A man who built a house out of clay and straw with his own hands on mistakes and strange Lithuanian beliefs.

A more detailed history on the technologies used and the prices in the video report.

Ignalina neighborhood. The construction of a mud bath has already begun on the plot itself. All that was left was to improve it and adapt it to life. He began his life in a building where the clay walls had not even been plastered and straw was sticking out of them. He slept on a mattress. From the farm to Ignalina 17 km, to Vilnius 110 km.

“When I built it, I realized that I like it here. The sauna, which I would become during my lifetime, is practically a wooden house, because you will not build a two-story house with only straw. In practical terms, mineral wool could also have been used as a structure filler. I chose the straw. Together with the plaster, the wall thickness is 50 cm ”, explains the master in detail. Perforated clay foundation.

Gypsum means three layers of gypsum clay, which is rubbed by hand. Clay is specific because if you take it out of the mine it will be too greasy and you will not knead it by hand. The only way to order it is to leave it for the winter to catch a cold and crumble in the spring. Frolov excavated clay on his land.

“People who imagine that the cost of a house with a thatched roof is much cheaper than usual are wrong. The box costs the same as a conventional one. The filling can be cotton, which costs 5 euros per square meter, let’s say 5 euros per square meter of straw. Only here can you save. However, if you hire to do the finishing, it will be 30 to 40 percent. more expensive than building in the usual way. Plastering straw is very hard work. You will only save if you work yourself, ”explains M. Frolov.

He says and what work is the most difficult: choose clay so that it does not crack and find out how much straw to put. Clay is mined in a different location each time and its fat content varies. According to the host, the best binder would be hemp, not straw.

The other house he built was an office and a clothing workshop.

“It just came to our knowledge then. I would make a corpse, scrape it, grind it and isolate it from the outside with straw. That would be a very warm house. The clay wall is colder than the straw one,” explains M. Frolov.

Another common mistake people make is that the ceiling is too low. The ridge has to protrude from the meter. If the clay wall is enclosed and frozen in winter, the clay crumbles and the area needs to be cleaned. The host’s crest is short, but he chose it because he didn’t want to “darken” the windows too much.

“Clay is fascinating because it absorbs a lot of moisture. If missing, return it. The house itself maintains natural humidity. My mistake: I didn’t make the floor that way. I did not know that method then. In ancient times, floors were laid from boards, a gap was left at the bottom, and a 100mm pipe was led from the inside to the outside. This results in natural circulation. In summer it cools down because the air cooled by the floor circulates below the floor, in winter the warm air from the chimney ducts circulates under the floor. It is an old technology, “explains M. Frolov.

Another house built in ancient times by man is a clay building built on stones, without a foundation. The frame is formed by large wooden beams, which are placed every two meters. I chose large lumber so that many small constructions would not be needed. Construction area 50 square meters. meter.

“It just came to our attention then. The building cost about 10 thousand. Euros and two months of work for two people. However, it made no sense to keep the walls warm in the morning when winter came around. It takes half an hour to heat the building. Nothing will happen to the clay because of the cold. It gets wet and when the chimney is heated, the humidity evaporates “, says the owner of the unique farm.

He says that these houses are being built by people, but by enthusiasts and nature lovers. Many are hampered by the fact that if you hire everything, a mud house will be one of the more expensive and more expensive options than traditional construction.

“If you work for yourself, the question is, will you have enough time to build everything yourself. But it is hard physical work. For example, it is more difficult to mix the clay to the right consistency. The companies that do this have the equipment. If I built now, I would produce this type of equipment, because otherwise it is very difficult, “concludes M. Frolov, who does not plan to dedicate himself to these constructions in a professional way.