Ama Menec on thu 3 feb 05
Hi Clayarters,
I'm in a state of exasperation at ever being able to afford to buy my own
studio here in the UK, as building prices are so high, and meanwhile finding
studios to rent is getting harder and harder, and more expensive too. I've
gotten to chewing over the idea of building and firing my own workshop,
using locally dug clay, and wondered if anyone in clayland has tried this?
I watched a fantastic film at the International Potters Festival in
Aberystwyth, Wales, must be about 10 years ago, of a fired 2 storey house in
India, I think it must be the Agni Jata film....absolutely fantastic and
inspiring. I've just bought the Ceramic Houses and Earth Architecture: How
to Build Your Own by Nader Khalili....but wondered if there is anyone who
has tried this in a place not as dry as India, (OK, at certain times of the
year; but you know what I mean), California or Iran....I'm living in the
lovely wet, west of England! We have a long tradition of Cob building here;
but I'm a potter....if I could fire a building/kiln I would! I'm also of the
self-reliant potter generation; you know what I mean about that too....
Anyhow, The Khalili book is not too in depth on the firing aspect....or
rather not as in-depth as I'd like; and the glazing advice would make your
hair curl, (fantastic idea making an inexpensive glaze to spray on the
inside of the rooms out of crushed coca cola bottles, but please wear a mask
at least!!). And most of this book assumes you live in a dry climate and the
firing of the OUTSIDE of the house is not too important to you. Any one know
of someone firing a structure like this in a more soggy country?? One
without barrels of crude oil to fire it with?
Ama Menec, Totnes, Damp Devon, UK.
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Lea Phillips on fri 4 feb 05
Hi Ivor,
Can't comment on the Sweet Cure Bacon as I'm a vegetarian, but I'll ask
Lea - She's a carnivore.....
Cob is very common around here and there is a strong eco-movement here too
and a lot of people learning how to build earth houses....but this doesn't
excite me at all! If I'm to build myself a studio it'd better be a kiln or a
shed. It's what I feel happy with, it's what I know.
Just been reading about clamp kilns today in the Brickworks book, amazing
that they used to be used in the UK but don't feature in any of the kiln
books I own; not mentioned in the Hammer and Hammer dictionary either, which
really surprised me! Seems the way to go and a do-able option, using modern
waste materials....
Just be interesting to swap notes with someone else who has done this.
Is there really no one else among the thousands of clayarters who's done
this?
Ama, Totnes, Devon, UK.
P.S. precious few reeds on the river Dart these days....too many pleasure
boats!
----- Original Message -----
From: "Ivor and Olive Lewis"
To:
Sent: 04 February 2005 05:27
Subject: Re: Fired Earth Houses, anyone made one?
> Dear Ama Menec,
> I used to live in Carlisle, just as wet as South Devon and since I
> lived in Torquay as well I can make a valid comparison. (Do they still
> manufacture Sweet Cure Bacon in Totnes ?)
> There is hamlet on the road west from Carlisle to the south shore of
> the Eden Estuary and some of the houses there were built of "Cob"
> which in those parts is pure boulder clay, though the boulders are
> more like pebbles, some of which are semi precious stones. These
> cottages were built about four hundred years ago. They survive because
> the roof gives a good overhang directing streaming rain away from the
> walls and the walls are rendered with fresh burnt lime which creates
> an almost water proof coating when it reacts with the atmosphere.
> You could use reeds from the River Dart for your roofing though tiles
> would be a ceramic solution.
> I do like the designs and processes of Nadir Khalili but he had a
> source of power to fire with in the Middle East.
> Best regards,
> Ivor Lewis.
> Redhill,
> S. Australia.
>
>
____________________________________________________________________________
__
> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
> You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
> settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
melpots@pclink.com.
Rikki Gill on fri 4 feb 05
Hi Ama,
I saw an article, I think in Ceramics Monthly, years ago about an architect
trained in the states, but from Iran. They build village houses of clay,
and it is earthquake countery. He went to a village, got the occupants of
one old house to remove their belongings, and filled the space with bales of
hay. After fireing the house appeared to have been sucessfully fired,
stronger and much healthier, as the fire drove out all the insects and
rodents that had lived there, too. I don't know if it has withstood
earthquakes, but that probably isn't too much of a problem for you. Hay is
probably not hard to acquire either.
If you do try this method, I would love to hear about it. I know they do
build this way in the desert in California, too.
Best of luck, Rikki Gill, Berkeley, Ca.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Ama Menec"
To:
Sent: Thursday, February 03, 2005 1:10 PM
Subject: Fired Earth Houses, anyone made one?
> Hi Clayarters,
>
> I'm in a state of exasperation at ever being able to afford to buy my own
> studio here in the UK, as building prices are so high, and meanwhile
finding
> studios to rent is getting harder and harder, and more expensive too. I've
> gotten to chewing over the idea of building and firing my own workshop,
> using locally dug clay, and wondered if anyone in clayland has tried this?
>
> I watched a fantastic film at the International Potters Festival in
> Aberystwyth, Wales, must be about 10 years ago, of a fired 2 storey house
in
> India, I think it must be the Agni Jata film....absolutely fantastic and
> inspiring. I've just bought the Ceramic Houses and Earth Architecture: How
> to Build Your Own by Nader Khalili....but wondered if there is anyone who
> has tried this in a place not as dry as India, (OK, at certain times of
the
> year; but you know what I mean), California or Iran....I'm living in the
> lovely wet, west of England! We have a long tradition of Cob building
here;
> but I'm a potter....if I could fire a building/kiln I would! I'm also of
the
> self-reliant potter generation; you know what I mean about that too....
>
> Anyhow, The Khalili book is not too in depth on the firing aspect....or
> rather not as in-depth as I'd like; and the glazing advice would make your
> hair curl, (fantastic idea making an inexpensive glaze to spray on the
> inside of the rooms out of crushed coca cola bottles, but please wear a
mask
> at least!!). And most of this book assumes you live in a dry climate and
the
> firing of the OUTSIDE of the house is not too important to you. Any one
know
> of someone firing a structure like this in a more soggy country?? One
> without barrels of crude oil to fire it with?
>
> Ama Menec, Totnes, Damp Devon, UK.
>
>
>
> --
> No virus found in this outgoing message.
> Checked by AVG Anti-Virus.
> Version: 7.0.300 / Virus Database: 265.8.5 - Release Date: 03/02/05
>
>
____________________________________________________________________________
__
> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
> You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
> settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
melpots@pclink.com.
>
>
Ivor and Olive Lewis on fri 4 feb 05
Dear Ama Menec,
I used to live in Carlisle, just as wet as South Devon and since I
lived in Torquay as well I can make a valid comparison. (Do they still
manufacture Sweet Cure Bacon in Totnes ?)
There is hamlet on the road west from Carlisle to the south shore of
the Eden Estuary and some of the houses there were built of "Cob"
which in those parts is pure boulder clay, though the boulders are
more like pebbles, some of which are semi precious stones. These
cottages were built about four hundred years ago. They survive because
the roof gives a good overhang directing streaming rain away from the
walls and the walls are rendered with fresh burnt lime which creates
an almost water proof coating when it reacts with the atmosphere.
You could use reeds from the River Dart for your roofing though tiles
would be a ceramic solution.
I do like the designs and processes of Nadir Khalili but he had a
source of power to fire with in the Middle East.
Best regards,
Ivor Lewis.
Redhill,
S. Australia.
Steve Mills on sun 6 feb 05
Dear Ama,
Going on from what Ivor said; Wattle and Daub, again with a good roof
overhang, is a long-lived construction method, and a surprisingly good
insulator. I have helped in the construction of such dwellings, and
built Kilns using the same technique (which went to stoneware
temperatures). The same process has also long been used to build
Ground/Bread Ovens.
Steve
Bath
UK
In message , Ivor and Olive Lewis writes
>Dear Ama Menec,
>I used to live in Carlisle, just as wet as South Devon and since I
>lived in Torquay as well I can make a valid comparison. (Do they still
>manufacture Sweet Cure Bacon in Totnes ?)
>There is hamlet on the road west from Carlisle to the south shore of
>the Eden Estuary and some of the houses there were built of "Cob"
>which in those parts is pure boulder clay, though the boulders are
>more like pebbles, some of which are semi precious stones. These
>cottages were built about four hundred years ago. They survive because
>the roof gives a good overhang directing streaming rain away from the
>walls and the walls are rendered with fresh burnt lime which creates
>an almost water proof coating when it reacts with the atmosphere.
>You could use reeds from the River Dart for your roofing though tiles
>would be a ceramic solution.
>I do like the designs and processes of Nadir Khalili but he had a
>source of power to fire with in the Middle East.
>Best regards,
>Ivor Lewis.
>Redhill,
>S. Australia.
--
Steve Mills
Bath
UK
Ivor and Olive Lewis on sun 6 feb 05
Dear Ama,
Have a look in Daniel Rhodes, " Kilns. Design, Construction and
Operation" .
Page 45 has an illustration of a Clamp Kiln.
They are still used in India.
Best regards,
Ivor Lewis.
Redhill,
S. Australia.
Krista Peterson on sun 6 feb 05
Hello Ama,
I've been wanting to do that for years but do not own any land
so I'm kind of stuck. I thought, since I live in the desert (Phoenix, Az)
my biggest problem would be drying it evenly so it wouldn't crack before
it even got fired and keeping it wet while woring. Since we have so many huge
fires in our north country during the hot dry summers, I thought I could market
fire proof clay homes. That way,instead of clearing away the brush when a fire
approaches, one would pile it up around the house. Every firestorm would be a
remodeling ;>)
I think the wetness, where you live would be a huge problem. That's why there are none
built that way in your area. And I'm assuming there are none if you're looking for someone
else who has done it. You would have to make sure you fired it so slow and evenly,
and then you probably get rain almost every day so that would be a big issue while building it
and firing it.
But someone on this list had mentioned that there are garden shed "kits" available at a
reasonable cost. I believe it was mentioned that they are made of plastic and it comes in
a big box that you assemble. This was recent, in the last 2 or 3 months so you can look in
the archives.
Good Luck!
Let us know how you solve your problem.
Krista Peterson
Warren Heintz on tue 8 feb 05
A website of alternative stuff www. zenzibar,I think it was, had an article on fired mudhouses that was quite extensive maybe even with links. It's been a while since I've been to the site,it may have become a blog of sorts, but with the passed articles archived.
Ama Menec wrote:Ivor, thanks for the Daniel Rhodes book suggestion....I don't think I've
ever seen this book, (been in ceramics 25 years and been a bookseller; how
come I've never heard of this?), I'll ask around!
Rhonda, the Agni Jata video is the one I saw 10 years ago; totally wows you
out! And $39.95 is a lot cheaper than I've seen it for sale on the internet.
The is another video I've seen advertised called Sun Rise Dome: Building and
Firing a Ceramic Dome in the US; but I haven't seen this. Has anyone seen
this video and recons it's useful? It's $30 by the way....I haven't ordered
it as a) I don't know if it would be useful to me, and b) I'm not sure about
the format differences between US and UK videos, and whether I'd be able to
view it ok. I had this problem in the past with a US Berdache tradition
video; I had to get it re-recorded in a different format when it got here.
In a 10-year-old sketchbook I have several photos of your wattle and daub
kiln at Aberystwyth Steve, and some poor girl up to her knees in mud,
treading the stuff! Come rain or shine, there she was; looking mostly pretty
happy about it too, and it can't half rain in Wales. And I have some more
photos of the side of the kiln sliced open revealing the pots. The whole
structure was pretty low and hugged the slope it was built on....have you
used this method for anything tall enough to stand up in? Does the shrinkage
become more of a problem over the bent-wood frame when it's made taller?
Krista, we don't get rain every day here....it just feels like it! Things
are known to dry out occasionally! What I'm thinking is if the walls weren't
too thick, (maybe a hollow walled or lattice structure), it'd have a better
chance to dry out and also to fire successfully, in that the walls
themselves could act like flues. Rubbermaid here in the UK don't produce
the sheds they do in the US, (I was dead excited by that posting about the
flat packed plastic sheds a while back and emailed Rubbermaid UK right
away), but they did give me the website address of a UK competitor who does
make something like it. And I seem to have mislaid it....
Rikki, the architect born in Iran and working in California is Nader
Khalili, the guy who wrote 'Ceramic Houses and Earth Architecture'. He has a
website all about his earth building institute in California, where you can
go and do an apprenticeship to learn how to make these buildings....very
costly I warn you! I didn't know about the straw bales 'tho, and yes,
there's plenty of straw here, for adding to the clay, and to put inside and
on the outside of a kiln/house. But I was wondering if sawdust, (added to
the clay that is), particularly hardwood sawdust, would be more calorific
when it comes to fuel efficiency...? Any one know about the relative heat v
volume ratios of different combustibles? I know paper gives off a wallop of
heat and wondered about making a DIY ceramic fibre coat for the whole
structure out of newspapers/magazines, dipped in the same clay as the walls
were made of, and layered over the outside layer of fuel as a filo pastry of
slip and paper. It would keep the heat in and help it get well cooked on the
outside at the same time as the inside?
Oh and Ivor, Lea says you can still get the sweet cure bacon from the Happy
Apple; it's all just dead pig to me ;-)
Ama, Totnes, Devon...where the flowers are blooming already, thanks to the
gulf stream; long may it continue to flow.
--
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______________________________________________________________________________
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You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
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Ama Menec on tue 8 feb 05
Ivor, thanks for the Daniel Rhodes book suggestion....I don't think I've
ever seen this book, (been in ceramics 25 years and been a bookseller; how
come I've never heard of this?), I'll ask around!
Rhonda, the Agni Jata video is the one I saw 10 years ago; totally wows you
out! And $39.95 is a lot cheaper than I've seen it for sale on the internet.
The is another video I've seen advertised called Sun Rise Dome: Building and
Firing a Ceramic Dome in the US; but I haven't seen this. Has anyone seen
this video and recons it's useful? It's $30 by the way....I haven't ordered
it as a) I don't know if it would be useful to me, and b) I'm not sure about
the format differences between US and UK videos, and whether I'd be able to
view it ok. I had this problem in the past with a US Berdache tradition
video; I had to get it re-recorded in a different format when it got here.
In a 10-year-old sketchbook I have several photos of your wattle and daub
kiln at Aberystwyth Steve, and some poor girl up to her knees in mud,
treading the stuff! Come rain or shine, there she was; looking mostly pretty
happy about it too, and it can't half rain in Wales. And I have some more
photos of the side of the kiln sliced open revealing the pots. The whole
structure was pretty low and hugged the slope it was built on....have you
used this method for anything tall enough to stand up in? Does the shrinkage
become more of a problem over the bent-wood frame when it's made taller?
Krista, we don't get rain every day here....it just feels like it! Things
are known to dry out occasionally! What I'm thinking is if the walls weren't
too thick, (maybe a hollow walled or lattice structure), it'd have a better
chance to dry out and also to fire successfully, in that the walls
themselves could act like flues. Rubbermaid here in the UK don't produce
the sheds they do in the US, (I was dead excited by that posting about the
flat packed plastic sheds a while back and emailed Rubbermaid UK right
away), but they did give me the website address of a UK competitor who does
make something like it. And I seem to have mislaid it....
Rikki, the architect born in Iran and working in California is Nader
Khalili, the guy who wrote 'Ceramic Houses and Earth Architecture'. He has a
website all about his earth building institute in California, where you can
go and do an apprenticeship to learn how to make these buildings....very
costly I warn you! I didn't know about the straw bales 'tho, and yes,
there's plenty of straw here, for adding to the clay, and to put inside and
on the outside of a kiln/house. But I was wondering if sawdust, (added to
the clay that is), particularly hardwood sawdust, would be more calorific
when it comes to fuel efficiency...? Any one know about the relative heat v
volume ratios of different combustibles? I know paper gives off a wallop of
heat and wondered about making a DIY ceramic fibre coat for the whole
structure out of newspapers/magazines, dipped in the same clay as the walls
were made of, and layered over the outside layer of fuel as a filo pastry of
slip and paper. It would keep the heat in and help it get well cooked on the
outside at the same time as the inside?
Oh and Ivor, Lea says you can still get the sweet cure bacon from the Happy
Apple; it's all just dead pig to me ;-)
Ama, Totnes, Devon...where the flowers are blooming already, thanks to the
gulf stream; long may it continue to flow.
--
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Checked by AVG Anti-Virus.
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