Mud Brick Construction 100 Hours Certificate Course

There are 10 lessons:

1. Scope of Mud Brick
   • What is Mud Construction (Adobe, Pise)
   • Advantages of Earth Construction (Cost savings, Self satisfaction, Aesthetics, Eco friendliness, Health benefits)
   • History of earth construction
   • Pise (Rammed Earth)
   • Mud Brick
   • Wattle and Daub
   • Cob
   • Cinva Ram
   • Cement Stabilisation
   • Bituminous stabilisation
   • Mortar
   • Variations in Earth Building Techniques
   • Appropriate Soils for Earth Construction
   • Finding Resources
2. How to make a mud brick
   • Testing and working with different soils
   • Soil Tests
   • Steps in making a brick
   • Plasticity Soil Test
   • Cake Soil Test
   • Compression Tests
   • Brick Size
   • Brick Weights
   • Moulds
   • Binding Materials
   • Mixing Mud
   • Treating Bricks after they are Cast
   • Stacking Bricks
   • Troubleshooting
3. Planning and Site Works
   • Choosing Building Materials
   • Timber (Characteristics, Selection)
   • Adhesives
   • Plastics
   • Masonary, Bricks and Concrete
   • Insulation Materials
   • Selecting a Building Site
   • Solar House Design
   • General Principles of Building Design
   • Impact of Buildings on Health
   • Dangerous Building Materials (Awareness and factors)
4. Legal Considerations
   • Building Regulations (Variations between jurisdictions)
   • What might be regulated
   • Types of Permits
   • Building Codes
5. Foundations
   • Strip Foundations
   • Slab Foundations
   • Specialist Engineering Advice
   • Rock and Rubble Foundations
   • Problems to Avoid
   • Sealing Foundations
   • Other Options (Masonary pillars, timber pylons)
   • Earth Floors
6. Laying Bricks
   • Damp Proof Course
   • Methods for laying bricks
   • Making mud mortar
   • Laying mortar
   • Bonding
   • Reinforcing Walls
7. Doors, Windows and Roofs
   • Roofing Options
   • Thatching
   • Bark (for sheds)
   • Tiles
   • Fibreglass sheet
   • Shingles (timber or slate)
   • Mud brick domes
   • Steel sheet
   • Hessian soaked in concrete
   • Earth/sod
   • Roof Pitch
   • Roof Weight
   • Roof Gardens
   • Doors and Windows
   • Lintels
   • Fixing, Joinery and Plugs
   • Ceilings
   • Timber Finishes
   • Slab Floors
   • Supported Floors
   • Floor Surfaces
8. Finishes
   • Wall Finishes
   • Whitewash
   • Bondcrete
   • Dagga
   • Lineed Oil
   • House Paints
   • Natural Loam Render
   • Cement Render (Plaster)
   • Latex Paint Render
   • Other Options
   • Floor Finishes
   • Applying Paints and Renders
   • Natural Healthy Paints
   • Making Lime Wash Paints
   • Problems with Lime Wash
   • Aly’s Clay Paint
   • Tallow and Lime Based Coating
   • Using Commercial Paints
   • Timber Treatments
9. Services
   • Electricity
   • Water
   • Gas
   • Toilet
   • Working with Eartyh Walls
   • Plumbing
   • Electricity Supply Systems (Turbines, generators, batteries, Solar Cells, etc)
   • Safety with Electricity
   • Electro Magnetic Radiation (Managing EMR)
   • Terminology
10. Other types of Earth Building
    • Making Rammed Earth Walls
    • How to Build Forms
    • Tampers (Hand and air)
    • Rammed Earth Construction
    • Wattle and Daub
    • Sod Buildings
    • Cob