WOW HOUSE WITH BARRY DU BOIS
ANNABEL MAZOTI
When Art Director Annabel first went to Daylesford she instantly fell in love with it. Recently divorced and in need of somewhere to live, she bought some land there and set about building a home on it, with her own two hands! Having limited funds, Annabel and her daughter, Lola, lived on the property under a tarp while they built their country dream home. The recycled beams, posts, doors and windows act as the bones, while mud brick, made of clay, straw bail and light earth, fill in the rest. Mud brick is a building material that people have been using for thousands of years. The advantage of this kind of brick is that it is fire retardant, a great insulator and low cost, while having a strong structural integrity. Keeping to their tight budget, everything else in the house is either reused material or waste repurposed. At $900, the recycled bay windows found in the master bedroom are the most expensive item in the house. A 5-­‐year-­‐old Lola not only designed her fantasy bedroom, but also helped build it. Her brief was that the room included a flying bed that could fit eight of her friends and a pole. It took the mother-­‐daughter team a day to build, using a big branch that had fallen on their property as a feature. It’s not just the materials used to build the house that is kind on the environment. The pair also grow their own food in an edible garden, make their own power with solar panels, catch their own water and even heat the water themselves. Annabel says in everything you can choose something better for everybody. Better for you and better for the planet. Their country home certainly embodies this. HOW TO MAKE MUD BRICKS
Mud bricks are made by mixing earth and water, pouring the mix into moulds and drying them in open air. Other things can be added to the mix to help make them strong (such as straw) and reduce the risk of cracking. The bricks can then be joined together with a mud mortar to build walls, domes and vaults. Use a string line to provide a guide so that laying is straight and in proportion. Once a wall is built, using your hand, brush it with a mud slurry to provide a finished look. This slurry could be the waterproofing coast (eg. Mud mixed with cow dung) or linseed oil and turpentine can used also. The finish is up to you whether you want the look to be rustic or smooth. Puddled Mud Bricks: Mix clay/soil with water (around 18%) Add any extra elements if desired (eg. Straw,sand) Pour mix into a mould Leave to dry in sun Carefully remove moulds Place bricks on their side to ensure they arefull dry *if the right clay is used then puddled bricks won’t need extra agents to strengthen them Painting Mud Bricks Make your own paint by mixing clay and water or buy paint especially designed for mud bricks. FURTHER READING: http://www.yourhome.gov.au/technical/pubs/fs56.pdf http://www.publish.csiro.au/pid/4980.htm