“In my opinion, pisé-building should not be attempted in the rainy season in Africa. Earth contains too much moisture, and the power of the sun dries it out too quickly and causes cracks.
“Re plastering. I covered the outside and inside with a mixture of 6 earth, 2 sand, 1 blue (Hyd.) lime, the earth being the red, rather ‘fat’ earth found everywhere, and the same stuff the house is built of. It is put on thin with a trowel, after damping the wall. When it dries and cracks, rub all over with a sacking pad covered with the plaster mixture, but wetted to a thin cream consistency. It may sound an odd method, but the natives do this work well, and the result is as good as one can wish for. You can put tar or any wash (No. 6) on this.”
Soils
SOILS
Were it not for the fact (often somewhat embarrassing) that soil quite incapable of making good pisé will none the less produce enthusiastic pisé-builders, a warning as to the vital importance of the earth being really suitable might seem superfluous.
The author has found some of the staunchest champions of pisé-building living on and valiantly struggling with stiff glutinous clay and almost pure sand.
Even the most vigorous optimism can achieve little under such adverse conditions unless soil-blending be resorted to, and even so, pisé-building begins to lose points in the matter of economy directly complications of this sort are introduced.
Fortunately, however, England is well off in the matter of pisé soils, the red marls being amongst the very best.
A study of the country, or, failing that, of the geological maps, will reveal a great tract of this earth extending diagonally right across England, from Yorkshire down into Devonshire, where it ends conspicuously in the beautiful red cliffs about Torquay.
There is a large area of the stuff in the Midlands, notably in Warwickshire, with lesser patches here and there about the country.