HOUSES OF EARTH

Greymouth Evening Star, 31 August 1920, Page 3

HOUSES OF EARTH

.■- ' >rffi» i -—«... ■■■«■■— EXPERIMENT IN AUCKLAND. The problem of housebuilding has become so acute throughout the world that arcihtects and builders have at last been forced to investigate methods of construction other than the orthodox brick and timber building now so costly and difficult. Attention has recently turned in many countries to an old form of masonry known as pis de terre, by which houses are built of rammed earth. This is in reality one of the most ancient forms of construction, but in recent prosperous ages the fashion has turned to newer methods, and the pise de terre and cob houses of older countries are unknown to the generously-timbered lands of Australia and New Zealand. The difficulties of shortage of materials and labour, however, have begun to press so heavily upon even these countries that interest in the old method has been revived, and both in Australia and New Zealand experiments are now being made. These have already been carried out on a. large scale in several Australian cities; they have extended from four-roomed cottages to two-storeyed houses of 27 rooms, and very valuable experience has thus been gained. It has been shown that friable clay must not be used, nor any soil containing much sand, as hcuses thus built are apt to fritter away. Otherwise, they have proved entirely weatherproof and in every way satisfactory, i • The first pise de terre house in Auckland is now in course cf erection at New market. The preparation of the earth has been completed, and the building of th walls was started this week. The hnv.< is being erected for the purpose of deter mining the possibilities of earth-built dwellings as a means of alleviating the housing problem. It is hoped that the process will prove so simple and easy to follow that any man in a country district may be able to erect for himself a cottage with unskilled labour, aided, of course, by full instructions as to how to proceed. The cottage in question is to be a fiveroomed one, and follows a simple type of architecture. The roof will be of iron, with the roof timbers affixed in the ordi-

nary way to the top of the walls. Two labourers and a foreman will carry out the work, wh'ch consists of ramming the prepaid! earth, in wooden frames, which are moved as the walls harden. Experiments have shown that the earth hardens to a surprising extent, and when completed the walls are fully weather-proof. In the present instance the outer walls will be 14in. thick, and partitions lOin. The question : "Where will the earth come from?" is always one of the first asked in connection with such an enterprise as this. In the case in question it has been procured by levelling the section. The architect estimates that 120 cubic yards of earth will be required for this five-roomed house, and it is anticipated, if the work goes on satisfactorily, the cost of erection will be little more than half the cost of a timber house of the same size. The walls will be whitewashed outside and tinted inside : in some erases the outer surface is sprayed with hot liquid tar or given a rough cast finish. The experiment is being watched with very keen interest by architects and others interested in housing throughout the Dominion, and there is no doubt whatever that if this first pise house proves a 'success financially and, otherwise, there will arise a great demand for othe"s of the same type in every part of New Zealand.