Near by there are a number of private houses built of the same material, some of them reputed to be upwards of 200 years old and certain of them having considerable architectural merit.
“Substantial and Cool”
(Extract from “The Farmers’ Handbook,” issued by the Department of Agriculture, New South Wales, 1911)
“Adobe,” or Sun-dried Bricks
“As their name implies, these buildings are constructed of sun-dried, but unburnt bricks. For buildings of this character, material like clay, which is unsuitable for pisé-work, can be used. The bricks are made in a wooden mould, and are 16 in. long, 8 in. wide, and 6 in. thick. A man can mould about 100 per day. They are laid in a similar manner to other bricks, the mortar used being wet loam, or even the material of which the bricks are made. The cost of making and laying is estimated at about 15s. per 100. Buildings constructed of these bricks are substantial and cool, and very similar in character to pisé buildings.
“A school-house built of these bricks eighteen years ago by Mr. Nixon, of Reefton, is still in an excellent state of preservation; in fact, little, if any, the worse for wear, despite the fact that walls are unprotected by verandahs or overhanging eaves. During its existence it has had, first one coat of oil-paint, and later a coat of coloured limewash.”
“Clay lump,” then, is one of the many good old building methods that needs no proving, but only revival and perhaps improvement.
[APPENDIX]
[I]
WHITEWASH
Whitewashing has been frequently referred to in the foregoing pages as the most suitable treatment for the exterior of chalk and earth buildings.