Glinochurka - technology of building a house made of firewood and clay

In the area where there is a large amount of forest at different times, the technology of housing construction from pieces of wood, which are fastened with different kinds of solution, has appeared in parallel to each other. In Canada, this technology is called Cordwood, in Belarus and Ukraine, clay, and in Russia - woodpile. In fact, this technology is a masonry on a solution of wood chutes or chipped firewood. The thickness of the walls depends on their length. That is, clay - the technology of building a house from firewood and clay. As it is not strange, the wood inside the clay solution is very well preserved. In one village in the American state of Wisconsin, a house built by Polish immigrants in the 1880s for this technology has been preserved. So, the slices of trees, and this is the Canadian cedar, still look fresh.

What are the advantages of the house built on the technology of the clay-mud

Consider the advantages of this ecological technology of building houses:

• Low relative to the cost in comparison with other popular technologies: brick and frame houses, The price mainly depends on the owner's own labor costs and availability of suitable material in the vicinity. To obtain the necessary information, you can consult with someone who has already built in this technique or to study articles and photos on this topic. Own construction twice cheaper all costs, but there will be a lot of work.
• Efficient use of thermal energy. Such houses perfectly keep heat in any frost, and in the summer they are cool, there are no undesirable daily temperature jumps.
• Ecological cleanliness. Construction involves the use of natural materials that are harvested independently in the surrounding area. This should be done after obtaining permission from the forest protection authorities, which will allocate the site for cutting where there will be minimal damage to nature. Using a variety of colored glass bottles can add some decorating to the walls.
• Ease and simplicity of work. For the construction of walls from whole or chopped chirok, you do not need to have special skill or architectural talent. To cut the building elements enough basic carpentry skills.
• Glinochurka is a technology that allows you to experience a quivering pride in the creation of your own house or an economic building with your own hands.
• Fire resistance. At an international conference on the construction using the Cordwood-CoCoCo technology in 1994, experimental data were presented on the measurement of the speed of fire propagation within the walls of such a house. So, according to them, the house built using the technology of the clay-birch burned down completely only three days after the fire.

Scientists conducted historical studies, but it was not possible to determine the exact date of origin of this technology. In the works of the researcher David Square there is an article "Architecture of the poor", in which he makes the assumption that it is not less than 1000 years old. This conclusion he made on the basis of the discovery of individual elements of such technology in Greece and Siberia, the age of which exceeds this number.

What are the drawbacks of the Cordwood

technology This technology has some drawbacks, which, however, are inherent in many atypical structures.

• A lot of your time and work is spent when building this ecological structure with your own hands. The speed of construction directly depends on how much free time the owner will have. Saving money is obtained from your own time.
• House, built of choke, it will be difficult to sell in places where you have never heard of such a technology. However, this is not a problem, if the building is built for its own needs.

As you can see, there are not so many shortcomings, but you can get cozy and warm housing.

What materials are used to build an eco house from

wood As already mentioned above, only natural natural materials are used to build a house on the technology of clay:

• Any wood. Even recently fallen trees or waste from a sawmill are suitable. It is better if it is coniferous wood. It contains tar, which impregnates the trunk, not allowing it to quickly rot. Where possible, use cedar, which has a pleasant aroma and excellent heat conductivity. He had nothing lower than a brick.
• Clay, sand, hay, sawdust.

Clay perfectly combines with wood, they have similar moisture absorption and the same return moisture. This fact contributes to the formation of a truly unique microclimate. The solution prepared from it should be more plastic than the masonry. It must retain some porosity, so that the walls "breathe".

Recipe for solution preparation

There are several recipes that meet these requirements:

• Classic - 2 parts of clay, 1 share of sand, 3-4 parts of chopped straw or cane.
• On wood sawdust - 2 parts of clay, 1 share of sand, 3 parts of previously pre-soaked in water sawdust.
• Cement - 1 part of cement, 3 parts of sand, 4-5 parts of sawdust, chopped straw, dry cane, chips.
• The cement is more rigid - 1 share of cement, 3 parts of sand, 3-4 parts of slag, 0.5 parts of hydrated lime.
• On the slag( only for the upper floors or the top of the walls) - 1 share of cement, 4-5 parts of slag, 0.5 fraction of slaked lime.

In the end, each master for his own construction picks up the necessary proportions according to his own recipe. Ready-made mortar must be slightly dry, but able to keep the shape.

Another interesting variant of the combination of materials inside the solution is the laying of chickens on an arbolite, which is prepared directly on site. It has excellent performance in terms of load capacity and thermal conductivity. At the same time, its resistance to decay, as well as exceptional load distribution properties, make this material ideal for laying clay.

Where fibers grow in the tree and what does it matter

When laying logs it is worth remembering the rules of wood hygroscopicity. Moisture in the trunks moves in one direction from top to bottom. Therefore, in the walls all the chocks should be placed in a latch. Otherwise, moisture from the street will be dragged into the house.

To determine the direction of fiber growth, and therefore the location of the knuckle, you need to see where the knots grow. According to the laws of nature, they are always directed upwards, even at the spruce, contrary to popular opinion. If the direction of the knot itself is not visible, then you need to look at the density of the fibers above and below it. From above they are always denser.

It is possible and more reliable to know where the top, and where the broom. For this, the chocks should be ordered at the sawmill. There they will be cut all the same length and just mark each on the lump. In addition, it will ensure the absence of unsuitable chicken, affected by rot or wormhole. You can remove the bark from them yourself. Just do not remove the fibers. For a house with an area of ​​70 m2, which has a wall thickness of 70 cm, it will take 20 m3 of wall material. Of these, 15 m3 should be wood, that is logs or chocks.

To prevent wood chips from crackling further, it is desirable to chop the logs into large logs. To prevent shrinkage of the walls, the logs are well dried. It's great if all the elements are made from one single tree species.

Sequence of the construction of the house on the technology of the clay

For the eco house it is most convenient to construct a strip foundation. It can be not only rectangular, but also round, because such houses are unusual. They are often made of round or oval shape, which eliminates the need to build load-bearing structures on the corners due to their absence. The round shape is ideal, because it is the most stable and provides better grip of the entire structure. There are no special requirements for the foundation of the foundation. It is only necessary to make a layer of horizontal lubricating waterproofing on its upper surface.

When constructing a rectangular or square house, you will need to build a supporting frame for the binder in the corners. To do this, at the corners install beams from a log or beam, selecting in them longitudinal spikes on the sides, located in relation to each other at 90 degrees. The space between the bearing racks is filled with walls.

For this, a layer of mortar is placed on the foundation, and on it chocks are at a short distance from each other. Then all the distances between the woods are filled with a new portion of the solution. This layer is made just above the choke and lay the second layer of blanks. The operation is repeated until the wall is completely ready. It is necessary to ensure that the edges of the scallops protrude 1 to 2 cm beyond the clay edges. When laying walls, do not forget to install window and door openings.

When the walls are fully erected, they must be closed with a temporary light roof made of tarpaulins or strong film. In this case, good ventilation of the walls should be maintained. Completely they will dry up only in half a year. For this reason, construction is better to start in the spring, already in early May. In regions with a cold climate, it is best to lay the edges of the chicken on the solution, and create a layer of sawdust or straw between them.

Exterior finish of the facade

It is best to leave the ecohouse in the form it was after the walls were laid. The only thing you can do is decorate the ends of the chick sticking out of the clay. To do this, you can use stain, lacquer, various facade paint and other materials. The clay itself can be encrusted with small stones or simply whitewashed.

If the natural appearance of the clay wall with the protruding ends of logs does not like the owner, then you can finish. To do this, the crate is made of thin rods, along which the walls are leveled with a plaster mix. You can also arrange any ventilated facade, but then the natural beauty of the whole structure will disappear.

Most likely, such a house on its plot of land to decide to build a man who considers himself an innovator, not afraid to implement the long-forgotten, but effective construction technologies. And nothing that many neighbors will consider him an eccentric. The main thing is that the house will be built for its consumer qualities no worse than by traditional technologies. The technology of clay is increasingly spreading in Canada and the United States, where the first place in the construction begins to come out: originality, natural beauty of wildlife and cost savings. If you search for information, then on this topic you can find a lot of interesting information and projects. Most of them are decorative garden houses. But there are also houses installed on a stone foundation with walls made of fine wood. They cost millions of dollars.