MUD BRICK CONSTRUCTION - Distance Learning Course
The content of each of the ten lessons is outlined below:- 1. Scope of Mud Brick • What is Mud Construction (Adobe, Pise) • Advantages of Earth Construction (Cost savings, Self satisfaction, Aesthetics, Eco friendliness, Health benefits) • History of earth construction • Pise (Rammed Earth) • Mud Brick • Wattle and Daub • Cob • Cinva Ram • Cement Stabilisation • Bituminous stabilisation • Mortar • Variations in Earth Building Techniques • Appropriate Soils for Earth Construction • Finding Resources 2. How to make a mud brick • Testing and working with different soils • Soil Tests • Steps in making a brick • Plasticity Soil Test • Cake Soil Test • Compression Tests • Brick Size • Brick Weights • Moulds • Binding Materials • Mixing Mud • Treating Bricks after they are Cast • Stacking Bricks • Troubleshooting 3. Planning and Site Works • Choosing Building Materials • Timber (Characteristics –Selection) • Adhesives • Plastics • Masonary, Bricks and Concrete • Insulation Materials • Selecting a Building Site • Solar House Design • General Principles of Building Design • Impact of Buildings on Health • Dangerous Building Materials (Awareness and factors) 4. Legal Considerations • Building Regulations (Variations between jurisdictions) • What might be regulated • Types of Permits • Building Codes 5. Foundations • Strip Foundations • Slab Foundations • Specialist Engineering Advice • Rock and Rubble Foundations • Problems to Avoid • Sealing Foundations • Other Options (Masonary pillars, timber pylons) • Earth Floors 6. Laying Bricks • Damp Proof Course • Methods for laying bricks • Making mud mortar • Laying mortar • Bonding • Reinforcing Walls 7. Doors, Windows and Roofs • Roofing Options o Thatching o Bark (for sheds) o Tiles o Fibreglass sheet o Shingles (timber or slate) o Mud brick domes o Steel sheet o Hessian soaked in concrete o Earth/sod • Roof Pitch • Roof Weight • Roof Gardens • Doors and Windows • Lintels • Fixing, Joinery and Plugs • Ceilings • Timber Finishes • Slab Floors • Supported Floors • Floor Surfaces 8. Finishes • Wall Finishes • Whitewash • Bondcrete • Dagga • Lineed Oil • House Paints • Natural Loam Render • Cement Render (Plaster) • Latex Paint Render • Other Options • Floor Finishes • Applying Paints and Renders • Natural Healthy Paints • Making Lime Wash Paints • Problems with Lime Wash • Aly’s Clay Paint • Tallow and Lime Based Coating • Using Commercial Paints • Timber Treatments 9. Services • Electricity • Water • Gas • Toilet • Working with Eartyh Walls • Plumbing • Electricity Supply Systems (Turbines, generators, batteries, Solar Cells, etc) • Safety with Electricity • Electro Magnetic Radiation (Managing EMR) • Terminology 10. Other types of Earth Building • Making Rammed Earth Walls • How to Build Forms • Tampers (Hand and air) • Rammed Earth Construction • Wattle and Daub • Sod Buildings • Cob Find out more at http://www.acsedu.co.uk/Courses/Permaculture-and-Self-Sufficiency/MUD-BRICK-CONSTRUCTION-ASS103-198.aspx Or email us at info@acsedu.co.uk for more information