EARTH MASONRY Design and construction guidelines

These guidelines are intended to facilitate the use of earth masonry in common contemporary construction situations. They provide the necessary basic technical information needed by architects and engineers who do not have specialist knowledge of earth construction. Equally, they can act as a handbook for the self-builder or contractor. In a field where there is a wide variety of materials and buildings, the guidance can only ever be general. Each material and design situation needs to be considered in its own right, and more specific expert guidance should be sought if the user is in doubt. There is a range of possible sources of further advice. Manufacturers and distributors of proprietary materials should be able to advise on appropriate use of their products. There is also a loosely knit community of earth building experts in the UK, including architects, builders, engineers and surveyors. A list of useful contacts is given towards the end of the book. In addition, the references and further reading provide a list of relevant publications dealing with earth construction, including books giving a more detailed examination of some of the more technical aspects. This book is written primarily from a UK perspective, though it is intended to be generally relevant in all countries. Comments on climate primarily relate to temperate climates, where rainfall and frost can be significant. It does not consider seismic design, which is outwith the experience of the author and which is described in other publications. The book specifically addresses issues relating to the use of earth masonry in common commercial construction situations by non-expert professionals using proprietary materials, although it is also relevant to other forms of procurement and types of materials. The book focuses on new-build applications, although earth masonry is sometimes used in conservation, especially of vernacular cob buildings. This is a specialist field, for which guidance is given in other publications. This book does not describe in detail vernacular construction using earth masonry materials, such as cob block and clay lump. The guidance will be generally relevant to these uses, but such projects tend to follow well-established traditional conventions of construction, which do not require the same design process as non-specialist commercial new-build projects. Guidance on these traditional techniques can be sought from local earth building organisations. This book does not include any detailed consideration of ‘stabilised’ earth materials. These have additives, such as cement or bitumen, which fundamentally alter the earth materials physical properties. Cement- stabilised earth bricks, for example, are better considered as weak concrete blocks. Such materials can have appropriate uses in earth masonry buildings, such as for a ‘floodproof’ base course. Although often ‘stronger’ than unstabilised earth masonry, such stabilised materials do not possess the other, subtler, benefits of earth masonry. They are also adequately described in other publications, some of which are listed in the references and further reading. The guidelines are structured to follow a typical project process where earth masonry will be used, identifying and assessing the issues relevant to each stage. By its nature, this book gives a limited and simplified picture of a diverse subject into which there is much current research. The author welcomes any suggestions of corrections, omissions, comments or more interesting examples in the fascinating field of earth masonry.

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