making bricks

8/22/2019 Making Bricks

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centre of alternative technolo

sasha nash

ata:

making bricks


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friday 03.02.12

existing site

initial aims

cinva ram: key parts

cinva ram: basic process

saturday 04.02.12

sourcing material

defrosting clay

gathering earth

unsieved earth bricks

sieved earth bricks

clay bricks

earth + clay bricks

adding aggregates

the perfect brick mix

using frogs and insertsremoving frogs

frogs, wedges + inserts

forms used

frogged bricks

sunday 05.02.12

production line

the perfect process

strength test

inconsistent dimensions

design + buildnal design

placement on site

on site

alight at night

the end of the day

monday 06.02.12

photographs

photographs

post wales

history of earth blocks

compressed earth blocks in the modern age

centre for earth architecture, mali

contemporary buildings

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contents


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friday 03.0


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1. willow and moss c

2. dry slate wall wi

opening

3. larch pole viewin

platform

The site was still lled with the previous g

work. They had been there only two weeks previous

everything on site was still pretty much exact

they had left it.

It was interesting to see what they had acheiev

short two day period and an inspiring starting

for all of us.

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01

2 3

existing site


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initia

None of our group had ever made an earth brick, let

alon seen a cinva ram. Our aim for the weekend was

quite simple: to create a perfect compressed earth

brick!


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cinva ram: key parts

handle

cover

upper saddle

lever latch

toggle linkage

base

mold box

piston

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1 2

3 4

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The basic function of the cinva ram is

a soil/aggregate mixture into brick sh

process is quite simple:

1. An aggregate mixture is loaded i

box.

2. The cover is rotated round to close

box.

3. The lever latch is tted into upper

4. The lever is pulled rmly down

clicks. during this process the toggl

pushes the piston upwards, compres

soil/aggregate mixture from below

brick.

5. The lever is pulled back, the lever

lifted out of the upper saddle and t

rotated to open the mold box.

6. The lever is now pushed rmly dow

opposite direction, this pushes th

upwards and the brick is pushed up

of the mold box.

cinva ram: basic p


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saturday 04.0


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sourcing material

We knew we would need different types of soil and

different aggregates in order to work out the formula

for a perfect brick - and we would have to use what was

available. After looking around the site and immediate

area we were able to nd various different soil types,

however the cold weather had frozen the ground solid

making digging impossible.

clayWe managed to source clay from a previous groups

project that had used a series of small clay balls to

build a domed oven. The structure had collapsed in on

itself so we didnt feel to bad about taking it apart.

However these clay balls were frozen absolutely solid,

we had to build a re and stack the clay balls near by

in order to thaw them out.

earthWe managed to nd an area of earth that was inside a

shelter and had been protected from the rain - making

it bone dry and therefore not frozen!

aggregatesWe wanted to experiment by using different types of

aggregates and to see what impact this would have on

the quality of brick. We managed to nd slate shingle,

straw and small pieces of cork.

breaking up the clay ball

07


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dry rewood was in scarce

supply...

...but we prevailed and began

defrosting!

the clay balls not only

but also dried out

defrostin


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The area of dry earth was dug and sieved to create

a ne powder which is what we wanted for making the

bricks. The left over lumps were given to the rammed

earth group as this was the perfect type of earth

for their purpose. This allowed both groups to work

together and gather materials quickly.

nely sifted earth for brick making

lumpy earth for the rammed earth wall group

gathering earth

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unsieved earth

Our rst brick attempt was out of unsieved ea

pieces of earth were too large and the cinva

incapable of compressing it into a usable bri


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sieved earth bricks

We tried a brick using just nely sieved earth and

we also compacted it in layers by pounding it with

a heavy red brick. This created very hard and rm

bricks, but also quite brittle, especially around the

edges and corners.

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clay

Breaking the clay balls up into small pieces

able to load the molding box of the cinva

produce a brick made entirely from clay. Th

came out with crisp edges, but they were sof

touch and the clay was still malleable.


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clay and sieved earth mix bricks

By mixing nely sieved earth and clay together we were

aimed to get the right quantities of both to give us

a crisp form and a hard surface. Getting the ratio of

clay to nely sieved earth just right was a challenge,

but by the end of the day we managed to do it. (See

page 15 for the perfect brick mix!)

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adding aggr

We experimented with adding aggregates to t

mixture but these bricks were mostly unsucces

failed. We think this is possibly due to the ag

not being ne enough to mix sufciently with

and earth mix.


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the perfect brick mix

3 buckets of nely sieved, dry earth

10 defrosted clay balls

We tried many different combinations of earth and

to get the perfect mixture. After lots of tria

error we established that the best mixture was 10

balls and 3 small buckets of nely sieved dry ea

We found that with too much clay the bricks wourm, but very malleable and soft to touch. Whe

much nely sieved dry earth was added the bricks

generally be very hard but became quite brittle.

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frogs and i

molding box base

frog

brick formedwith negative

of frog

We made some experiments using frogs and d

types of inserts to change the form of the b

were producing. As well as creating interestin

it meant we reduced the amount of raw materia

per brick.

The frog or insert would be placed at the bott

molding box, then covered with earth mix and

The formed brick would then be produced with t

tive of the frog.


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frog removal

After pressing the brick in the cinva ram we had to

make sure the frog would be removable. To do this we

tted the frogs with string that formed a handle,

enabling us to pull the frogs out easily.

1. Brick is pressed with frog at bottom of molding box

2. Brick is rotated 180 degrees to expose frog

3. Handle allows easy removal of frog

1 2 3

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frogs +

split log

attened aluminium pipe

plywood reinforced wedg

chamfered 2x2

wedge

larger wedge

double plywood


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forms used

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frogged


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sunday 05.0


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production line

brick store

sieved earth

pile

mixing board

cinva ram

wheel barrow used

to transport sieved

earth to mixing

area

Today was all about producing as many brick

possible. To achieve this we set up a production

to maximise our efciency. This consisted of:

3 people mixing clay and earth

3 people operating the cinva ram2 people seiving

1 person tending the re and thawing the clay ba

When operating at fulls speed we were able to pr

a brick approximately every ve minutes.

re thawing

frozen clay

balls

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The best process for making bricks that we us

2 was the following:

1. Sprinkle molding box base with dry sieved

2. Place frog on molding box base and also with dry sieved earth

3. Using hands press earth and clay mix into

using hands. This ensures nice crisp corne

4. Fill molding box with earth and clay mix

5. Use cinva ram to press brick

6. Place piece of plywood on brick surface

length of timber to pound brick

7. Brick should approximately half in size

8. Rell molding box with more earth and clay

9. Use cinva ram to press brick a second time

the perfect p

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strength test

We tested the compressive strength of our bricks and

they performed well! We also observed how the bricks

would react when subjected to heat. Placing a brick in

the re for a few hours it survived well with just a

little bit of crumbling at the corners.

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inconsistent dime

Cinva ram compresses

from below

cons

tant

cons

tant

v

a

r

i

a

b

l

;

e

Despite our best efforts to be consistent

amount of mixture and method used, the bricks ul

came out slightly different in size from one

Luckily this variablity in size is only

dimension. We were still able to stack ou

unconvientianally - basically on their side,

frogs facing outwards. We liked this way of anyway as it showed the beautiful indentatio

frog and created an interesting shadow patter


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We were unsure how many bricks we would be able to

produce over the two days, so we had started out

without a particular design in mind. However over the

course of the two days we decided a glowing chimney/

lamp/heated tower with an internal re would become

the fruit of our labour.

During production we started experimenting with

different stacking techniques that would allow us to

build as tall as possible.

design and build

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We were unsure how many bricks we would be

produce over the two days, so we had sta

without a particular design in mind. However

course of the two days we decided a glowing

lamp/heated tower with an internal re woul

the fruit of our labour.

During production we started experimenti

different stacking techniques that would all

build as tall as possible.

fnal

Corner detail


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placement on site

View

Recycled timber viewing frame

Earth block chimney/lamp/heat

Rammed earth benchWillow beacon

Reclaimed brick

bench and BBQ

Canterlevered

larch pole

viewing

platform

Slate wall with two seats

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alight at night

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the end of t


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monday 06.0


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photographs

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photo


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post


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history of earth blocks

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Humans have been building with earth for at least

10,000 years. It has been used in a variety of ways,

from hand formed cob walls, wattle and daub structureswhere earth is moulded around a frame and hand formed

into unbaked bricks.

In 1789 a French architect called Francois Contreaux

built the rst mechanical press capable of compressing

earth into blocks. The main advantage over mechanically

compressed earth blocks is that they are ready to be

used immeadiately after pressing, while hand formed clay

bricks need hydration during the molding process and

then require a few days of hot weather to dry in before

they are usable and taking up a lot of space.

Using wooden forms to create mud bricks.


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compressed earth blocks in the mode

Compressed earth blocks arent just a vernac

of earth for developing countries - above is

brick produced by major UK brick seller IBSTO

The photo on the left shows a build on site i

USA in 2006. The earth was collected and th

manufactured on site using a cinva ram. Th

locally sourced materials and the high therma

earth bricks will greatly reduce the carbon f

of this dwelling.

t f th hit t li


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centre for earth architecture, mali

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t b i


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contemporary bui

A compressed earth block vaulted roof in C

Mexico on the left and a Japanese resident

above.

making bricks

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