Preliminary design sketch

This is the initial design concept for the wall. It sits on and is supported by a timber pallet, creating a level surface to build on. The mud mixture surrounds the glass bottles which are placed evenly around the central timber window. Reclaimed roof sheeting will be fixed to the top of the wall acting as the roof.  

 

Properties of a mud (adobe) wall that make it suitable for wall construction

The mud wall is a mixture of soil, water, lime, hay and cow manure. Mud walls that are air dried have an approximate life span of 30 years before they crumble and require repair/replacement. Cow manure is added to the mud wall mixture for added strength and waterproofing. It is important to use a soil mixture that has few rocks and to compact the mixture as it is built up to remove air bubbles. Rocks and air bubbles will cause the mud wall to crack and break. The thermal mass created by a mud brick wall absorbs solar energy during the day and release it slowly at night. Ideally, mud bricks that have been kiln dried would be used to increase the longevity of the built wall.

(http://www.build.com.au/mud-brick-and-adobe)

Mud (adobe) walls have a low embodied energy with most energy involved in their formation coming from physical labour and the sun (air dried). The components in mud walls are also returned to the earth over years of exposure to rain. Mud walls have good fire resistance and sound insulation but are not good thermal insulators. They lack good thermal insulation properties because they are so densely packed so they do not trap air within the walls, thereby not restricting the transfer of heat between the external and internal environments.

(http://www.yourhome.gov.au/materials/mud-brick)

The collected bottles and hard rubbish success

Hi guys

I picked up the bottles on the weekend so we should be sorted with bottles now.

This week is hard rubbish collection in my neighbourhood so I had a look and found some things thrown out so they're all a good use of reclaimed materials. The window will probably be too big for our wall but we could cut the bottom or top off to make it half the size. The roof sheeting is a last resort.

Materials collected so far

Hi guys

Here are the bottles I've collected so far. I should be getting more from a Bowls Club.

I've also got some timber I pulled off our garage wall that we can use to frame up the wall ready for setting the mud wall in.

*Repost due to Josh Verbeek leaving the program*

Insulation through filling/painting of bottles 

A sustainable aspect of the bottle wall is the way it facilitates insulation. This is created through the use of the glass bottles.

On their own they hold few properties of insulation, however through filling the bottles with a dark liquid or material, the wall is allowed to function as a thermal mass. A saturated solution of salt and water (where no more salt will dissolve) increases the amount of heat each bottle can retain as salt raises the boiling point of water.

A further step in amplifying the wall’s ability to insulate is to paint each bottle with black enamel on one side, while painting the other side white. The black side facilitates sunlight absorption, while the white inhibits heat transmission. Both methods reinforce the notion of darker objects absorbing more heat (light).

The bottles then act as a ‘heat sink’. A heat sink can be typically linked to electronic systems, where a component is used as a passive heat exchanger, cooling the device by dissipating heat into its surrounding environment. This process is not limited to electronics however, as filled/painted bottles allow parts of the wall to absorb solar radiation during the day and radiate it back during night. This allows the bottle wall to lessen the effect of 24 hour cyclical temperature swings.  

Sources:  

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bottle_wall

http://homeguides.sfgate.com/use-water-bottles-heat-greenhouse-81401.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heat_sink

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diurnal_cycle

http://scienceline.ucsb.edu/getkey.php?key=3873

Glass Bottle Architecture - A Glass Bottle Arch

(Source: https://www.facebook.com/inspirationfeed)

This is a great use of a recycled glass bottle wall

http://inhabitat.com/venezuelas-eco-cabanas-light-up-with-recycled-glass-walls/