Where are Americans relocating to?
As climate change continues to cause a rise in extreme weather patterns, the risk of losing your home in a fire becomes ever more real for people in certain communities.
In response to this problem, a handful of US residents are opting to build their homes with a very old, yet highly fire-resistant building material: mud.
Curious? Check out this gallery to find out more.
It is no great secret that extreme weather poses a threat to our homes. As hurricanes, tsunamis, and wildfires become more common, communities must adapt to keep themselves safe.
One technique people are using to keep themselves safe in the event of a wildfire is to rebuild their homes using mud.
With a long history all over the world, there are examples of earth homes to be found in many cultures, from the pit cave dwellings in northern China to the mud homes in Sana’a, Yemen.
That said, in the US, mud has largely been neglected as a construction material for the past few decades. As the risk of wildfire continues to increase, however, that is beginning to change.
In the wake of recent fires in the US, several residents have made the decision to (re)build their homes using fire-resistant earth blocks.
Denver-based couple Melanie Glover and Matteo Rebeschini, for example, made this decision after their home was destroyed by fast-moving winds and hot flames in December 2021.
As the fire rolled through their neighborhood, they were trapped with their children in the front foyer of their home for 30 minutes. Their house burned around them.
Thankfully, all family members escaped unharmed once the fire passed. However, the experience left them with lasting trauma.
In the wake of this terrible event, the couple was determined to rebuild their home, this time using a material that would hold up better in the event of a fire.
Glover's instinct was to use dirt, since it doesn’t burn. And indeed, her instinct has been backed up by initial research.
In fact, early research suggests that not only are earth homes extraordinarily able to withstand wildfire, but that they may even strengthen after exposure.
In 2021, researchers at the University of California, Davis did a series of tests in which they took a blowtorch to a compressed earth block at nearly 1,900°C (3,452°F). That is far hotter than the average wildfire.
Upon exposure to this incredible heat, the earth blocks hardened and turned to red clay. The process is similar to what happens to pottery in a kiln.
Despite these promising results, it is important to note that these earth blocks themselves have not yet been put to the test in an actual fire.
That said, there are real-life examples of earth homes holding up much better in a fire than homes made of other, less durable materials.
When the Bobcat Fire hit Littlerock, California in 2020, for example, the earth was blackened for miles around. However, the 2008 earth home belonging to resident Stevie Love survived.
In addition to their durability and heat-resistant properties, mud homes are also more environmentally friendly than homes made of traditional materials.
This is because they are generally made from local and abundant materials, which reduces the need to rely on imported resources with high emissions.
Earth homes also tend to be more energy efficient, since mud has excellent thermal mass, which means it is great at regulating internal temperatures.
This reduces the need for heating and cooling systems and keeps running costs down. To a large extent, this makes up for mud homes being more expensive to build.
Indeed, studies show that earth homes are more expensive to build than traditional homes, although generally less expensive than other green alternatives.
Despite all the great reasons to build a home from earth, there are still currently some challenges with using the material.
Firstly, earth is very sensitive to moisture. This means that mud homes must be managed very carefully in order to prevent damage from water or humidity.
Mud can also be quite restrictive in terms of the design and architectural style it allows. This means that mud architects have limited design flexibility.
Perhaps the biggest challenge faced by proponents of this building material, however, is getting the wider construction industry to accept it and adapt.
Currently, for example, builders tend to mix dirt with binders such as cement, since they are pushed by codes to treat them as bricks. However, that is not the right way to use the material.
In order to tackle this, researchers are working on a set of standards that would help local governments set codes for using earth as a building material in the US.
There is also a problem with getting mortgage lenders and insurers to create policies that are able to accommodate earth homes.
Currently, for example, earth homes are much more expensive to insure than traditionally built homes, which doesn’t make sense when you consider their higher durability.
Mud seems to have great potential as a fire-resistant, energy efficient, and environmentally-friendly resource. It may be a while before mud homes become the norm, however.
Sources: (BBC) (The Mud Home)
See also: The sustainable cities made of mud
The homes built to withstand wildfires
Exploring the use of mud as a building material
LIFESTYLE Environment
As climate change continues to cause a rise in extreme weather patterns, the risk of losing your home in a fire becomes ever more real for people in certain communities.
In response to this problem, a handful of US residents are opting to build their homes with a very old, yet highly fire-resistant building material: mud.
Curious? Check out this gallery to find out more.