One thing I noticed was that the sand appeared to be a very fine silca sand. Sand is a binder for strength that ties it all together like straw does. If the sand particles are too small they loose the ability to do so.
@QUAIL72 I only used play sand because I had some left over from another project. Sand does not act as a binder, neither does straw. Clay is the binder. Sand's strength is very beneficial if you were mixing for structural reasons, but in this video I'm using it to keep the clay from cracking. But if you did want structural mortar, you'd want what a lot of people call "manufactured sand" which is rock that's been crushed at the rock quarry. It's got sharp edges. And you also wouldn't use straw.
@QUAIL72 Like I said below, it is play sand that was leftover from another project. Sand is not a binder, it adds compressive strength, but is mostly used because it doesn't shrink as the water evaporates, cutting way down on shrinkage, but you have to mix clay with it or it won't stay together. Straw is used to keep the material together while it's wet, it has little use after material has dried. Just think of a rock wall mortared with clay, then scale those rocks down to sand-sized particles.
Yes, clay directly from the ground. Clay is different and that is precisely why you should make test bricks. It's called amending. In this case, you'd be amending it with sand. The quality of the clay directly from the ground varies greatly, sometimes within feet. Some soil is sticky (which should be mixed with a lot of sand) but sometimes you come across soil that doesn't stick at all when it gets wet (that kind of soil is not clay and shouldn't be considered to build anything with).
instead of straw you could use chopped elephant grass I heard ! I don't know my tropical
plants ,cause It don't grow in Europe ( yet )
but I would recommend a book from P. van Lengen ...The author has a building school in Brazil and worked around the Americas for the U.N , and wrote a book about methods used.
The institute is called TEBA and the book is found for free on SCRIBD
The mold is the box for my bank checks! It worked great for a temporary mold, but if you're planning on doing more that 10 bricks I would try to find something other than paper!
Thanks for all your advice d5a4m3o2n1. Very helpful. I will take the Cob into consideration as well. I was just recently realizing that Cob made homes are stronger & take that extra step out of the building process. Thanks a lot. If I have anymore questions I'll be sure to ask you for advice. :)
I tested my mud bricks with using your video. There are different ways to make a mud brick, like an adobe for example, basically I used what I had on hand dirt & clay. So I tested a bunch like you did here and I figured when they were dry that the 2/2 brick was best. It barely scratched off any dust. When dropped it broke only in half. It also didn't have any cracking. It didn't crumble in the hand either. I tested it in a bowl of water & it took 33 mins for it to fully dissolve. Any advice? TY
This is not an adobe, although the process is the same. If you're building, why not just go ahead and build straight from the mixing pad and do cob? Once you find the strongest mix using this method, make more test bricks but add straw to the mix. Usually just enough to make the mix stiff but keeping it sticky. Cob takes a step out of the building process and creates the monolithic structure which is far superior to adobe. You have very good clay on hand by the way.
Hi, I have a quick question for you. As you say that this is a mortar test does that mean that this will be used between the actual mud bricks when you are lying them together?
Can these mud bricks hold up against rain? I have only seen them in dry areas. It rains qguite often here. I though I might even be able to cook the bricks in an adobe oven to harden them more. That would take a long time though. So without being cooked you think they can handle being wet?
The bricks don't handle rain very well but once the mix is put on the wall, the rain doesn't erode it much. The reason being it is applied thinly between the stones which allows fast drying. Plus being mortar, it shouldn't constantly get rained on.
Fascinating///i will use this if i ever go into the wild if or when things get more intense in the NWO
TheWolfmoon21 1 month ago
One thing I noticed was that the sand appeared to be a very fine silca sand. Sand is a binder for strength that ties it all together like straw does. If the sand particles are too small they loose the ability to do so.
QUAIL72 10 months ago
@QUAIL72 I only used play sand because I had some left over from another project. Sand does not act as a binder, neither does straw. Clay is the binder. Sand's strength is very beneficial if you were mixing for structural reasons, but in this video I'm using it to keep the clay from cracking. But if you did want structural mortar, you'd want what a lot of people call "manufactured sand" which is rock that's been crushed at the rock quarry. It's got sharp edges. And you also wouldn't use straw.
d5a4m3o2n1 10 months ago
@QUAIL72 Like I said below, it is play sand that was leftover from another project. Sand is not a binder, it adds compressive strength, but is mostly used because it doesn't shrink as the water evaporates, cutting way down on shrinkage, but you have to mix clay with it or it won't stay together. Straw is used to keep the material together while it's wet, it has little use after material has dried. Just think of a rock wall mortared with clay, then scale those rocks down to sand-sized particles.
d5a4m3o2n1 9 months ago
Or u can avoid this all and use mud and it's dries out in 3 days. And thats in the uk!
scouser001cod5 1 year ago
@scouser001cod5 The reason you mix it with sand is to amend the clay. With no sand there is a good chance of big cracks developing.
d5a4m3o2n1 1 year ago
The narration aint bad!
nedatronics 1 year ago
I am no mud experit but thanks for sharing your knowledge peace
dtades01 1 year ago
yes but having clay in the mix the brick will normally crack unless you put straw right?
and i think u can put it in small cracks if u cut your straw very small.
maradonasssssss 1 year ago
@maradonasssssss That's why you mustdo "test bricks" (because if there is too much clay, there will be cracks. You will not have cracks
if you have the proper proportions of clay/sand. Also,
if you add straw the crack problem is nearly eliminated because it acts as reinforcement.
To others, I may post a new video on cob soon.
d5a4m3o2n1 1 year ago
why dont you use straw and let the mud ferment?
maradonasssssss 1 year ago
Mud doesn't "ferment," neither does straw.
I strongly advise testing the durability of the
clay/sand mix before adding straw. Besides,
this video is not adobe. I'm testing for the
best mortar to in between the rocks in my
foundation. If there were straw in the mix,
it wouldn't go in the small cracks.
d5a4m3o2n1 1 year ago
clay directly from the ground? well theres different types of clay all over the world so its going to be different depending where u live
rich98521 2 years ago
Yes, clay directly from the ground. Clay is different and that is precisely why you should make test bricks. It's called amending. In this case, you'd be amending it with sand. The quality of the clay directly from the ground varies greatly, sometimes within feet. Some soil is sticky (which should be mixed with a lot of sand) but sometimes you come across soil that doesn't stick at all when it gets wet (that kind of soil is not clay and shouldn't be considered to build anything with).
d5a4m3o2n1 2 years ago
instead of straw you could use chopped elephant grass I heard ! I don't know my tropical
plants ,cause It don't grow in Europe ( yet )
but I would recommend a book from P. van Lengen ...The author has a building school in Brazil and worked around the Americas for the U.N , and wrote a book about methods used.
The institute is called TEBA and the book is found for free on SCRIBD
greetings
gekkkehuis 2 years ago
Thanks for the great information, its took me a while to fine this good of a information... I still don't know about that paper mod but...anyway !
crx88saru 2 years ago
The mold is the box for my bank checks! It worked great for a temporary mold, but if you're planning on doing more that 10 bricks I would try to find something other than paper!
d5a4m3o2n1 2 years ago
Thanks for all your advice d5a4m3o2n1. Very helpful. I will take the Cob into consideration as well. I was just recently realizing that Cob made homes are stronger & take that extra step out of the building process. Thanks a lot. If I have anymore questions I'll be sure to ask you for advice. :)
TheAcacia1984 2 years ago
I tested my mud bricks with using your video. There are different ways to make a mud brick, like an adobe for example, basically I used what I had on hand dirt & clay. So I tested a bunch like you did here and I figured when they were dry that the 2/2 brick was best. It barely scratched off any dust. When dropped it broke only in half. It also didn't have any cracking. It didn't crumble in the hand either. I tested it in a bowl of water & it took 33 mins for it to fully dissolve. Any advice? TY
TheAcacia1984 2 years ago
This is not an adobe, although the process is the same. If you're building, why not just go ahead and build straight from the mixing pad and do cob? Once you find the strongest mix using this method, make more test bricks but add straw to the mix. Usually just enough to make the mix stiff but keeping it sticky. Cob takes a step out of the building process and creates the monolithic structure which is far superior to adobe. You have very good clay on hand by the way.
d5a4m3o2n1 2 years ago
Hi, I have a quick question for you. As you say that this is a mortar test does that mean that this will be used between the actual mud bricks when you are lying them together?
TheAcacia1984 2 years ago
I used the mortar only as fill between a dry stacked stone wall. But never the less, I test for compression strength.
d5a4m3o2n1 2 years ago
Can these mud bricks hold up against rain? I have only seen them in dry areas. It rains qguite often here. I though I might even be able to cook the bricks in an adobe oven to harden them more. That would take a long time though. So without being cooked you think they can handle being wet?
zuuluu1 2 years ago
The bricks don't handle rain very well but once the mix is put on the wall, the rain doesn't erode it much. The reason being it is applied thinly between the stones which allows fast drying. Plus being mortar, it shouldn't constantly get rained on.
d5a4m3o2n1 2 years ago
Sure was lucky you had that fine brick form ;)
jonnyzz139 2 years ago
Hey, use what you got that will make a form, right?
d5a4m3o2n1 2 years ago
This has been flagged as spam show
good video, thanks
theproducegarden 3 years ago
informative but, i like to see the baking proces
1macran 3 years ago
This isn't a brick for building, it's a "test brick" for mortar.
d5a4m3o2n1 2 years ago