Materials

Mud brick

Mud brick
The ideal building material would be ‘borrowed’ The use of earth construction is well established in
from the environment and replaced after use. energy efficient housing. Despite the fact that most of
There would be little or no processing of the raw the world’s buildings are made of earth and it is one
material and all the energy inputs would be directly, of the oldest known building materials, much about
or indirectly, from the sun. This ideal material would its properties and potential remains undeveloped and
also be cheap and would perform well thermally and poorly researched.
acoustically. If used carefully, mud bricks come close
to this ideal.
Performance summary
Basic mud bricks are made by mixing earth with water,
placing the mixture into moulds and drying the bricks Appearance
in the open air. Straw or other fibres that are strong in
tension are often added to the bricks to help reduce The appearance of mud bricks reflects the materials they
cracking. Mud bricks are joined with a mud mortar and are made from. They are thus earthy, with their colour
can be used to build walls, vaults and domes. determined by the colour of clays and sands in the mix.
Finished walls can range from a strong expression of
At its simplest, mud brick making places mud in moulds the brick patterns to a smoothly continuous surface.
which, after initial drying, are removed to allow the
bricks to dry slowly (not in direct sun). Moulds can
be made from timber or metal — anything that can
be shaped to provide the desired size for the bricks.
Virtually all the energy input for mud brick construction
is human labour (indirectly fuelled by the sun) and after
a lifetime of use, the bricks break back down into the
earth they came from.

Structural capability
Photo: Paul Downton
With thick enough walls, mud brick can create
loadbearing structures up to several storeys high.
Vaults and domes in mud brick prove that it can be used
The most effective use of mud bricks in building healthy, for many situations other than vertical walls. It may
environmentally responsible houses comes from be employed as infill in a timber frame building or for
understanding their merits and accepting their limitations. loadbearing walls, although its compressive strength is
Mud brick construction is often referred to as ‘adobe’ relatively low. Typically, Australian mud brick structures
which is an Arabic and Berber word brought by Spaniards are single or double storey. In the Yemen buildings
to the Americas, where it was adopted into English. eight storeys high and more have stood for centuries!
(see Construction systems)

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Mud brick

Sound insulation
A well-built mud brick wall has very good sound
insulation properties. In fact, it can be almost equivalent
to a monolithic masonry structure in its capacity for
sound attenuation (see Noise control). Some modern
mud brick homes use mud brick for external walls and
light partition walls internally; it is more effective for
thermal and acoustic performance to use mud brick
for the partition walls and lightweight, well-insulated
external walls.

Fire and vermin resistance

Since earth does not burn, and earth walls do not readily
provide habitat for vermin, mud brick walls generally
have excellent fire and vermin resistance.

Durability and moisture resistance

Mud brick walls are capable of providing structural
Thermal mass support for centuries but they need protection from
Mud brick walls can provide moderate to high thermal extreme weather (e.g. with deep eaves) or continuous
mass. For most Australian climatic conditions, as a rule maintenance: the ancient structures of the Yemen have
of thumb, walls should be a minimum of 300mm thick been repaired continuously for the centuries they have
to provide effective thermal mass. (see Thermal mass) been standing. Although some soils are very resistant
to weathering, as a general rule mud brick needs
protection from driving rain and should not be exposed
Insulation to continuous high moisture.
Contrary to popular belief mud bricks are not good
insulators. Since they are extremely dense they lack
the ability to trap air within their structure, the attribute
Breathability and toxicity
of bulk insulation that allows it to resist the transfer Mud bricks make ‘breathable’ walls but some mud brick
of heat. recipes include bitumen, which potentially results in
some outgassing of hydrocarbons. Ideally earth should
To achieve the levels of insulation needed for be used in, or as near as possible to, its natural state.
sustainable house construction and to achieve Building
Code of Australia compliance across most of Australia,
it is almost always necessary to add insulation linings to Environmental impacts
external mud brick walls. In some milder climate zones, Mud bricks could have the lowest impact of all
where thermal insulation is less critical to the overall construction materials. Mud brick should not contain
building performance, mud brick walls may not need any organic matter — the bricks should be made from
additional insulation. (see Insulation) clays and sands and not include living soil. They require
very little generated energy to manufacture, but large
One way of dealing with mud brick’s lack of insulation is
amounts of water. Their embodied energy content is
to construct some or all of the outer walls with framed
potentially the lowest of all building materials but the
construction, and use mud brick for partition walls and
use of additives such as cement, excessive transport
as an internal ‘reverse brick veneer’ on some external
and other mechanical energy use can increase the
walls. This approach allows the building to reach
‘delivered’ embodied energy of all earth construction.
‘lock-up’ very quickly and provides a protected space
(see Embodied energy)
to make and dry the bricks.
In a similar way, the greenhouse gas emissions associated
Traditional earth buildings often used walls up to a
with unfired mud bricks can (and should) be very
metre thick: these would provide reasonable insulation
low. To keep emissions to an absolute minimum, the
and enormous mass to stabilise internal temperatures.
consumption of fossil fuel and other combustion
processes have to be avoided. If, say, 5% cement is added

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Mud brick

to a 300mm mud brick wall, it makes a fairly high

energy/high emission building material, close to the
embodied energy of a 125mm unreinforced concrete wall.

Photo: Paul Downton

Constructing a mud brick wall.

The clay content of mud brick can range between 30%

and 70% and overall earth content may also include
Buildability, availability and cost silt, gravel and stones. There are a number of tests for
suitability of the earth, and the approval process may
Mud bricks are a forgiving medium well suited to owner
require an erosion test. Before excavating for on-site
builder construction. A number of proprietary mud
mud, consider the site layout to minimise carrying and
brick makers and builders provide good information
transport; ensure there is space to keep any topsoil
in Australia. A strong owner builder oriented network
separate for use on the garden.
includes a broad based national organisation, the Earth
Building Association of Australia (EBAA), which is Owner builders should recognise that mud brick making
a not-for-profit group ‘formed to promote the use is a labour intensive activity. A house may require around
of unfired earth as a building medium throughout 10,000 bricks, but a working couple making bricks in
Australia’. their spare time would be lucky to average a production
rate of 200 a week. Mud brick moulds can be made
Materials for making mud bricks are readily available in
from wood or metal. Bricks must dry evenly to avoid
most areas and in some cases may be sourced directly
cracking and they should be covered to avoid direct
from the building site.
sunlight and overly quick drying. A number of mud brick
Low costs in construction can only be effectively manufacturers cater to the market for people who do
achieved by self-build, reducing the labour costs not have the time or resources to make their own.
associated with the manufacture and/or laying of bricks.
A typical standard mud brick is 300–375mm long,
Commercially produced mud brick construction can be
250–300mm wide and 125mm high, and can weigh up
as expensive, or even more expensive, than brick veneer.
to 18kg — as much as a straw bale! Smaller brick sizes
are recommended for owner building. Mud bricks can be
Typical domestic construction made in a range of sizes and moulds and can be made in
special shapes for fitting around structural elements and
accommodating pipes and wires. Stabilised mud bricks
Construction process may contain materials such as straw, cement or bitumen.
Mud brick wall construction has generally been the (see Straw bale)
province of owner builders, but a large proportion of
Although mud brick can be loadbearing, there is also
mud brick buildings are now constructed by, or with the
widespread use of frames. The advantages are that a
help of, commercial builders. The potential for sourcing
roof structure can be erected for weather protection for
the main wall construction material from one’s own
both mud brick making and construction. Disadvantages
site, making the bricks, and building the walls can be
include the need to connect with and build around
very appealing as both an economic and lifestyle choice.
frame structures.
The first stage of construction may be excavating the
mud from the site. After the footings have been placed and the bricks are
ready for laying, the building process is similar to that
of any other masonry construction.

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Mud brick

All structural design should be prepared by a competent less vital, but care must be taken to provide a good quality
person and may require preparation or checking by a render and waterproofing finish (see ‘Finishes’ below).
qualified engineer. Qualified professionals, architects
and designers have years of experience and access Walls are laid in the traditional manner of masonry with
to intellectual property, and can save house builders string lines to provide a guide to vertical and horizontal
time and money as well as help ensure environmental alignments.
performance. All masonry construction has to comply
The mud mortar beds are normally quite thick and need
with the Building Code of Australia and Australian
to provide complete bedding for the bricks. Perpends
Standards. For example, all masonry walls are required
are similarly thick (about 20–30mm). The intention is to
to have movement/expansion joints at specified intervals.
produce a wall that is effectively monolithic, i.e. as if it
were a single piece of material.
Footings
It is possible to make footings from rubble, but
unconventional construction may make it harder to
obtain building approvals and the usual method is to
employ strip or raft concrete footings. A raft concrete
slab can make a clean, flat surface for making mud
bricks. A damp proof course must be laid between the
footings and brick wall to prevent rising damp. A ‘splash
course’ of fired bricks is advisable to prevent erosion of
the lower course of mud bricks from heavy rain.

Frames
Mud bricks can be loadbearing but it is also usual
Australian practice to build mud brick walls between
timber or steel frames.
Photo: Paul Downton

Loadbearing walls Applying a mortar bed.

Loadbearing mud brick wall construction requires

particular attention to good bonding (avoiding continuous Fixings
vertical joints) and ensuring stability by having returns
on the walls that buttress them against sideways forces. Fixings to mud brick need to allow for the relatively poor
Again, normal traditional masonry practice applies to ‘pull-out’ strength of the material. Strong fixings can
the pattern in which bricks should be laid. It is possible be achieved by embedding dowels or plugs into a wall
to create arches, squinches and domes in mud brick; — the depth and type of which should be determined
they have featured in adobe structures since time by reference to a skilled builder or engineer if the load
immemorial but are rare in modern buildings of this type. carrying capacity of the fixing is critical.

Joints and connections Openings

Mud bricks are laid on thick mortar beds that are Lintels can be in any structurally appropriate material,
essentially the same mix as the brick, but in its ‘muddy’ although timber is typically used. Beams and lintels
state. It is also common practice in the commercial mud can be formed from quite ‘rough and ready’ timber and
brick industry to use a sand-cement mortar. Once dried, readily blended into the mud brick construction. Mud
it can be difficult to distinguish between mortar bed and bricks can be also be laid to form arches, particularly
brick, and some adobe aesthetics exploit this ‘seamless’ over small spans (less than a metre), and even domes,
appearance to create a monolithic effect. In loadbearing although this requires high levels of bricklaying skills as
mud brick construction, roof structures bear on wall well as more stringent demands from engineering and
plates. In framed mud brick construction there may be approvals processes.
timber or steel columns around which the mud brick
walls are built. Considerable roof overhang is generally
recommended to afford some protection to walls from
driving rain. In more sheltered areas this requirement is

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Finishes
•• Cob, wattle and daub, earth render
After brushing to get a fairly even surface, the final finish
is a mud slurry, typically completed by hand. This slurry Cob is an ancient earth building technique of mixing
may also be the final waterproofing coat (e.g. a mud earth, sand, gravel or pebbles and straw with a little
and cow dung mix) or it may have a further clear coat of water. It requires minimal construction skills and may
proprietary waterproofing material. be the world’s most common building material.
Cob walls are built without formwork by placing
Linseed oil and turpentine can also be used as a final
lumps of the cob mix by hand to make massive
finish — and can be a very effective method of protecting
walls, typically 450–600mm thick, built up in layers.
walls susceptible to erosion. There is even the option of
Each layer needs to dry out sufficiently to support
using the natural plastic of cellulose, processed by
the next. It lends itself to making free-flowing
cattle, to create mud and manure slurry, although this is
sculptural forms.
seldom employed in Australia. Finishes can range from
rustic to smooth, with this flexibility of approach being This high thermal mass material has some
one of the material’s many appealing qualities. insulation value. Cob building depends upon wall
thickness for its structural and environmental
performance. Cob is fireproof and can be used
to make stoves, fireplaces and chimneys.
Cob walls require firm footings to avoid
movement and cracking and to keep the base
of the walls dry. They need to be whitewashed
(lime and water) for weather protection.
Wattle and daub consists of panels of woven
timber lattice set in timber frames. The wattle
was traditionally made from wood coppiced from
trees that would continually regenerate branches
for future harvesting. The panels are daubed with
a mud and straw mixture up to a thickness of
50–150mm. As with all earth constructions, wattle
and daub walls need sealing against the weather
with a breathable finish such as whitewash.
Earth render is fundamentally a mud or clay slurry
Photo: Paul Downton that may be reinforced with straw or cow dung.
It can be applied to mud brick or cob walls and
Applying a mud slurry finish. can be used to render strawbale walls.
These very old techniques that date back to the
References and additional reading earliest days of building are quite uncommon in
Australian Institute of Architects (AIA). Environment design
the modern era. If you are contemplating using
guides. Melbourne. www.environmentdesignguide.com.au these methods it is worth checking out the growing
number of websites and networks through which
Bianco, A. 2002. The mud brick adventure: from beginning to people exchange information and experience.
end. Earth Garden Books, Trentham, Vic.
All earth walls benefit from being protected by
Earth Building Association of Australia. www.ebaa.asn.au wide, overhanging roofs that prevent driving rain
Edwards, R. 1997. Cob building in earth. Rams Skull Press, from eroding their surface.
Kuranda, Qld.
Lawson, B. 1996. Building materials, energy and the
Author
environment: towards ecologically sustainable development.
Royal Australian Institute of Architects, Red Hill, ACT. Paul Downton, 2013
Middleton, G and Schneider, L. 1992. Bulletin 5, Earth-wall
construction, 4th edn. CSIRO Australia, Division of Building,
Construction and Engineering, North Ryde, NSW.
Simmons, G and Gray, A (eds). 1996. The earth builder’s
handbook. Earth Garden Books, Trentham, Vic.

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