Technical Blog: Natural Building III

Recap: We have filled the retaining walls. We compacted them with walking. We compacted part of the porch completely with the stomping tool. The A-frame is up. Now, we want to section off the porch and kitchen areas so we can build small retaining walls that will provide the support for the walls that will divide inside from outside and kitchen from bathroom. I think the original retaining wall provides support for all the other walls we’ll construct. We measured 125 centimeter from the edge of the original retaining wall to mark where we’ll put the dividing wall for the porch/living area. We drove in a stake at one end of the room. Then we did the same thing at the other end of the room. After that, we used a plumb line hung from the A-frame to make sure the stakes were straight. So, we now have a stake at each end of the line that will eventually be the wall dividing the porch from the living room. We tied a piece of string between the stakes to give us a guide to build a straight wall. We dug a trench deep and wide enough to accommodate a line of bricks – one brick wide, two bricks high. Next, using the string as a guide, we put down a layer of cement (see recipe below), then a row of bricks, then a layer of cement, then a row of bricks. Note – don’t stack the bricks in columns. You gain more stability by shifting the row down a half a brick. (If this doesn’t make sense in writing, just look closely at the bricks in the pictures.) When you’re laying the bricks, you can be really professional about it. You can get out a level and make sure every brick is perfectly aligned. We didn’t do this. The steps we took were enough for K&M to feel satisfied that the structure was stable. Aesthetics aren’t so important with the bricks given that they will soon be covered with a thick layer of mud. Recipe: Cement: 4 parts sand + 1 part cement mix + around 1 part water (give or take) If you don’t have a fancy machine, combine all the dry ingredients in a mixing unit using a hoe. See ours below. Once mixed, make a well in the middle and add a little water. Once combined, repeat until the water and mixture are thoroughly combined. Have someone who knows about cement give you pointers on a good consistency. Wetter is better, but you do hit a point where it’s too watery. Tips: pour the dry cement from a close distance. Dumping it from high up causes it to waft everywhere. Yuck. Letting the first bit of water sit for a while in the well makes later mixing easier.