Medieval Builders Knew Something About MUD We Forgot (And It Shows)

Comments · 412

• ST

  @StephanBradley · 11 months ago

  As a kids, me and 7 other neighbor boys built a dam on the spring fed pond at the end of our street.   9 ft wide notched into the banks, 8 ft long and 4 ft high.  Used the tall grass in the field, young willow from the ponds edges and gravel and clay soil from the field.  Took 4 adult men 2 days to tear it apart after all the residents sump pumps got to running 24 hrs a day.  All our parents were in awe of our abilities as 11 and 12 yr olds.

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• SK

  @skaworld509 · 1 year ago

  Imagine being a stone mason at the start of a cathedral build. So he builds his own home locally for his family knowing 3 or more generations of descendants will be trained, employed and housed within walking distance of the site

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• DA

  @dali1384 · 11 months ago

  notice:<br>the common people were poor and built with wattle and daub - something they could do themselves, they didnt require as much help from expensive specialists like carpenters or masons.<br>only the very rich like the church or noblemen could afford stoneworks with the expensive lime mortar.<br><br>my experience:<br>i have partially repaired an old building when living there with a group. i was doing plaster work.<br>they didnt just use these mortar techniques for bricks and stones but also when doing base coats for walls. in germany we call them &quot;spatzen&quot; - &quot;sparrows&quot;, the leftover white clumps of not yet reacted quick lime.<br>another thing that i got from a german documentary is the fact that this hot mud / plaster is expanding, suited perfectly for repairing holes or filling any gaps, if it is used correctly.<br>i really wonder how many details got lost over the centuries, wars and various events that eradicated entire family lines of craftsmen. only their heritage of built structures stands telling great stories that can be discovered.

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• DE

  @deltabravo1811 · 11 months ago

  My grandmother was born in a charming two-story farmhouse in 1925, built by her father. Behind the house is a large, timber-framed, gothic barn, built by her father. My great grandfather was a barn builder and educator. His specialty was building round barns for traditional communities in Michigan not so long ago. His own structures are occupied and well-maintained and stand to this day.

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• AN

  @andyhorn6765 · 11 months ago (edited)

  Such truth ...finally an appreciation for the inherent value of natural building. I have been designing and building earth straw, timber and stone buildings using a variety of techniques for the last 27 years and have come to exactly the same conclusions as explained in the video.<br><br>Another thing some of the old folk knew about when building with timber was when to harvest their construction timber, known as moon phase harvesting and aging with branches. This minimizes the starch in the timber, which is what insects and fungi feed off. To achieve this, the timber is cut during the early autumn phase between the autumn equinox and winter solstice in the 72-hour window before the new moon, when the sap is at its very lowest point, a bit like when we breathe, there is a point at which, after breathing out, there is a pause before we breathe in again. You want to cut the timber in the days before mid-winter, when the tree is in its hibernation phase, as after mid-winter, when the days start to get longer again, the tree wakes up and starts to pull its nutrients back up into its trunk as it prepares for its growth in spring. <br>You also leave the crown of the tree and as many branches on as you can, leaving the stem sticking up so that, as the tree dies once cut, its branches pull any residual bits of starch out into its branches in an attempt to make seeds as it dies. It also leads to much less cracking and twisting as the tree cures easily and more steadily than when it has had all its branches and crown cut off, which leads to more stress in the tree as it dies. The result is remarkable, and the timber you get has a completely different quality from conventionally cut timbers. This principle is also important to follow if cutting sticks for wattle and daub, if you want to prevent your wood from being attacked by borer beetle.

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• BO

  @bobmnz6914 · 11 months ago

  Google: &quot;how old are the oldest walls in Britain?&quot; 3,500 to 3,700 years old no cement. Built wit drainage in mind.

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• KE

  @kermitefrog64 · 11 months ago

  Amazing that the more mankind feels like they have made advancement the more we learn the secrets of old technology that was in many ways better then what we have now.

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• CH

  @chrisa3358 · 11 months ago

  Nice to hear that I am not the only one mentioning that making air tight homes is stupid and unsafe.

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• LO

  @lostpony4885 · 11 months ago

  &quot;they noticed that the ancient concrete lacked steel rebar reinforcement&quot; that&apos;s your answer to why modern last about as long as the primer on the rebar

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• NO

  @northernbutterfly · 11 months ago

  Thank you! My grandmas framework house in Germany was built in the 1700s and never needed any renovations in decades, the tiled roof is also very steep. It always had a peaceful and cozy feeling.

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• RO

  @Robin-ci2kx · 11 months ago

  I lived in a 1750 hand hewn house in New Hampshire made of huge old trees from it&apos;s forest. We would have picnics on the stumps that were still there and four of us could fit on one stump comfortably. The floorboards were of varying sizes, whatever the tree provided, some as wide as 3&apos;, most about 2, so wide there were low spots and high as you walked. I tried to hang a picture one day and was amazed to find out that the 2&apos; thick walls were solid rock of some kind. Then I realized why in pictures of old homes the pictures were hanging on wires from the ceiling wooden beam. It was as sturdy and solid and straight as the day they built it. Back then when they built they had to think about possible Indian attacks which were prevalent then in the area. The whole place was solid, and super cosy and quiet. I used to lie in our small bedroom at night looking up at the hand hewn wood beams above my head imaging how many others had looked at the same ones in the 230 years of inhabitants. Building something like that is really wonderful to contemplate. It sure had it&apos;s drawbacks but was the favorite house I&apos;ve ever lived in in spite of them.

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• ЛІ

  @ЛідіяКолпакова · 11 months ago

  У нашому селі хати будували майже за таким принципом: каркас будували з акацієвої деревини, між ними закладали комиш і обмазували глиною, змішаною з коров&apos;ячим кізяком та соломою або сіном.<br>Навіть коли начисто мазали хати всередині гладенько, то всеодно у глину додавали коров&apos;ячий кізяк.<br>Взимку було тепло, а влітку не жарко<br>Стіни білили вапном, яке випалювали з каменя- вапняка.<br>І ззовні і всередині, ніяких шпалер.<br>Дахи теж накривали очеретом, тільки не товстим, а тоненьким<br>Підлогу теж мазали подібним чином<br>Ось так<br>Люди доходили своєю мудрістю, використовуючи доступні &nbsp;природні матеріали<br>Дякую за цікаву розповідь

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