Building a Roundhouse: Clay Walls with Bare Hands | Bushcraft Shelter (PART 6)

We build the walls of the iron age bushcraft roundhouse by hand using a clay and straw mix that sets like concrete when it dries. This ancient building technique is known as wattle and daub and was used thousands of years ago by celtic tribes who lived in roundhouses. The walls of these iron age roundhouses were built with sticks that were woven together to form a solid structure. The clay is then mixed with straw, water (and animal dung) to form a mix that is easy to mould into the gaps of the wattle sticks. This then sets hard after a few weeks. We clay the whole exterior walls of the celtic roundhouse. Thanks for watching!
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#building #ironage #roundhouse #bushcraft

[@TAOutdoors]

So half way through filming this episode I cut my head. I carried on working for the day but ended up going to hospital. Head injury here: instagram.com/p/CCT_2HiD8Jn/ Feeling better now but lesson definitely learnt! Hope you guys enjoy this one! Catch up on every episode of the series here: kzbin.info/aero/PLxnadpeGdTxC1z7ODd-UYXvzdal9nnt9i

[@catalinababy6068]

Sorry to hear u was hurt 🙌😥

[@pr0faker]

For the clay mixing, I would make a low pit, put in some pine needles/leaves etc then put in the tarp, and mix it with the feet. Way easier and less fatigueing for your body since your legs are way better suited for that job than your arms.

[@garethhall1519]

Danger never takes a day off !!! Glad to hear your ok 👍🏻

[@Shadow81989]

Lately some of my colleagues got themselves "bump caps", which are basically baseball caps with hard hat style plastic in them. You might consider getting some of those (quite seriously!). They have all the advantages of a normal cap, sitting tight on the head and giving you the brim for sun protection, while also keeping your head intact.

[@Shaden0040]

Glad you are both ok. I saw Dustin's back on his channel. Ouchies for you both. This is why construction workers wear hardhats. In an emergency you can use crazy glue as a sealing bandage. It was originally developed by the US Army as liquid skin to seal cuts and scrapes. Small cuts nothing as big as yours.

[@vaevictis6990]

Very cool guys. I love watching you build as a civil eng guy. Side note; wood ash was used in primitive cement. Clay, wood ash, sung and straw. I built back yard fire pit from clay, sand, wood ash and dried crab grass clippings. When you rolled the clay about 23 mins in; we litterally STILL do that today to test soil plasticity to see what load/weight it can take.

[@sammysmokies]

Shelter building is one of the most satisfying survival/primitive/traditional skills to learn. I have built many primitive structures before and I always find myself in awe of your builds. Thank you for sharing and inspiring. - Sammy

[@TAOutdoors]

Thank you Sammy, glad you like them

[@jaydobbing5424]

Over a year ago my dad and I built our own massive version of the viking long shelter with the big fire pit in the middle in our local forest, we created a chimney system and built the shelter around that. It was a really optimistic build and we had never done anything so big before but seeing you two give something like that ago gave us the inspiration we needed to try it ourselves

[@sweet4cakes791]

The presence of cowdung (animal dung) in clay mix improves the resistance of adobes to water because of the formation of insoluble silicate amine which glues isolated soil particles together. This causes the material to become less porous and resistant to water. Also, their presence in adobes prevents the propagation of cracks.

[@JanieBee]

Nice tip. I wonder if the smell fades after a while tho...

[@ashleysanford8645]

I remember hearing a story about a missionary woman in Africa. Where it was her first time there. She was in a native Hut with another missionary and a local woman. And she kept running her hands on the smooth inside of the Hutt talking about how beautiful it was. Almost like glazed pottery. Swirls of different layers of brown and tan. Super smooth like glass. Constantly rubbing her hands on it the whole time. The Other missionary woman was horrified. And finally told her that the walls are covered in clay and cow poop! LOL

[@bryanbadger6841]

G'day Mike. I've only ever done one, two story clay brick house. And just double checked we didn't use sand in the mix. But used equal (by weight) barley straw to the clay mix. Once the clay bricks were dry and setup, as walls, then made a slurry of the same clay and water and that was our plaster. Gave the completed wall a good coating, and results in a beautiful smooth finish. The type of clay we used down here in NZ may be different to yours. Not sure. Our system was based on 1000+ year old style in Egypt. Maybe that system was used in daub. Sorry my comment is so long , but I'm interested in your projects. Love your channel. Take care.

[@ArielleViking]

That dragonfly was so kool. Interesting to see the different clay mixtures and how they will perform. Hoping that your injury is healing, Mike. Loving this build. ❤

[@SourcePortEntertainment]

Finally get a real wind break once you start mudding those walls! Looking good fellas! 👀 👍👊

[@MzClementine]

When I was 3 I requested a tent ⛺️ for Christmas. Turn 4, Christmas came, got my tent!!! That summer I spent ever single night that didn’t rain, camping in our back yard. We were putting in a garage in the back of our house. So the area I camped on was solid red clay. My mum fashioned a stove and a safe place for me to have fires. I had a blast! Left fruit out every day for Sasquatch. 🤔 at first my mum was so frightened about me sleeping outside. Our home butted up against miles of woods. Our neighbors were far from us. No one knew. I convinced her that her fears were made up of her own internal worries. Not actually going to happen. I won! I camped the whole summer. To be honest. I talked her ears off asked why about anything and everything knowing... she would want me outside rather than in! Hahahahaha! Yup! Master mind at 4. Hahahahaha. My poor mum!

[@wombra8314]

MzClementine sorry bugs ate ur fruit not sasquatch 😞

[@Yahootie]

MzClementine Aww, you’re so thoughtful to do that for Samsqwanch. ✌🏻

[@wombra8314]

MzClementine everyone knows sasquatch eats rotten maggots. ....fail.

[@Shinsasu]

Just some fun facts: Wood ash is basicly lime(the powder kind, not the fruit) and salt. Ash from normal camping/cooking fire wont have been hot enough so only a small part will be quicklime. This will harden when it reacts in water, which is the basic of concrete. The salts are called potash and will slowly wash out of the walls over the next months/years and might even form salt crystals on the walls if a lot was used.

[@motaman8074]

That is ALOT of work. It is appreciated. On the Roundhouse job site, it's time to wear Celtic hardhats. Also, nothing is more fun than using animal dung! (so I've heard)

[@triskalion9627]

A suggestion, put some clay balls on the edge of the roof sticks.

[@larryparish5984]

Put some pieces of a pool noodle on those ends until you finish the project.

[@bjwalters8385]

Thats going to look amazing once you've finished it. Right now it looks a lot like a Cherokee council house. Great work guys.

[@LordNeckBeard]

But it's not.

[@solitairesmith3553]

i live in USA . the mud near à stream is what the Pioneer used when the made their chinking. also the Indians used the mud from near the rivers. My great grandfather taught me this. we used to make a half dug in round housse with an opening in the center.the walls were clay. the fireplace was in the center. love your vidéos. you guys are awesome ;)

[@deborahbigham4522]

There's a very adorable dog going 90mph through your work site. :D

[@BIOStheZerg]

A simple aid to slow down the drying of the clay (I use the same to slow down mortar/concrete curing) is to simply grab a garden watering can and give it a little splash once a day, to put some water back in!

[@adamcraig1012]

Great video series! It's best to use manure, as this provides a source of calcium, magnesium, sodium and potassium. All of which stabilizes the crystalline structure of the clay, making it less susceptible to cracking. Ash provides small amounts of potassium, which is why you had seen the improvement 🤓

[@happyhappyjoyjoy6497]

Glad to see you are ok. For the mud and staw mixture. I was thinking the Ten Commandments, when the Hebrew slaves were making bricks from mud and straw. They would dig pits and mix it with feet stomping on it

[@TheBeardedAxe]

2:38 that's a brilliant way to do that. When I do my wattle and daub I'll do this as well. Thanks for coming up with this idea.

[@beyondrealm38]

Everytime i see the dog zooming past you guys I laughed so hard 🤣😂

[@oliwierm982]

Część, nie jestem Anglikiem i nie rozumiem angielskiego ale z przyjemnością oglądam twoje filmy bo są fajne i bardzo ciekawe, można się dużo nauczyć z niech. Pozdrawiam :)

[@Shaden0040]

Big thanks to the land owner for letting you guys build there.

[@STUFFWEDO]

Real skill is always something to be admired. Good job.

[@X_explorer]

Great video!

[@jaksilver3656]

well, one nice thing with clay daub walls (or mud) is that when it cracks you can fill the cracks with more, and eventually no more cracks appear

[@neilspinney1840]

Looking awesome Mike and Dustin great job!!!!!

[@jerrystott7780]

A pro tip learned from 8 years in submarines, the brim of your hat keeps you from seeing things you are about to drive your head into. Turn it backwards while working in areas with low hanging objects. (I gained lots of scar tissue learning that lesson)

[@richardpalmer6196]

Thanks for your service . I discovered going down ladder on the U.S.S. New Jersey, prior to its decommission, our ancestors were a lot shorter , making steel beams a lot further from their foreheads than my generation . l' m ex Army , first time on a ship , and my CPO brother in law didn't bother to warn me .

[@JanieBee]

Thanks

[@ChipmunkRapidsMadMan1869]

That’s why I never wore hats on construction sites.

[@bennichols561]

Lol slow learner eh

[@NeerajSharma-if5ii]

Hi, your videos are so relaxing that anyone can watch for hours. Get well soon!! Yes, you can add cow dung, mud, and husk to cover the walls. It is the best mixture for strengthing the wall. In the rural part of India, some villagers are still using this method to build their houses. And the Life span of somewhere around 10-15years. And if villagers find some cracks on the walls then they used to fill these gaps with mud and cow dung mixture. Hope this will helps

[@guntherhuemer1767]

I think the dogs have great fun too !!☺

[@lorikettle2519]

We still use that wattle fencing here in Newfoundland, Canada. Wonderful job!!!!

[@peytonovington9146]

Wow! Lots of hard work. Very impressive! Curious to see your flooring.Something that cool needs a solid floor and a stove. Thanks

[@niacinberry5]

Just a busy olde woman here..come from olde ways..remote lumberjack families.

[@dogleg6669]

Can't ever decide who to watch first....Mike or Dustin.....😆

[@stevenmc56]

Amazing work

[@mattshaffer5935]

You guys are doing great! Thanks as always!

[@TheSaneHatter]

Last time I was this early, they were still building roundhouses with clay and . . . oh, wait.....

[@blackadder77r33]

Good to see the cut on your head has healed nicely I just want to thank you for doing the videos I absolutely love watching the house builds you do your a real inspiration I hope I have the confidence to try and build house or a wood cabin keep up the good work

[@TAOutdoors]

Thank you

[@ozdavemcgee2079]

I got a thought as you were stamping on the clay. Y'all need some of those Welsh clogger and Irish riverdance types. A heap of tarps a few hundred dancers..job done🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@catalinababy6068]

Thats some nice clay

[@Xavior3]

Looking real good guys!

[@Watcher1852]

I THINK YOU GUYS ARE DOING A GREAT JOB, JUST GETTING BETTER ALL THE TIME, JUST LOVE YOUR VIDEOS AND LOVE YOUR PETS, DO TAKE CARE, HEAD CUTS BLEED MORE, SKIN IS THIN/TIGHT

[@jamesellsworth9673]

AH WELL...what's an extra tarp weigh! Very handy advanced technique for mixing daub when large quantities are required and when water is in short supply. GOOD THINKING, LADS!! (Later)...the ash is not only temper but it changes the chemistry of the clay to aid in fusing the particles together.

[@TAOutdoors]

Thanks James! Always nice to see you comment 👍🏻

[@el_grace]

niiiice. i have been looking for folks who have experimented with wood ash! i've seen some folks doing ash cement, a bit more of an intensive process and requires a LOT more ash haha... thanks for the video y'all

[@skeetsmcgrew3282]

There's something about endless repetitive tasks that is very soothing. You can kinda lose yourself in the work. But ya gotta be in the right mood, sometimes it feels like torture lol

[@TAOutdoors]

Fully agree, those endless repetitive tasks help to keep the mind focused and the body working

[@mastermasonjoewillis3904]

I love these videos!

[@clydegibbs1049]

Hope you both are well

[@KaylynnStrain]

this is looking even more awesome every time you come to work on it !!!!!

[@sepulchral.]

Looking great, can't wait to see the next part.

[@Chr.U.Cas1622]

Dear TA Outdoors. 👍👌👏 Very well done, guys. Although I was really sorry to see you hurting yourselfs a lot, I have to say: Guys, you build a roundhouse! So why not smooth respectively round out sharp edges respectively sharp cuts??? I'm sure that's the way ancient people would have done it! Usually a carpenter/woodworker rounds out or at least chamfers any openly accessible wood cuts/edges. Thanks a lot for making teaching recording editing uploading and sharing. Best regards luck health and wisdom.

[@caroladeide1010]

Good work

[@GMSurvival]

Really love your videos! Thanks for sharing!

[@chrisbarker270]

I commemorate your hard work so cool.

[@diegorthumann8504]

Beautiful work!

[@virginiacopeland108]

Thumbs up!!! Clark

[@donaldsavage3699]

Congratulations fellows great job.👍

[@thizizliz]

I'm so glad there were no lasting ill effects from either of your injuries! Was just watching a television program that showed this design. It makes sense that homes were built of easily accessible materials. Actually this reminded me of a display of native American housing styles in the Southwest. On a Reservation, built by them, with cards explaining which people used them, when & where - its really interesting. One hut style is similar to this. Obviously built somewhere with more trees than are currently available now in that location. But in the higher elevations we do have forests with loads of trees. Down at lower elevations of course its either rocks (lots of amazing structures can still be found, but also adobe, although i think that came later. Seeing remnants of the homes & the detrius from the "dump" area goes a long way toward helping us see how people lived. With vn your Celtic round houses, do you suppose people built their own? Or that the villagers helped one another? Thanks for this!

[@logiprime]

Will rain cause the clay to wash away? I know this might be a dumb question but I’m honestly curious

[@randallhermanson7610]

I learned when working with clay and straw to use a tarp as you do and mix it with the bare feet. it seems to mix in the ingredients more thoroughly. many experts that work with cobb, a similar technique, suggest this. i like the idea of using wattle to support the clay walls. i can't decide if wattle and daub is better than cobb. i have more experience and trsining with cobb. try building a cobb oven. i love to wastch Jaxx and Amber at play. it rerminds me of my dog a German Sheperd, Masitff mix. She plays with a neighbors Pit Bull pup. Its fascinating to watch them at play.

[@misterbardfastsrandomshena5875]

1.49mil subs. You came a long way mate.

[@tWoforgamenot1]

very cool .

[@mr.pinecone2006]

The dog had me dead at 2:08

[@sammysakulss]

Come on man!!😇😕 😁 so fun! Clay war? 😇😟😬😇😀

[@stevenhawker4984]

Add coarse sand and more water to the mix . This will help prevent cracking and makes it ten times easier to apply. I have worked on many cob buildings and i have made a few iron age round houses. The method i use for the mix depends on the quality of the clay. With good quality clay i would leave it in a bucket of water over night then i would make a three to one mix ,one clay and three sand/aggregate with some straw plus water if needed. Very easy to apply and to smooth over.

[@popskypopsky7461]

I agree with that.... some more sand could help

[@TBoneHuffman]

Every time I see you guys build walls like this, I can't help but think of Monty Python and the Holy Grail. "Dennis, there's some lovely filth down here!"

[@DJIvoryKeyZ]

23:25 When you're bored and run out of toilet paper.

[@Pastor_Chief]

Can someone explain this to me? If you use clay with the straw as binding how well would it hold up after a rainy day? would the clay eventually degrade, or will it indefinitely hold up over a long period of time?

[@poltergheist3388]

An easy way to recognize demoiselle fly and dragon fly is dragonfly put their wings horizontally as they not flies quiet and demoiselle fly put them vertically. 😉

[@gebhardt244]

You should rounden the tips of the woodden sticks

[@chapman_7265]

Watching other primitive builds they use longer straw and wetter clay and they slap/smear it all over. Your way seems like it will be more affective overall though 🙂

[@igorvoloshin3406]

Those rafts are called "tyn" in Ukrainian, and all the construction with clay coated rafts and thatch roof is called "mázanka". Traditionally, such mazankas were built for cattle and pigs and chikens. Well, they're just recently became history. It's just some 70 years since nobody builds these shelters in Ukraine. PS: By the way, there were also clay floors inside mazankas. But clay was mixed not with straw, but with cows dung. Because clay/straw can't stand stepping on it. And the floors were covered with reeds on top the clay. Once in a week, dirty reeds were removed, floors swept and covered smoothly with additional clay/dung coating, and then with fresh reeds. Such floors were also in traditional Ukrainian homes, called "háta" - one-store houses made of mudbricks covered with white lime stucco and with thatch roof.

[@danielzaborowski9845]

I hope you plan to mount a big set of antlers over the door!

[@billcollier8208]

My daughter said ( silly men playing in the mud) I told her it was a bit more substantial than that so I'm going back to the start of the series to show her how our ancestors built. Thanks Mike

[@kathyk479]

Shouldnt the ends be pointed down so rain doesn't get into the ends and rot the ends. Unless your going to seal the ends.???

[@vickiwebber3486]

This channel is awesome! But what do y'all do when the build is finished with the shelter?

[@alphagrafix]

That's using your noggin, hope the heads feeling better mate, great episode.

[@shawnwolfenbarker3327]

Just a thought ? You could take the clay and fire large tiles for the roof . for under the traditional roofing .

[@giovanni5063]

Halfway through I suddenly had the thought of Three Little Pigs and the little pig that made his house of sticks that the Big Bad Wolf huffed puffed and blew that little pig right into the stew pot.

[@moniquedelatour]

So would you do wattle and daub before putting roof beams on in the future?

[@walkaboutphilpots3795]

That is looking terrific Great job. It will be cosy with the fire when your done atb. Damp heseon i can't spell it lol but that wrapped around the the clay will stop it cracking :).

[@nyckolasseery1068]

You could also use the stripped cambium layer of trees instead of straw

[@patriciaangeles4816]

I showed your vid about survival techniques to my 8 year old grandson yesterday and he was really impressed. He’s getting his scout/cubs badges and he loved your channel 👍🏻

[@patriciaangeles4816]

PS he also tried some sawing for the first time (logs for the bonfire) and he nailed it 👍🏻

[@CptPatrik]

Really love how it looks so far! Great Job!

[@noaheverard7921]

you should try to white wash it I heard that white washing helps smooth it out and prevent cracking and it looks pretty IDK just an idea :)

[@xaraxania]

there are lots of tutorials for making COBB mix, which is how many make their walls in hand built buildings, its great stuff :D, your head looked very sore .. ewww by the way i think with all that clay around, it would be really cool if you made a kiln and made some clay coil pots, I've done ceramics NVQ its so much fun and you have to keep kneading it like dough to get air bubbles out but just rub the surface of the dry pot with a spoon to seal it before baking and it'll be waterproof

[@garymucher9590]

I like at 3:51 the dog looking at you like with that look saying, "and you think I'm stupid". He wonders what you two are doing throwing mud balls at the structure. Oh yes the injuries when doing such things. I can feel your pain and I am not even there. But I think we've all experience both of those types injuries over the years ourselves. Ouch!

[@gfy2979]

you guys should've riverdanced on that celtic shithouse mud and animal dung mixture

[@timhyatt9185]

will this house have a chimney or firepit, whereas the other thatched house did not? -- would think a chimney, while a pain to bldg, might make having a fire safer and be more than enough to keep the entire thing warm once the thatch is on....I envision a "bottle" chimney...that stands on 4 posts about 3'-4" high, and made with the same wattle & daub method as the walls, but with extra clay for the "lining" to protect the wattle weave from heat damage. doing the 4 (or 6) posts, would allow for all around access, so the heat radiates to all areas inside.

[@IkOngkarSatNam]

Normally it's a fire pit. The roof design allows the smoke to seek out (which also helps to keep bugs from moving into the roof) and the top would lack oxygen, so sparks wouldn't light a fire in the roof.

[@robineggbluebu4371]

It does seem like it would be a lot less work to pile dirt around the walls and slope them. Or dig a hole in the ground and roof over. But then those techniques were popular elsewhere.

[@0623kaboom]

if you plan on more wattle and daub stuff make a pit deep enough for a normal batch ... put a round post in the middle and make a spindle on top add a cross member to push to rotate ... that rotating piece has split logs going down to the pit to stir the daub ... then you keep your feet cleaner and use a mechanical advantage to mix what you need ... think of it like crushing apples for a cider press but with some plow like flat boards to make the daub move and mix

[@0623kaboom]

you will find better heat retention if you close the gap ... there is enough airflow around the door and through the thatch to keep the fire at a low heating cooking fire ... NEVER put a chimney hole in thatch ... you will burn it down very fast because you draw so much air in that the heat and fire reaches the thatch ... thatch is porous enough to let the smoke gather near the peak where it keeps the bugs out ... and filters through to the outside ... that is why the thatch layer is never a set depth ... it is a judgement ... enough thatch to keep the rain out but not so much to stop the smoke leaving .... it usually comes out to about 8 to 12 inches ... but the force of the rain and snow does change it . yes I have thatched ... with my grandfather who was a master thatcher ... the last one we built when i was a child of 5 ish lasted until 6 years ago ... im 55 now ... and no it wasnt maintained either

[@0623kaboom]

btw the daub machine is bronze age tech btw

[@0623kaboom]

think of damsel flies as bonzai dragon flies

[@0623kaboom]

while you put the daub on with the heal of your hand also rotate your hand as you push it in ... it gets the daub to curve into the tighter bits and seals better also gets more off your hand ... and your daub might be a fraction to dry ... not by much though ... a few pints

[@0623kaboom]

keep a wattle panel built for measuring post length on the next structure .... then you just plant a post rest the panel and mark the next and away you go ;)

[@motorsports1133]

I am from Egypt

[@niacinberry5]

Why not been with earth..top with sod to keep rain. Wind and cold out !! Frost only travels at 3 to 4 feet high from the ground.

[@christinaclark9754]

From historical documentaries I have seen It looks like your clay mix needs to be worked more and needs more water. Throwing it at the wattle only works if the stuff is thin enough to splat. Maybe some more research would be helpful?

[@Masked_One_1316]

15:07 would the ash make daub flammable??

[@sheilasantiago3715]

Put some of the mud on the ends of the wood

[@centavitagris1]

Cool~

[@seanmontgomery836]

I wonder if you painted it. What kind of paint would they use, ‘reckon?

[@davidheaton405]

The dragonfly was possibly a southern hawker. Obviously very difficult to properly identify anything just from a video.

[@อรทยะศลินศิริ]

ขอบคุณ

[@richsmout550]

You need one of those builders cap 👍 but know that feeling well did it with cast iron angle bracket nasty. Glad your ok though