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Dirk Bouwens, who lives in Wymondham, has been
interested in earth buildings for years.
Finally a friend digging out a septic tank gave
him the soil left over, and he set about building his own office
from clay lumps.
"It took ages to make the clay lumps. I wasn't
very fit," said Dirk.
"I used to smoke in those days, and I could
make 20 in a weekend. Nowadays I can make 20 in an hour."
The result is a very neat looking building, cool
in the height of the summer and well insulated in winter.
The walls breathe, meaning the air passes through
them, keeping the room at just the right level of humidity.
"When I worked in the previous office my
life was plagued by pockets full of dank handkerchiefs, because
I always had a runny nose. I've never had a cold since I've been
here," he said.
But there are some disadvantages to the large earth
blocks.
"They're extremely heavy. Each block is half a
hundred weight, and lifting above your head up on to the scaffold
was a lot of work."
Dirk is one half of Eartha, an organisation set
up in Norfolk to save East Anglia's earth houses.
And there are lots of them - around 40,000 in all,
most of them lived in.
"Between 1800 and 1900 it was the material used
for building every building of every sort in the clay lump area,"
he said.
"This is basically from the A47 down to about
Sudbury, and on the west side a line between East Dereham and Sudbury."
The reason the technique was so popular is the
glacial deposit you find a few feet beneath the surface.
It's about ten per cent clay, with the rest made
up of chalk and gravel.
All this means there are lots of earth buildings
to maintain. Down the bottom of his garden, Dirk has a shed and
inside is a little clay lump factory.
"We bring the clay in, put it on the floor, add
water, and then walk on it.
"Once it's been turned into paste, you tread
the straw in. Then it's put into moulds."
If you've got an earth house, Dirk has a little
word of warning.
"Their biggest problem is cement renders on them.
"Moisture generated inside the building will
condense on the back of the render until the clay wall becomes so
soft it collapses," he said.
So the message is, if you've got a cement render,
whip it off quick, and replace it with a traditional lime-based
one.
 If
you'd like more advice, you can call Eartha on 01953 601 701.
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