House made of chopped wood. Clay burr: do-it-yourself firewood houses (38 photos). Preparing a solution from clay

Our article will tell you how to make load-bearing walls from logs, chocks and simple natural mortar. You will learn about some tricks and techniques for hemp laying, as well as the basic requirements for the quality of wood and tips for harvesting it yourself.

A wooden house is a classic approach to home design. Logs, beams, boards - any long lumber is used, which can be stacked on top of each other in the form of a vertical plane (wall) or assembled into a frame. However, the walls can be built from simple firewood, cut to one size.

Chock- a piece of log. When splitting logs lengthwise, logs are obtained.

This technology is called differently in different countries: in Canada - cordwood, in Ukraine and Belarus - “clay wood”, in Russia it is often called simply woodpile. It is widespread wherever trees grow and there is an opportunity to harvest them. It owes its popularity to its ease of construction and low cost of material - in wooded areas there are no problems with wood.

Walls made of logs video

The type of wood in this case does not matter - the thermal conductivity of wood along the fibers is 50-70% lower than across it. The material (solid logs and logs) must be prepared accordingly:

1. Inspection and rejection of wood infested with insects.
2. Cut to size - the length of the block is equal to the thickness of the wall.
3. The bark was completely removed, leaving the fibers intact.
4. Antiseptic treatment.

House using cordwood technology, video

Such a house can be built right in the forest - this is how this technology was born, which is returning along with the fashion for green construction.

Household mortar made from logs is a know-how that ensures the safety of wood and the absence of rot, condensation and rot. It consists of natural materials related to wood, but the composition may vary depending on local conditions.

The main requirement for the mortar is that it should not be rigid, like traditional masonry, but rather the opposite - maintain plasticity, “breathe” along with the wood. This does not mean that the filling between the logs will be soft, but you shouldn’t dowel it under the furniture.

Options for the composition of the solution for hemp masonry:

1. Initial - 2 parts clay, 1 part sand, 3-4 parts small straw or reeds.
2. On sawdust - 2 parts clay, 1 part sand, 3 parts sawdust (pre-soak in water).
3. On cement - 1 part cement, 3 parts sand, 4-5 parts sawdust, straw, reeds, wood chips.
4. On hard cement - 1 part cement, 3 parts sand, 3-4 parts slag, 0.5 parts lime.
5. On slag (for upper floors, top of walls) - 1 part cement, 4-5 parts slag, 0.5 parts lime.

Ultimately, each master (especially when building for himself) selects proportions according to his own recipe. The result - the work of the material in the structure - largely depends on the climate. The finished solution should be somewhat dry, but keep its shape.

Laying walls using clay pot technology, video

Another option for combining materials in a solution is laying logs on wood concrete prepared on site. Wood concrete itself has very good load-bearing capacity and thermal conductivity. At the same time, its resistance to rotting and excellent load distribution properties make this material ideal for laying clay pots.

One of the important points in the process of laying logs is the hygroscopicity of the tree (one-way moisture permeability). Since the fibers in this type of laying are located horizontally, the “entrance” and “exit” are located on opposite sides of the wall. There is a high probability that the tree, for natural reasons, will draw moisture into the room, instead of removing it from there. This can happen if you lay the log with the butt facing out.

How to determine the direction of grain growth in wood

The most reliable way is by bitch. A branch always grows upward from the trunk (even in spruce) - this is the law of nature. Accordingly, in the direction of the knot’s shaft, you can “complete” the branch and determine where the top was and where the butt was. The fibers are usually more tightly gathered above the knot and more loosely located below.

There is a more reliable way. If you are planning to build a house using cordwood technology, you cannot get by with random, low-quality material - simply ordering a couple of truckloads of firewood will not be appropriate. For convenient and quick work, the wood must be clean and smooth. Of course, there can be no question of the presence of insects, fungi and other deep lesions.

To build the walls of a house with an area of ​​70 m2 with a wall thickness of 500 mm, you will need about 20 m3 of wall material, of which 15 m3 is logs. Therefore, it is best to make them specifically for construction. You can purchase or rent sawing equipment, or you can simply order this work from a sawmill. The butt should be marked immediately after cutting.

Such walls can be left open, with a visible part of the wood cut, or they can be lined with any “breathable” material - stone wool, a ventilated facade (with lathing) or insulating plaster on a mesh. The material must be vapor-permeable, otherwise the wood will begin to “suffocate” - condensation will accumulate and rot.

In conclusion, it is worth noting that modern technologies for the production of wall materials demonstrate a return to the natural properties of the material and some almost forgotten, outdated techniques. Engineers place this knowledge at the forefront when developing materials and technologies. As a result, once again it turns out to be “a well-forgotten old thing.”

Building a house from firewood and clay or cement with your own hands is not at all difficult, and the materials are cheap and can be found yourself. They call them Glinochurka. Many people dream of owning their own home, but not everyone knows where exactly to start. Of course, the house plan itself, the materials, and off we go... Have you ever thought about having your own small house in the middle of the forest, which would be made of wood and merge with the general nature?

Such buildings are called clay pots, and now we will get to know this design a little closer.

What is a "clay pot"?

Surely, the word is not known to everyone. This is the name of a category of small houses made from pieces of wood and coated with various types of mortar. Abroad in Canada, this version of houses is called “Cordwood”, in our area “clay”.

The construction technology of the structure is as follows: a solution is made and chopped firewood or other pieces of wood are placed on it. In fact, the width of the walls in the house will depend on the length of the pads.

An interesting fact is that, despite this method of laying wood, it is well preserved and serves for a long time. Believe it or not, there is a house in the American states that was built back in 1880 and has remained in good condition to this day.

Benefits of clay pot

Before you decide to build such a house, it is worth finding out what advantages it has over other options.

Related article: Connecting the hood to the power supply with your own hands

Disadvantages of houses made of wood and clay

Of course, if there are advantages, there are also disadvantages. Let's consider what the nuances may be.

• In terms of time and labor, this is quite a lot of work, especially if you do it yourself with your own hands. In principle, saving money comes from having your own free time.
• If the clay pot needs to be sold, it will be almost impossible to do, or rather difficult. Few people will want to buy it, because the information content about such options for houses and technologies is practically zero. Especially if such a house is located in an unknown place (far from civilization).

These are the main nuances that you may encounter. In principle, they are very insignificant compared to the fact that we will get excellent, economical and environmentally friendly housing.

Making a clay pot with your own hands: step-by-step instructions

We have already become familiar with what this type of building is. Now let's find out how to build it with your own hands.

Materials

First you need to stock up on materials for the construction. Do not forget that materials of exclusively natural origin will be used.

We will need:

1. Wood. This can be any kind of wood, even waste from sawmills and fallen logs. It is recommended to use coniferous wood, since its resin saturates the trunk so much that the process of its decay is reduced to a minimum. In addition, the house will smell of a pleasant pine aroma.
   In fact, pine needles are not a fundamental choice; you can use any other species.
2. Clay.
3. Hay.
4. Sand.
5. Sawdust.

Among the available tools that may be needed during work:

• Bucket for clay.
• Saw or ax for cutting wood.
• Gloves to protect your hands.

It is important to note that clay and wood have similar moisture absorption, so they have almost the same moisture release. This contributes to the emergence of a rather unique microclimate.

Related article: Upholstered furniture for home office

Preparing a solution from clay

The mortar itself should be more plastic than masonry. It is necessary that it retains porosity - this will allow the walls to “breathe”.

There are many options for preparing the desired solution, here are some of them:

1. The classic solution is 2:1 clay to sand and 3-4 shares of reeds or sand.
2. Wood – clay and sand 2:1, and 3 parts of sawdust, pre-soaked in water.
3. Cement option – 1:3 cement to sand, 4-5 parts of sawdust or wood chips.

There are several other solution options, but these are the most popular and simplest.
It is better if the solution is a little dry, but it will hold its shape well.

The process of constructing a clay pot

When the wood and mortar are ready, we move on to the main part of the work - building the house.

Related article: Installation of facades made of composite panels

Our house will completely dry out in about six months, so it is best to start construction in the spring, around May.

Decorating the facade of a house from firewood

Usually everyone leaves the house in the condition in which it is after construction. But if you would like to decorate it a little, no question. For wood, it is possible to use varnish, stain or special facade paint.

Clay can be decorated with pebbles or any other decorative finish.

In fact, imagination is limitless, and you can invent anything. Just remember that with each decorative element the true naturalness of our structure will be lost.

And so, our house is ready, and we can safely move into it, especially in those moments when we want to escape from the bustle of the city. It’s very cool to have such a place, especially if it’s made with your own hands. A clay turk will be an excellent cost-effective option for investing your strength and energy.

Clay mortars: Photos of houses made from firewood

We have also collected for you a large photo gallery of houses made of firewood and clay or cement mortar. Here you can get inspiration, finishing options, see how to lay out a corner or decorate a wall inside or outside your home when you build your own clay pot. You can build such a house with your own hands at the dacha - above there were step-by-step instructions and recipes for the mortar that holds the firewood together. By the way, in this way you can make a fence at the dacha or in a country cottage, and not just build a house. Now let's look at the photo.

A house made of firewood, which is held together with clay or cement mortar, seems to be a warm, cheap, practical and, most importantly, environmentally friendly building. Such houses are gradually beginning to gain popularity, although they cannot be called the best - they have enough flaws to think about the feasibility of construction. However, let's not get ahead of ourselves and tell everything in order.

Advantages

Flaws

• The fire safety of such houses, as you understand, is far from ideal. If, God forbid, there were a fire, all that would be left of a house made of wood and clay was clay. Although no, there will still be ashes, a lot of ashes. In this case, there is only one way out: strictly observe fire safety rules. We do not recommend impregnating such a house with special anti-combustion compounds: it is both expensive and of little use if a fire occurs. Let's give an example: wood concrete, which is positioned as a non-combustible material, still smolders - our article “” talks about this in more detail. And what can we say about pure wood, essentially firewood...
• The technology for laying firewood in the walls assumes that they are perpendicular to the foundation line. Thus, the ends of each log protrude outward. As you know, the end absorbs moisture much better, which means that during prolonged rain the walls can become saturated with water. The solution can be either protection with high-quality paints or plastering. But the second option will hide all the beauty of the house and turn it into an ordinary building.
• The difficulty of protecting such a house from pests. Insects that feed on wood will love your home. If you do not protect yourself from them, then there will definitely be troubles: from the unpleasant characteristic sound when a tree is chewed to dust that will fall in different places on the walls. Solution: remove the bark before laying firewood and pigs, soak it with wood pest protection products.
• The already mentioned external ends will quickly lose their attractive appearance. The sun will do its job: instead of a beautiful yellow or brown color, they will take on a gray, dull appearance. In addition to this, numerous cracks will appear. There are few options: either plaster and lose the decorative component, or paint/varnish, which is also not very effective.

As you can see, there are more advantages quantitatively, but the disadvantages are much more serious. For example, if a woodworm gets inside a wall, it will be almost impossible to get it out. It’s better not to remember about fire safety, so as not to be upset - even though the walls of a brick house remain intact, but here...

Cement or clay

What is better: a house made of wood and cement or one made of wood and clay? In terms of cost, of course, it is better to give preference to clay. It will be completely free. Those who will build such houses on clay soil can be considered lucky - clay for several houses can be extracted from the foundation pit. If there is no clay and it is impossible to get it, then you will have to buy cement. But it’s too early to get upset and start counting the costs, because the masonry is done in a special way, when the mortar is applied only along the edges of the wall. If we compare clay and cement in terms of the quality of woodpile retention, then our personal opinion is this: clay is definitely better. Do not underestimate this ancient building material. Clay adheres better to wood, and it’s easier to cover up any cracks after complete drying. But, we repeat, do not be upset about a house made of wood and cement. If the tree is dried, then there should be no problems.

Construction technology

Let's give some tips to make construction go as smoothly as possible:

• The forest must be dry. Then you don't have to wait for a lot of cracks.
• If you build a house from chipped ingots, the construction time increases slightly. But less mortar will be needed, because the adjustment of the firewood is more precise than in the version with logs.
• The bark must be removed completely without any residue. Firstly, it rots faster, and secondly, it is in the bark that there are a huge number of pests:
  
• To build a house, when you want to make it warm, it is better to use logs at least 40 cm in length.
• When laying a wall, the solution is applied only along the edges. The inner chamber is either left empty or filled with straw/shavings/sawdust.
• A very good technology: the outside of the house will be covered with boards, and the inside wall will be made of firewood. Then the look will be preserved for decades, because inside the house the tree does not lose color as much as outside under the rays of the sun. And there’s no need to worry about moisture penetration:
  
• If the house is planned to be plastered, but due to small firewood it is difficult to make smooth vertical walls, then you can use panel masonry. A low shield made of plywood or boards is placed strictly vertically on the outside of the wall. The firewood is placed on the mortar close to the shield, and after 24 hours it can be moved higher.
• In order for the logs to be the same length, it is not necessary to measure the cutting location with a tape measure each time. It is enough to make a goat and rest one end of the log against the wall of a shield or other object. There should also be a stop at the cutting site so that the chainsaw bar is flush against it.
• Since the walls are wooden, the waterproofing of the foundation and plinth must be thorough and thorough.
• The foundation must be made according to all the rules and you should not flatter yourself with the hope that its construction will be economical. The total weight of firewood and mortar will be no less than during the construction of a traditional brick building.
• Bandaging the corners of such houses is not an easy task. After all, this is not a brick with its checkerboard laying. After a certain step you need to lay the timber, as in the photo below:
  

Instead of a conclusion

A house can be built from firewood and clay (cement), even if you have no experience in construction. But we still recommend a little practice. For example, build a barn or other utility room using this technology. By doing this, you will not only “feel” the construction, but will also be able to correct mistakes made in the future. After all, mistakes will definitely happen - those who do nothing make no mistakes.

The technology for building such houses has been known for quite some time. The houses can easily withstand extreme winters with temperatures below -50°C, and in summer and in the off-season they perfectly maintain the microclimate even with daily fluctuations from +42°C during the day to 0° - 2°C at night.

These houses do not burn and they are long-lived: some of them are over 200 years old! The most important advantages of construction using this technology are:

– unusual decorative look
– the ability to build a one-story house almost alone

For construction, logs of the same length are used, well dried throughout the year, and clay mixed with sawdust or straw to hold the logs together.

Most likely it was invented out of poverty, but it is simple and beautiful; to build such a house you need a minimum of knowledge, skills and people.

Any tree will do, you don’t need a large diameter and even long logs, you don’t need skillful, precise adjustment. Translated from English, “cordwood” means woodpile, fuel wood. The walls of a cordwood house are made of hemp and logs like bricks and are held together with a mortar of whatever comes to hand, clay or just earth with the addition of sand or straw.

There are several types of masonry with an air gap, with filling the gap with insulation and without a gap. With and without corner posts.
Sometimes multi-colored bottles are inserted into the masonry. You can lay out patterns.
In addition to houses, this technology can be used for the construction of original interior walls and decorative facades.

Masonry without corner posts

Bottles in a stack

Masonry without corner posts 2

Shed type with corner posts

Pattern (http://blog.travelpod.com/travel-photo/danielandeileen/5/1218369420/dscf6441.jpg/tpod.html)

Pattern 2

Laying options with an air gap

Masonry with filler


Interior wall

Decorative facade

The most important advantages of building ECO-HOUSES are:
– low cost of building the house itself
– excellent energy-saving indicators – the house is extremely warm
- an unusual decorative look.

Alexander Brodovsky - built a house from firewood. The house is frame, on a point foundation, and its peculiarity is that the wall modules are filled with firewood and clay. As Alexander assures, 50 cm blocks of wood and 5 cm plaster on each side provide a large thermal insulation layer.

Clay and wood are best friends. They have similar moisture capture and release. Wood conveys the structure, and clay solves the issue of microclimate: in such a house it is cool in summer and warm in winter. There is no excess moisture, because the walls instantly absorb it and slowly release it.

To build such walls you will need firewood (Alexander advises splitting them, because whole ones can crack in the wall), hay for reinforcement, clay and sand.

Alexander used oak firewood, but, according to him, it could also be aspen. The firewood should be very well dried under a canopy - ideally for at least a year.

The hay needs to be chopped with an ax or driven through a grass chopper - it should not be long.

In a trough with water, clay and sand are mixed and hay is added there - all this is kneaded to the desired consistency. This mixture is laid out on firewood and thus the walls are laid out of it and the firewood.

It is important to make a canopy over the raised walls to protect them from moisture. Then the walls should be kept for 1.5-2 months.

The walls are plastered outside and inside; when plastering the inside, Alexander advises adding horse manure - it gives a perfectly smooth, delicate structure and is an excellent antiseptic.

The roof overhangs in a house with such walls need to be as large as possible in order to protect the walls as much as possible from moisture getting on the clay. It is important to constantly monitor the walls - lubricate cracks and crevices.

In the USA and Canada you can find many houses and barns built using this technology 100-200 years ago, there are such houses over 100 years old in Sweden and Germany, all of them are in excellent condition.

Open sources provide information that this technology is at least a thousand years old and wood-burning houses were built in ancient times in Siberia and Northern Greece.

In North America, this method of laying walls was called cordwood masonry - “woodpile masonry.” This technology is considered environmentally friendly, economical and energy saving.

For a small house with an area of ​​75 sq. m will need about 60 cubic meters of firewood. Firewood can be made from any wood, but experts advise taking firewood from hardwood, and it must be well dried.

It is precisely because of the properties of wood that it cracks when drying, it is recommended to use chopped firewood rather than round logs, which crack along the fibers when drying.

Brodovsky advises keeping the walls for 1.5-2 months before plastering; some recommend waiting a year - and then installing windows, doors and plastering.

In our climate, it is recommended to take the length of logs from 40 to 60 cm. This is twice as long as for ordinary wooden walls, because the thermal conductivity of wood along the fibers is twice as high as across it. The solution can be clay, cement and lime.

It is recommended to place cement mortar only at the ends, filling the middle with a heat insulator, for example, clay with straw or sawdust with lime. Also, using this technology, you can make a double wall by filling the gap between the inner and outer walls with a heat insulator.

For the Urals-Siberia it is quite acceptable, only the length of the firewood must be at least 50 cm and the space between the ties is filled with sawdust for insulation. I can’t say which is better – clay or cement, since I don’t know and I myself am more inclined towards the cement-sawdust composition.

The proportions for the solution are classic. The chicken coop I built on the principle of a clay pot (cement pot) stands like an Egyptian pyramid, and when last winter there were frosts of -50, the chickens felt great. This year I want to build a garage and line the well, and after gaining enough experience I will begin to use this on the house itself.

For potting clay, it is ideal to use pine-spruce firewood, but in our area you don’t have to choose and therefore birch, aspen and pine are used... Although, the St. Petersburg “Lovers’ House” is made of birch firewood and has been standing for several hundred years.

The base is a rounded log house + clay brick on the outside, the terrace extension will be adobe + clay brick. It will be very warm.

Clay burr is what is called “cheap and cheerful”!

In some of the photos you provided, such a wall looks really very attractive.

The end ends of the chocks seem to protrude slightly (literally a few mm) from the wall. To prepare a raster, cement + sawdust. The proportions are the same as with sand.

Jun 12, 2015 Galinka

In an area where there is a large amount of forest, at different times, in parallel to each other, the technology of constructing housing from pieces of wood, which are fastened with various types of mortar, arose. In Canada, this technology is called Cordwood, in Belarus and Ukraine, clay pot, and in Russia, woodpile. Essentially, this technology involves laying wood lumps or chopped firewood on a mortar. The thickness of the resulting walls depends on their length. That is, clay pot is a technology for building a house from firewood and clay. Oddly enough, wood inside the clay solution is very well preserved. In one of the villages in the American state of Wisconsin, a house built by Polish emigrants back in the 1880s using this technology still remains. So, the cuttings of the trees, and this is Canadian cedar, still look like fresh.

What are the advantages of a house built using clay pot technology?

Let's consider the advantages of this environmental technology for building houses:

• Relatively low cost in comparison with other popular technologies: brick and frame houses, log houses. The price mainly depends on the owner’s own labor costs and the availability of suitable material in the surrounding area. To obtain the necessary information, you can consult with someone who has already built using this technique or study articles and photos on this topic. Do-it-yourself construction reduces all costs by half, but there will be a lot of work.
• Efficient use of thermal energy. Such houses keep heat well in any frost, and in the summer they are cool, with no unwanted daily temperature fluctuations.
• Ecological cleanliness. Construction involves the use of natural materials that are harvested independently from the surrounding area. This must be done after receiving permission from the forest protection authorities, who will allocate a plot of land for logging where minimal harm to nature will be caused. Using different colored glass bottles can add some decorative touch to your walls.
• Ease and simplicity of work. To build walls from whole or split logs, you do not need to have special skill or architectural talent. To cut building elements, basic carpentry skills are sufficient.
• Clay burring is a technology that allows you to experience the thrilling pride of creating your own home or commercial building with your own hands.
• Fire resistance. At the international conference on construction using Cordwood technology - CoCoCo in 1994, experimental data were presented on measuring the speed of fire spread in the walls of such a house. So, according to them, the house, built using the clay pot technology, burned down completely only three days after the fire.

Scientists have conducted historical research, but have not been able to determine the exact dating of the origin of this technology. In the works of researcher David Square there is an article “The Architecture of the Poor,” in which he suggests that it is at least 1000 years old. He made this conclusion based on the discovery of individual elements of such technology in Greece and Siberia, the age of which exceeds this date.

What are the disadvantages of Cordwood technology?

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

• A lot of your own time and labor is spent constructing this ecological structure with your own hands. The speed of construction directly depends on how much free time the owner has. Saving money comes from your own time spent.
• A house built from logs will be difficult to sell in places where such technology has never been heard of. However, this is not a problem if the building is being built for its own needs.

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

What materials are used to build an eco-house using firewood?

As mentioned above, only natural materials are used to build a house using clay pot technology:

• Any wood. Even recently fallen trees or sawmill waste are suitable. It is better if it is coniferous wood. It contains a resin that impregnates the trunk, preventing it from quickly rotting. Where possible, cedar is used, which has a pleasant aroma and excellent thermal conductivity. They are no lower than those of a brick.
• Clay, sand, hay, sawdust.

Clay goes well with wood; they have similar moisture absorption and the same moisture release. This fact contributes to the formation of a truly unique microclimate. The mortar prepared from it should be more plastic than masonry. It must retain some porosity to allow the walls to “breathe.”

Recipes for preparing the solution

There are several recipes that meet these requirements:

• Classic - 2 shares of clay, 1 share of sand, 3–4 shares of chopped straw or reeds.
• On sawdust - 2 shares of clay, 1 share of sand, 3 shares of sawdust pre-soaked in water.
• Cement - 1 share of cement, 3 shares of sand, 4–5 shares of sawdust, chopped straw, dry reeds, wood chips.
• On cement it is more rigid - 1 share of cement, 3 shares of sand, 3–4 shares of slag, 0.5 shares of slaked lime.
• On slag (only for upper floors or upper parts of walls) - 1 share of cement, 4–5 shares of slag, 0.5 shares of slaked lime.

In the end, each master selects the necessary proportions for his own construction according to his own recipe. The finished solution must be a little dry, but able to hold its shape.

Another interesting option for combining materials inside the mortar is laying blocks on wood concrete, which is prepared right on the spot. It has excellent load-bearing capacity and thermal conductivity. At the same time, its resistance to rotting, as well as exceptional load distribution properties, make this material ideal for masonry masonry.

Where do fibers grow in wood and what does it mean?

When laying logs, it is worth remembering the rules of hygroscopicity of wood. Moisture in trunks moves in one direction from top to bottom. Therefore, all logs in the walls should be with their butts facing inward. Otherwise, moisture from the street will be drawn into the house.

To determine the direction of fiber growth, and, therefore, the location of the butt, you need to look at where the knots grow. According to the laws of nature, they are always directed upward, even in spruce, contrary to popular belief. 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. They are always denser on top.

It is possible to find out more reliably where the top is and where the butt is. To do this, logs need to be ordered from the sawmill. There they will all be cut to the same length and each one will simply be marked on the butt. In addition, this will ensure the absence of unusable logs affected by rot or wormholes. You can remove the bark from them yourself. Just don't remove the fibers. For a house with an area of ​​70 m2 and a wall thickness of 70 cm, you will need 20 m3 of wall material. Of this, 15 m3 should be wood, that is, logs or logs.

To prevent the wood in the logs from cracking in the future, it is advisable to split the logs into large logs. To avoid shrinkage of the walls, the logs are well dried. It’s great if all the elements are made from one single type of wood.

Sequence of building a house using clay pot technology

For an eco-house made of chocks, it is most convenient to construct a strip foundation. It can be not only rectangular, but also round, because such houses are distinguished by their unusualness. They are often made in round or oval shape, which eliminates the need to build supporting structures at the corners due to their absence. The round shape is ideal because it is the most stable and provides the best grip for the entire structure. There are no special requirements for the construction of the foundation. It is only necessary to make a layer of horizontal coating waterproofing along its upper surface.

When building a rectangular or square house, you will need to construct a load-bearing frame for bracing in the corners. To do this, install beams of logs or timber in the corners, selecting longitudinal spikes in them on the sides located in relation to each other at 90 degrees. The space between the load-bearing posts is filled with walls.

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

When the walls are completely erected, they must be covered with a temporary lightweight roof made of tarpaulin or durable film. At the same time, good ventilation of the walls themselves must be maintained. They will dry completely only after six months. For this reason, it is better to start construction in the spring, at the beginning of May. In regions with cold climates, it is best to place the edges of the logs on the mortar, and create a layer of sawdust or straw between them.

External facade finishing

It is best to leave the eco-house in the same form as it turned out after laying the walls. The only thing that can be done is to decorate the ends of the chocks sticking out of the clay. To do this, you can use stain, varnish, various facade paints and other materials. The clay itself can be inlaid with small stones or simply whitened.

If the owner does not like the natural appearance of a clay wall with protruding ends of the logs, then finishing can be done. To do this, make a lathing of thin slats, along which the walls are leveled with a plaster mixture. You can also arrange any ventilated façade, but then the natural beauty of the entire structure will be lost.

Most likely, a person who considers himself an innovator, who is not afraid to implement long-forgotten but effective construction technologies, will decide to build such a house on his own plot of land. And it’s okay that many neighbors will consider him an eccentric. The main thing is that the house will be built in terms of its consumer qualities no worse than using traditional technologies. Clay mason technology is increasingly spreading in Canada and the USA, where originality, the natural beauty of wildlife and cost savings are beginning to take first place in construction. If you search for information, you can find a lot of interesting information and projects on this topic. Most of them are decorative garden houses. But there are also houses built on a stone foundation with walls made of logs of valuable tree species. They cost millions of dollars.