Building with stone and earth: Part 1
Practical Action
thing to do with each new layer is to try and make sure that you 'break the joints'. This means
that stones are not laid exactly on top of the one below, but half on one and half on another. If
you were able to use a single stone laid across the wall at the door frame on the layer below, this
time use two stones, as in the diagram at the very top of this page.
You can make the wall even stronger if you can find a number of stones the same length or a
little longer than the measuring stick, apart from those you should try and find for the doorway.
Put them at intervals across the wall at about knee height so they stretch from one side to the
other. If they are a bit longer, but only an inch or two, than the measuring stick put the extra
length on the outside - to protect your knees!. They will help bind the two sides together. If you
have enough, put them about three feet apart. You can repeat this every five or six layers if you
have the right stones.
By the end of the first day, you should have
laid two or three layers. The next day,
whether or not you are going to do another
session of building, take the paintbrush and
some water in a container. The mud will be
rather rough, sticking in here and out there,
and in places will have shrunk away from
some of the stonework as it dried. Use the
wet paintbrush to smooth out the joints.
Figure 8: Brushing the joints with clean water
must be done after each day’s work.
resistant to the rains.
By doing this job no later than the next
morning, the mud will still be just soft
enough to press back against the stonework
where necessary. This is an important job;
not only will it make your rondavel look
much smarter, but it will also make it more
Once the joints have been brushed - and it does not
take long - continue building in just the same way as
before, layer by layer, concentrating on the key points
as you go. How high you make the wall is entirely up
to you, but the height of the top of the door poles will
be about right. Once the building is completed, go
over the joints for a final brushing.
Roofing
You can use any of the usual roofing methods, but
your rondavel will look much more attractive, and
keep an even, pleasant temperature inside if it is
thatched. Corrugated iron is ugly, very noisy when the
rains come and worse, very expensive.
Part two of this article in the December issue will
explain how to use this technique to construct a
square building, and how to build single skin walls
which use less stone and are quicker to erect.
Figure 9: Lay long stones that go
right across the wall if you have
them.
Also see Building With Stone and Earth - Part 2
Building Dry Stone Walls Practical Action Video
Stone: An introduction A Shadmon Practical Action Publishing 1996
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