Natural Building Basics – Part I: Wall Systems

Look to the past to inform sustainable design and building for the future. This video workshop will guide you through step-by-step instructions to renovate an existing structure with natural cob and light clay insulation.

General Interest

2.25 CEUs/PDAs

Length: 2.25 hours

Instructor: Bryce Ehrecke

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$65

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Need to know

Who is this course for?

Everyone

Course length (start & watch when you want)

2.25 hours of video content

Course credits

2.25 CEUs / PDAs AcNZ

Extras

Lifetime access · Certificate of completion

Meet your course instructor

Bryce Ehrecke

Bryce Ehrecke comes from a line of weavers, builders, and explorers. His ancestors created textiles in Ireland, farmed in Normandie, and constructed in Germany, before coming to Canada to lead a different life. From his mother's side he has gained creativity and ingenuity, and from his father's side, he has gained craftsmanship and skill. He now weaves his heritage with place, and natural buildings with natural landscapes, honouring the relationship between human beings and all other beings. His education in natural building began by connecting and paying attention to the world around him and expanded while apprenticing with Pat Hennebery of CobWorks. He has spent the past decade working, living, learning, teaching and exploring with many different natural builders and natural structures. He now runs a Natural Building and renovation company based out of Victoria through Dreamweavers Collective. He specializes in rock work, earthen and lime plasters, roundwood, and using whatever design and materials best suit the environment and whom the structure is for. Bryce is a faculty member of the School of Permaculture Design at Pacific Rim College.

Course description

Learn the building techniques of our ancestors.

In this online course you will learn how to:

Renovate the walls of a home, workshop, or any other pre-existing structure with environmentally-friendly materials and your own hands
Prepare your site for safety and flow during building
Mix light clay and cob
Apply light clay with straw and wood chips to a pre-existing wall
Identify and learn about common natural building materials
Create arches and niches

This natural approach uses sustainable, long-lasting, breathable, and non-toxic materials that can be easily and affordably obtained. Cob is a mixture of clay, sand, and straw (similar to Adobe), but instead of making bricks, you hand sculpt the walls. Light Clay is a mixture of clay and straw or wood chips, which is then packed into a wall. It can be covered in many different natural finishes (see Natural Building Basics Part II: Natural Finishes) and works well in the renovation of existing buildings.

Natural builder Bryce Ehrecke leads this video-based workshop through step-by-step visual instruction. With a decade of building and design experience, Bryce and his partner are behind CRÉ Natural Building, a natural renovation, landscaping, gardening, and design firm.

After completing your cobb and light clay installation, you can learn to apply natural finishes to it by taking the second part of this series: Natural Building Basics Part II: Natural Finishes.

Lesson plan

Introduction

Introduction
Meet Bryce and learn about all of the materials and processes that will be covered in this course.

Course Guidebook
Download and print your course guidebook so that you can write notes and have it with you when you’re building.

Section I: Materials

Before Choosing Materials
Learn the pros and cons of different natural building approaches and how to select the appropriate materials for your project.

Common Natural Building Materials
Learn about building materials. You will find out where to source them and how much of each material you will need based on your project size.

Cutting Baling Twine
Learn how to cut baling twine, an important skill to learn and will save you lots of time.

Sifting Clay Through a Screen
Learn how to correctly sift clay to refine your product.

The Jar Test
This test helps you to determine the sand, silt, and clay content of the soil you’re using—whether it’s outsourced, or from your own backyard.

Section II: Mixing

Mixing Light Clay
Start getting dirty. Learn a low-tech way of mixing clay slip, and fibre and how to use a tumbler mixer for bigger projects.

Mixing Cob
See how fun it is to mix cob—especially among friends. Learn different mixing techniques including barefoot and Canadian-style foot mixing.

Mixing Review

Section III: Wall Systems

Wall Systems
Learn about cob, light clay, and straw bale wall systems.

Safety Precautions
Learn about important safety precautions to take while preparing materials and building.

Foundations
The type of foundation selected depends on the circumstance of your project.

Foundations: Mortared Stone Wall
One of the foundations Bryce covers is the mortared stone wall. Here, he compares the mortared stone wall to the dry stack stone wall; both of which are used for natural foundations.

Roofs
Learn the different ways in which you can roof a natural building. This includes post and beam, timber frame, or standard framing. While cob and straw bale can be load-bearing, they require careful consideration.

Cobb Overview

Light Clay Walls
Light clay is a versatile insulator and can also be used in a renovation setting, by being integrated with standard stud walls, Larsen Truss walls, or between a post and beam frame.

Preparing Light Clay Walls
Make thicker, more insulated walls with this technique while working with a standard stud wall, and learn how to block and strap the studs.

Larsen Truss Walls
Learn about Larsen Truss walls, how to achieve wider walls with more insulation or support, and how to determine what types are best for different situations.

Straw Bale Introduction
Straw bale is an excellent insulator that lends itself to many different types of frameworks. Learn how it can be combined with cob to make bale cob.

Difference Between Straw and Hay
Essential knowledge for natural builders.

Using and Making a Baling Needle
Learn the methods used to create a baling needle for making straw bales of different sizes.

How to Make Straw Bales Different Sizes
Learn the technique to make different-sized straw bales for straw bale walls.

Full Wall Systems Review

Section IV: Application

Forming and Filling a Light Clay Wall
Know what to look for as you form and fill a light clay wall.

Cob Application
Making a cob wall is no easy feat. Learn techniques including shouldering, slumping, trimming, sculpting, and more.

Making Corbels
Learn how and when to use corbels.

Making Arches and Niches
Learn the general technique for working with corbels.

Section V: Final Words

Disclaimer
Review some key things to remember before you start naturally insulating your first wall.

Full Course Review

Lesson preview

Enjoy the highest quality online education, from curriculum through to production.

Students are saying…

“As a newcomer to natural building, I came away feeling energized and confident, and ready to keep learning! The course gave a thorough, focused hands-on introduction to different natural building materials and approaches. Bryce is a skilled, patient teacher with an intuitive sense of how to explain concepts and demonstrate techniques plainly and clearly.”

“I felt that Bryce was extremely knowledgeable and portrayed the information in a way that was very easy to absorb. This is an excellent course. Very well thought out and very informative. The course was well put together and went very in depth. I definitely have been inspired.”

“I found it very informative, easy to understand.”

Maria Murray - New Zealand

“Excellent introduction to natural building materials with informed step-by-step instructions and consistent visual aid. Enjoyed not having to click through videos on YouTube. I like to see one consistent project so that I’m not getting varying information. I like the flow of having one person instructing.”

Matt Trimble Bentonville - Arkansas USA

“It was the seed to start my adventures! It helped me learn about basic terminology and concepts. I thought taking an online course was a waste of time and money; but now I’ll be ready to dive into more complex questions to build my own natural home sooner! I really loved the moment of appreciation for first nations and understanding the respect to the land and their knowledge for years.”

Nikko, Westbank

“The quality of teaching was exceptional. We purchased a piece of property and want to experiment with natural building. Bryce broke things down into bite size bits of learning that lends to the course really well.”