This ambitious project comes to us from Primitive Technology, a blog by a man who makes complex things from scratch using no modern tools or materials. The creator of the site says that although he lives in a modern home and eats modern food, he likes to learn how people in ancient times built and made things. The hobby is also cheap and helps you stay fit, for reasons that you will soon see.
A video he posted recently documents the construction of a tiled hut, complete with underfloor heating (!) and mud and stone walls. It was built over 102 days using locally sourced materials. Our architect had to deal with unseasonal rain and he estimates that, in ideal conditions, the project could be completed in a little over two months.
Around the 2-minute mark of the video, we see how he creates the tile roof. He states:
A small kiln was built of mud from the ground and a perforated floor of clay from the creek bank. Tiles were made from clay pressed into rectangular moulds made from strips of lawyer cane. 20 tiles were fired at a time. 450 flat tiles and 15 curved ridge tiles were made with only a few breakages. 26 firings were done in all and the average firing took about 4 hours. The fired tiles were then hooked over the horizontal roof battens.
He goes into far more detail on his blog, which can be read here.
Bill Rodgers is the General Editor of CFile.
Love contemporary ceramic art + design? Let us know in the comments.
Add your valued opinion to this post.