Oh dear .. a hobby horse of mine I'm afraid...
Things don't get much more off topic than this, so any responses should
most probably be off list.
On Mon, 31 Dec 2007, john lewis wrote:
> I doubt those mud huts were soggy as lime mortar (a centuries old
> technique) combined with overhanging thatch roofs kept them pretty
> waterproof. There are still cob*' cottages existing in the New Forest
> for example.
FWIW, Cob is not the same as lime mortar, though you may well know that
already. Cob is _just_ rammed mud and straw, though it works very well
indeed. There are still a few cob houses being built, mostly in
conservation areas like national parks. Sometimes it's lime platered
ofer the cob, though it needen't be.
In fact, variations on the rammed earth theme are on the increase
worldwide, particularly "earthships" and earth-bermed houses. There are
now thousands of them across North and central America, though the
planners in Europe have still to recognise the benefits of modern "mud
huts".
Amongst the main benefits is typically a very, very, low carbon
footprint both to build and to run. Cement and concrete use _huge_
amounts of energy to produce, lime mortar is better but still uses an
awful lot, mud uses virtually none (a few gallons of diesel?) and can
usually be dug up from the subsoil of the plot. Heating of the building
can be mostly passive solar, i.e., insulating the lossy areas of the
building and using the mass of the building as a huge solar-heated
storage radiator.
Another excellent near-zero carbon building method usws straw bales,
which despite the obvious worries _will_ last over 100 years if built
properly, won't blow down in high winds, don't go up in flames at the
slightest provocation and are fabulously well insulated. Curiously,
planners seem wary of these, too :-(
Those and some related technologies are far, far, better at reducing
energy consumpton and carbon emissions than all the wind farms, roof
mounted wind generators, photovoltaic panels, fuel cells, hybrid
vehicles and other crap that governments typically keep promoting.
If you're curious about these technologies, Googling for "Earthship",
"Earth Berm", "Passive Solar" and "straw bale house" will give more
information than you'll likely cope with.
Happy new year.
Gordon.
--
Gordon Scott http://www.gscott.co.uk
Linux ... Because I like to *get* there today.
