood. These materials are readily available and do not require additional processing, which does not lead to an increase in carbon dioxide emissions and other emissions harmful to the environment. environment substances. In addition, a house built from clay is almost completely biodegradable after completion of its operation. The materials used during construction are much cheaper than, for example, traditional ceramics or concrete. It is assumed that already at the construction stage, it is possible to save about 40% of the costs that would have to be incurred when building a house in the traditional way. Additional savings appear during the operation of an ecological house.

Clay houses are highly energy efficient, and sometimes even achieve parameters close to those that characterize passive houses. This requires a suitable design, the construction technology indicated above and error-free execution. In addition to the advantages listed above, such houses also have a number of advantages:

health benefits,
wide possibilities for organizing space inside the house,
unique aesthetics of the building from the outside,
good room acoustics.

A healthy microclimate reigns in houses made of clay. The relative humidity of the room is 50-60%, which is very beneficial for the people living in them. Dust does not stick to clay plasters and mold or mildew develops on it. Thanks to thick walls, the room is not too cold in winter or too hot in summer. It is comfortable to live in such conditions, and they are favorable for maintaining good health and feeling great every day. In addition, clay is also fire-resistant, preserves wood, and its use for plaster allows you to obtain excellent acoustics in the room.

Flaws

None of the available construction technologies not perfect. No matter why we build our houses, they are always in some sense inferior. The technology of clay construction is due to the fact that in order for the walls to have sufficient load-bearing capacity, stability and strength, they must also have the appropriate thickness. Therefore, clay walls, as a rule, should have a thickness of 50-60 cm. Thanks to this thickness, the walls have good thermal and acoustic insulation, but also help reduce the usable area of the house. The problem may arise when we do not have too spacious a plot.

Where you live. And it’s not just about what household chemicals you use, what products you buy, or whether you sort your garbage. And actually about the construction of your house. If you are the happy owner of a plot of land and a small start-up capital, you can build truly ecological housing, using ancient and traditional technologies for Ukraine, which will be in no way inferior to modern projects. We are talking about an adobe house.

First of all, let's explain what adobe is - it is a building wall material in the form of unfired bricks made from a mixture of clay, sand and straw (sometimes other ingredients). If we talk about construction characteristics, then the compression limit of adobe brick (in dried form) ranges from 10 to 50 kgf/cm2 and is similar in strength to aerated and foam concrete grade 600 (tensile strength 25-40 kgf/cm2).

Although this technology is considered more characteristic of the countries of Asia, South America and the Caucasus, it is also quite common in Central, Eastern and Southern Ukraine. Ukrainian traditional mud huts were built from adobe. Houses and auxiliary structures are still being built from adobe. Some of them have been preserved in excellent condition not only in museums, but are also still used in villages. And the grandchildren of those who built them live in them.

The advantages of building with adobe include:

The cost is significantly lower than buildings made of ordinary brick. Adobe brick can be easily made with my own hands.
In terms of durability and strength, adobe structures are equal to traditional buildings.
Adobe has low thermal conductivity, so it is easier to maintain comfortable temperature both in summer and winter.
Due to its porosity, adobe provides a normal level of humidity.
Saman is a fire-resistant material. Even after a fire, the walls, as a rule, remain almost undamaged.

The disadvantages include the fact that adobe absorbs moisture very well, so during construction, great attention must be paid to waterproofing both the foundation and walls.

Another benefit of building this way is that you are less constrained by shape than with traditional construction. Your house can have both classic outlines and unusual shapes - round walls, a domed roof, a recess into a hill - with clay you can practically limit your imagination.

It is clear that it is impossible to outline all the nuances of building a house from adobe in this article. In the end, when building any house, you will still need expert advice, so we will focus on how to make adobe bricks with your own hands and note only some of the main stages of this type of “green” construction.

In order to make a brick from adobe, first of all, we need clay (oily or medium fat content), sand (coarse-grained, not sea), water, plant debris (the most common option is chopped straw 6-10 cm long) . You can also add expanded clay, cement and sawdust to the clay. If desired, you can add various aseptic additives to the mixture. For fire safety can be added flame retardant additives.

If you use clay that is too oily for the production of adobe blocks, they will crack, and if it is not oily enough, the mixture will not adhere well, crumble, and the strength of the block will suffer. To determine the fat content of clay, it is worth consulting with specialists. But there are also traditional methods its definitions. Here are examples of the two simplest ones:

How to test clay for fat content

Method 1

From the selected clay we form a ball the size of chicken egg. We place it between two planed boards (plywood) and squeeze the ball, pressing it with the top board:

a ball of low-fat clay will immediately fall apart;

a ball of medium-fat clay will fall apart when the distance between the boards is reduced by about a third;

a ball of oily clay cracks when the distance between the boards reaches halfway.

Method 2

Dilute a small amount of clay with water to the consistency of sour cream. Take a dry and smooth wooden stick. Stir the clay solution with a stick. Based on the amount of clay that sticks to the stick, its fat content is determined:

Oily clay - 3 mm or more;

Average clay - 1-3 mm;

Let's get to work. We dig out the pit and cover its bottom with film. We lay a layer of clay 10-30 cm thick on this bedding, fill it with water and leave it overnight. The next day, add sand, knead, and then add pre-moistened filler. Leave the mixture for 2 days, add more liquid if necessary. You can mix the ingredients with a shovel or stick, and knead comfortably with your feet.

We make a mold and make a brick. The mold can hold any number of brick slots at once, but keep in mind that you will need to lift it and turn it over along with the folded brick. Therefore, usually for one person they make a form with 2 cells, for two - with 4-6.

Pre-moisten the mold with water and sprinkle with chopped straw or sawdust. Bricks can be made in almost any desired size and shape, but a typical parallelepiped shape is the size shown below. The mold for making bricks must allow for drying shrinkage of approximately 8%.

Brick dimensions, cm Mold dimensions taking into account shrinkage

40x19x13 43x20, 5x14

36x17x13 39x18, 5x14

30x14x10 32.5 x15x11

Bricks are dried under open air 2-3 days, then the brick is placed on edge and dried for about another week. Then the adobe blocks are stored, for example, in a barn (it is important to protect them from moisture) and kept for about another week or until construction begins.

Work should begin in the spring, then you have a chance to not only make a brick, but also build a house during the season. In 1 day of work, 3-4 people will be able to make 150-200 bricks.

How to check the quality of adobe bricks

If the adobe brick was made correctly, then:

a nail that is driven tightly into the brick, but holds tightly;
brick does not soak in water for 1-2 days;
the brick remains intact when dropped from a height of up to 2 meters.

Now that you have required quantity bricks for your house, you can begin its construction. As we noted, a house made of adobe can be built according to a variety of projects, and therefore we will not dwell in detail on the construction process itself, we will only note some of the nuances of constructing structures from adobe brick:

The foundation of an adobe building must be very well waterproofed.

It is worth placing canopies over the windows to prevent rainwater from flowing in. Window sills are also waterproofed and protected by tides. The entrance thresholds of the house are also carefully waterproofed.

The corners and joints of the walls are reinforced with reinforcing mesh.

Beams and floors are arranged with load redistribution over the entire wall to avoid point loads.

External walls can be plastered and whitewashed (traditional option) or lined with red or sand-lime brick, ceramic or cement tiles. Taxation should begin after the house shrinks. Preferably six months to a year after the construction of the house.

Common materials for building a house are brick, various blocks or wood. There is an equally practical and reliable material, from which you can build a house - straw. Straw house, despite the first impression of this type of material, they are very durable in use. The thatched house is very comfortable and... Before starting to build a house, it is recommended that you familiarize yourself with all the nuances of such a design.

Description, types, technologies

The main and basic material involved in the construction of a house is straw. It is used in various forms. The shape of the structure and the technologies used for its construction depend on this.

Straw blocks

For the construction of building walls, blocks with dimensions of 35x45x90 cm are mainly used. Each individual block first undergoes a process of pressing and drying. After this, it is tied with a nylon cord.

Straw bale house requires the use of quality material. The raw materials used for bales are flax, rye and wheat. The highest quality and most suitable for building a house from pressed straw is rye raw material.

Straw panels

Straw panels - good way build thatched houses. New technologies in green construction involve the use of straw panels. The products themselves are manufactured in production conditions and delivered to the construction site. The materials are used in frame technologies and are self-supporting.

A house made of straw panels, which reach a thickness of 48 cm, is characterized by high level thermal insulation, exceeding that of aerated concrete by 5 times. The load-bearing capacity of the panels is also very high, and in the event of a fire, the products do not catch fire for 2 or more hours.

Straw with clay

Clay is added to the straw raw material to impart reinforcing properties to the entire structure. The clay material adds thermal insulation to a building by giving the surfaces of the home properties of the heat accumulator. Houses made of clay and straw are good because they daytime days the walls and ceiling absorb thermal energy, and when night falls, they prevent the entry of cold air masses into the room.

To build such a house, use the following clay mortar recipe:

you will need to mix clay, coarse sand and straw in a ratio of 1:2:0.6, respectively;
you can mix either manually or using a concrete mixer;
if mixed manually, then you will need a deep hole, which is first covered with a tarpaulin. It is convenient to make the mixture by lifting a piece of tarpaulin by the corners;
if a concrete mixer is involved in the process, it is recommended to place several large stones inside it; they will help the mixture become homogeneous by breaking up the clay component.

dome house

From straw you can build not only a house of a regular shape, but also a sphere. In such a design, it is important to correctly assemble the frame; otherwise, the use of straw raw materials in any form is allowed. Both straw bales and panels are suitable. The only thing to remember when deciding to build with straw is that the straw panels must match the cells of the frame. They will have to be ordered individually if you want to do the construction yourself.

The foundation for the house is suitable for the pile type. If you build a domed straw house from blocks, then they need to be divided into several layers for high-quality laying of them in places of curves. After laying the bales, they are pulled together and the internal and external surfaces of the house are plastered.

How to build a straw house

Using straw blocks to build your house, you get a very light but durable structure. The essence of the technology for building such a house is as follows:

Initially, before starting to lay the material, it is necessary to build a frame on which it is planned to later attach the straw elements. Wood beams are used for the frame.
After the frame is made, they begin laying straw blocks.
To make the entire structure reliable during assembly, metal stakes are used and placed in the central part of the straw blocks.
The location of the blocks relative to the frame is allowed both on the inside and on the outside.
Another point when laying blocks is compliance with a certain sequence of their location. The blocks should not be allowed to mismatch at the seams.
As the bales are laid, the rods passing through them also grow larger. Each rod is fastened to the previous one. The first row of metal rods is installed on the foundation in 1 m increments.
After the height of the wall reaches the desired limit, a nut is screwed into the upper end of each of the rods and tightens the entire row of bales.

There is a technology for constructing a thatched house called frameless. It is characterized by the following features:

Straw bales are secured only using metal, wooden or plastic rods, similar to the previous method;
after laying all layers of straw, covering with a metal mesh or a mesh made of polymer material is required;
The surface must be plastered over the mesh. The thickness of the plaster layer must be at least 7.5 cm.

Construction of a thatched house in combination with clay it occurs using frame technology. If you want to build a house out of clay and straw with your own hands, then it is recommended that you familiarize yourself with the following nuances:

Before laying straw blocks, they need to be dipped in a clay solution. You can use the recipe given above;
The walls take a long time to dry, so all activities must be carried out in dry and warm weather. Due to the clay mortar, the walls are susceptible to the formation of mold during drying;
a house built with the addition of clay is characterized by increased fire safety and strength properties;
First of all, it is necessary to fill the gap between the frame posts with clay mortar;
As for a roof made of a mixture of straw and clay, it should be taken into account that the angle of inclination should be in the range from 40 to 50 degrees;
the roof truss system for a house should be more massive and durable; the sheathing under the roof is made of poles, the thickness of which is 7 cm. You also need to build dowels that are connected to the rafters with holes, 7 cm deep. The ends of the poles are attached with long nails;
When laying the roofing material, supports are installed under the rafters, which will prevent the elements from sagging under the weight of the mixture of sand, straw and clay. After the roof has dried, the supports are removed;
begin laying the roof from its lower part towards the ridge. Sheaves of straw are laid out very tightly on a thrust board, after which they are untied and evenly distributed over the surface;
when laying the next sheaf, you need to overlap the edge of the previous one;
the thickness of the layer of straw material should be 15 cm;
after the straw has been laid in 4 rows (it is recommended to do this one by one, changing the roof slopes one or two rows at a time), begin pouring clay mortar over the straw raw material;
To achieve a flat roof surface, use a shovel and tap the clay mortar.

Reference: Before you start laying the blocks, it is important to cover the frame using metal mesh. This technique allows you to plaster the walls in the future.

Advantages and Disadvantages

You can characterize a thatched house by describing its positive aspects:

You don’t have to spend large sums of money to build a straw house. It is possible to build a full-fledged house for 5 thousand rubles per 1 m 2;
high rates of heat and noise insulation. The indicator values are 4 times higher than those of a conventional wooden structure;
service life reaches 1 century;
if rye straw was used for construction, then such a design is not afraid of damage by rodents, rotting even in conditions with high humidity;
construction duration is not long, materials are always available for purchase;
the possibility of constructing both a simple building structure and the most unusual and complex;
in a finished house at any time there is the opportunity to carry out repairs and redevelopment and even rebuild the entire structure. This is especially true for straw bale construction;
construction materials have little weight relative to the pressure on the soil. This is especially important when it comes to constructing a residential building on a slope;
Based on the previous paragraph, the conclusion follows that the foundation will not require large expenditures, both monetary and physical. It is enough to build a pile type of foundation for the construction;
the structure is not subject to shrinkage;
houses made of straw are classified as fireproof, since straw material is not prone to fire. Straw, after being pressed, smolders, which makes it possible to understand the emergency in time and eliminate its cause. If the building has been plastered, then it is not flammable at all;
due to the fact that the walls are quite thick, the feeling of a cozy home is ensured;
are seismically resistant structures;
during the construction process it is very easy to organize and install all the necessary communication systems;
Thanks to the low cost of materials, it is possible to improve and modernize your home at any time. The turnkey price for a straw house is equal to 30% of the total cost required to build a house made of wood using frame technology.

As for the disadvantages, the finished design does not have them. The only thing you need to pay attention to when deciding to build a thatched house is construction technology and quality of materials. You cannot make mistakes during the construction process and neglect the condition of the straw raw materials intended for the walls of the house.

Manufacturers

The following list of companies is engaged in the construction of straw houses and eco-houses:

Sphere of life. A company engaged in the construction of houses using straw as the main material. Specializes in dome (spherical) structures. The price depends on individual requirements and characteristics of the structure.
Rada. Green Building Center. Builds turnkey houses using German technology construction from straw panels.
Life house building. In addition to the fact that the company has the opportunity to order the construction of your own eco-house, you can place an order for the production of straw panels.
Construction using advanced technology of thatched houses. Builds like ordinary houses from straw and geodesic shape. for 1 m 2 the price is 15 thousand rubles.

Which one is better

When choosing a technology for building an eco-house from straw, it is impossible to say for sure which is better. Each of the technologies described above allows us to obtain a durable, reliable design. Push off in this issue better from own desires and opportunities.

In any case, the costs required will be significantly lower than those required, for example, for a conventional timber frame. Those who like to use only natural raw materials- a technology that uses clay in addition to straw is suitable. If you don’t want to spend a lot of time building your home, it’s better to give preference to straw panels and a frame. For those who want to further move away from the stereotypical cubic-shaped houses, a straw sphere is the best option.

For those who have decided to start building a house from straw, the following points will be useful. They will be especially useful for those who want to build a straw structure with their own hands:

It is important to adhere to all fire safety rules during the construction of the walls of the house. It is worth remembering that straw stems can fall out of the block and, individually, ignite well;
Before starting construction of a building, you need to make sure that the blocks are well pressed and well dried. If you build a house from insufficiently high-quality material, then a reliable, durable and strong structure will not work;
It is recommended that after completing the construction stage of the walls, they should be plastered. Such an event will provide protection from moisture and fire;
during finishing works It is not recommended to use materials indoors that impede the free movement of air and steam. A good option for finishing, clay or cement based plaster is considered;
if the walls of the house are too thick, then converter heat will be transferred into them. To avoid this process, cover the surface of the straw blocks with cardboard or kraft paper (in a horizontal plane).

Useful video

Thatched house- an excellent solution for those who want to surround themselves and their loved ones only with high-quality and natural materials. The raw materials used for construction are not only environmentally friendly, but also inexpensive. Considering the variety of technologies used to build straw houses, it is possible to choose one that will satisfy all the criteria of the future owners of an eco-house made of straw.