Clay lump, brick skin and lovely concrete pebbledash!

[tatty]

Hello all,

First time posting after lurking and learning for some time. Now I could really do with your advice.

Title says it all really. Picture this if you can, a 1830 claylump cottage, Norfolk red brick skin and over an inch of concrete pebble dash in glaring white. Like icing really, the poor thing just doesn't sit well in the landscape, bit of an eye sore to be honest.

Against local opinion, 'you don't wanna be doing that gal' slowly I'm picking off the render. The brick face is damaged but so far I think most of it is passable. The mortar is patchy, but not a complete loss.

First question please, would the flint and rubble base have had a lime render?

If so, do I need to replace it?

I've found what appear to be iron ties between the brick and clay lump. They look sound, but how can I tell if they've rusted away inside? Remove the nearest brick?

If they have rusted, what do I replace them with?

Just a few q's for now, more to come I'm sure.

 

[NT]

Is there a reason that you need to investigate the ties?

NT

 

[tatty]

Evening NT,

The only reason I have doubt over the ties is probaly due to scare mongering from a retired builder. He appears to be claiming that the render is holding the place together and there's no strength left in the building. Have to point out that he has no experience with clay lump and is a big fan of Portand.

If the house is being held together with an inch of concrete, I'd rather know now than later!

A long way of saying, I have no real reason to doubt the ties. If it's best to leave well alone, then that's what I'll do.

 

[NT]

Apart from the cement render you've got 2 structures either of which would normally be able to hold the house up, the earth walls and the brick wall(s).

Earth walls can rarely collapse if the earth is too wet to be stable and the cement render is removed all at once. I've seen it generally recommended earth walls are uncovered a section at a time to avoid this very small risk.

There seems to be significant prejudice against earth as a structural material, despite its record of survival and its perfectly satisfactory ongoing modern use.


NT

 

[biffvernon]

I believe this statement to be true:
Most houses in the world are built of earth.

 

[Nemesis]

Here's a load of info:

http://www.ucl.ac.uk/mud/

http://www.ucl.ac.uk/mud/links/index.html


If the ICOMOS link is followed there's a PDF file of a paper:

Techhniques and materials: material and structural behaviour of soil constructed walls - Richard Hughes

http://www.international.icomos.org/monumentum/vol26-3/vol26-3_2.pdf

And here's a reminder of how long-lived yet fragile earth buildings can be:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/3349353.stm

And here's a thumbnail to click - San Esteban Church in New Mexico - pre 1644, the oldest continually occupied building in the US -made primarily from adobe:

 

[Penners]

That's brilliant! Not only can I get an enlarged image of San Esteban Church, but apparently I can also get a date with LustyGal, age 23, from Bletchley. :shock:

Perhaps I do like Image Shack after all!

 

[Nemesis]

Yes I was waiting to see if you had discovered the hidden charms of ImageShack yet...

PS I got a betting shop and the offer of a free silent ringtone... I prefer the vibration feature personally...

 

[Penners]

A silent ringtone, eh? I wonder how you know whether you've got it or not. :?

 

[tatty]

Well, thank you for you replies and the interesting links. Quite an eye opener on a friday evening, in more ways than one!!

Thanks again.