[Greenbuilding] clay in buildings

[Stephen Collette]

Hello Reuben and all,

Yes you are correct, it’s a relative. 

To summarize natural building for those not into it, it’s clay, and cellulose (typically straw). On one end of the spectrum you have adobe - all clay. On the other end you have straw bale homes - all straw with some clay on the outside and inside for prettiness and keeping things dry. In the middle, you have a whole myriad of options, more clay, less straw or more straw less clay. Wattle and daub, straw is the wattle (wood, lath strips, etc) and clay slapped on. Cob building is loafs of clay with chopped straw mixed in. The EcoNest straw clay approach is to tamp the straw clay mixture into a form and have it set. If you need more insulation, add more straw, if you need more thermal mass, add more clay. 

The idea is that with the combination of thermal mass and thermal insulation, you can find a natural wall system for your climactic needs by adjusting the ratio of the two main components. It has a track record of a few thousand years, so it’s worth looking into. 

I’m pleased to see more folks looking at natural materials for thermal and moisture properties that they offer. There is hope.

Cheers

Stephen

Stephen Collette BBEC, LEED AP, BSSO
Your Healthy House - Indoor Environmental Testing & Building Consulting
http://www.yourhealthyhouse.ca <http://www.yourhealthyhouse.ca/>
stephen at yourhealthyhouse.ca <mailto:stephen at yourhealthyhouse.ca>
705.652.5159



> On Jul 8, 2015, at 2:00 PM, greenbuilding-request at lists.bioenergylists.org wrote:
> 
> Sounds perhaps like a relative of wattle and daub?

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