Brick from clay and straw by own hands: stages of manufacturing and reviews

A brick made of clay and straw is called adobe and can be made independently. This material is environmentally friendly and is often used to build buildings in dry and hot climates. As a basis for these products is a mixture of clay, straw, sand and water, which is well kneaded to obtain a homogeneous mass.

From the adobe, you can make bricks and dry them naturally in the sun, and then fold them under a ventilated canopy. If you use a brick made of clay and straw for building buildings, then it will not be distinguished by high water resistance.

For reference

This material is fairly widespread in the southern regions, where there is a small amount of precipitation. Building a building from this brick, you get inside it a comfortable temperature even in summer heat. You can manufacture such products yourself, eliminating the use of additional mechanisms.

Material preparation

It is noteworthy that one can independently make a brick from straw and clay. We build bricks in the future at home and outbuildings. But first you need to find out how it is made. The brick consists of four components, among them:

• water;
• sand;
• straw;
• clay.

The proportions of the components can be determined experimentally, the ratio of ingredients will depend on the quality of the clay, which can be found near the construction site. It must be said that clay is almost never contained in nature in its pure form, it has sand in a certain amount. Depending on what the fat content of the raw material, you can add screened river sand. Clay can be mined wherever builders or stoves are digging pits. If the soil on the site is clay, then you can use the soil, which is removed from the foundation pit.

Preparation of clay is carried out in such a way that it does not contain extraneous impurities, stones and debris. If you have decided in advance to prepare a large amount of raw materials, then it can be laid on the edge, covered with a film. In this condition, the clay should be postponed, this will only improve the quality of the material.

Brick made of clay and straw is prepared using sand, it should be coarse-grained, the optimal grain size is 1 mm and more. When making a brick, it is best to abandon silty sands. And the one that you decide to use, it is necessary to dry and sift, remove from it stones, plant roots, garbage and other inclusions.

Determination of proportions

If you decide to make a brick from clay and straw, you need to determine the proportions, for this you should take one volume part of clay and the same amount of sand. The ingredients are mixed, water is added to them, after the composition is kneaded, you should eventually obtain a consistency of steep dough.

From this solution should roll a ball, the size of which will be comparable to the size of a tennis ball. This sphere should be laid in the sun for an hour, after which the balloon is dropped onto a flat surface from a height of 0.5 m. If the proportions of sand and clay are optimal, the ball will retain its shape, if it is flattened without cracking, then the volume of sand should be increased. When the ball is scattered, the amount of sand should be reduced.

Form preparation

Now you know the name of a brick made of clay and straw. But if you want to make it yourself, you need to prepare a shape that can be made of plastic, metal or wood. The form should be a box without a bottom or with cells of the desired shape. The easiest way is to make wooden forms from a board, the thickness of which is from 24 to 36 mm. Once you have decided on the size of the brick, you will need to draw a drawing, which cuts the material.

The boards are fastened with screws in 4 places, the fasteners must be installed in each joint. The number of products will depend on the size of the brick, but the shape should not get too heavy. The edges are complemented by handles for ease of movement. The walls should be easy to clean from the solution. To do this, they must be done smooth, and the corners should be well adjusted.

Manufacturing technology

The production of bricks from clay and straw requires the preparation of a pit for mixing the mortar. Its depth can be from 30 to 50 cm, the walls should be vertical, but the bottom - even. The pit should be covered with waterproof material, for example, awning cloth or tarpaulin. The edges should extend beyond the pit by 40 cm.

When the bricks are made of clay and straw by oneself, in the pit it is necessary to pour water on one third of the depth, and afterwards to fill in sand and clay in the chosen proportion. Mix the solution with feet, the components need to be kneaded, mixing them together. In order to achieve better mixing of the layers, the edges of the canvas can be raised. In the process, you should get a clay-sandy liquid solution, in which there are no lumps. Saman better knead together, while you need to hold hands, it will reduce the likelihood of a fall.

Reviews about the features of making bricks

To the finished solution, you can gradually add straw, while the mixture is mixed with clay. As people say, dry grass should not be added earlier, because in this case it will float on the surface, it will be difficult to mix. Straw must be added already in a thick and ductile dough. In the pit there should not be puddles of water, but it should not be allowed to dry out. Home masters claim that the saman can be unloaded with a shovel or fork to bring it to the molding site.

The form needs to be moistened, and then installed on the place where the brick will be tapped. Experts say that the Saman should fill the form completely, removing the surplus board. If you are thinking about how to make an adobe or bricks from clay, you should remember that the walls of the mold should be taped after filling, this will fill the voids, and then remove the shape, holding it by the handles on both sides.

If the form is rather large, then it is easier to accomplish this stage together. Experts advise squeezing bricks from above, if they are stuck to the walls. Before filling the next batch, the mold should be moistened with water and placed next to the finished products to leave room for airing.

Advice of specialists

All subsequent batches must be performed in a similar manner. In one day, you can make about 150 bricks, if 5 people are involved in the work. In this case, the volume of adobe should be such that you have time to form products, until they have time to dry. The already diluted solution will lose some of its strength. Brick from clay and straw, the steps of manufacturing which are described in the article, should be left to dry naturally for a period of 2 to 7 days. The drying period will depend on the humidity and temperature. After the products are laid under the canopy, where they are stored before the construction.

Reviews about properties

Adobe brick is an environmentally friendly material. In houses built from this brick, it is easy to breathe, and in summer heat and high humidity can not prevail. The material is suitable for those who are not afraid to stain the legs and hands.

Raw bricks made of clay and chopped straw, according to owners of private areas, also have some drawbacks, which are expressed in the low ability to retain heat and high water absorption. In addition, such products do not have decorative properties. If you build a house from such a brick in a damp climate, you will come across the fact that the building quickly absorbs moisture, the product is deformed and begins to crumble.

Builders give advice on how to avoid this. The outer walls are finished with clay baked bricks, while inside they are protected by a vapor barrier.

Conclusion

From the adobe, you can make bricks and dry them naturally in the sun, and then fold them under a ventilated canopy. If you use a brick made of clay and straw for building buildings, then it will not be distinguished by high water resistance. However, this material is fairly widespread in the southern regions, where there is a small amount of precipitation. Building a building from this brick, you get inside it a comfortable temperature even in summer heat. You can make such bricks on your own, excluding the use of additional mechanisms.