“Tile faced Mud Blocks have been developed and used by Centre of Science for Villages, Wardha, Maharashtra for the last four decades. The blocks are made of earth and not baked. they are protected by a baked tile that is inserted during block production to provide weather proofing. The blocks use lesser energy in production as compared to conventional kiln baked bricks and can be produced with local materials and labour.”
YouTube
Rural Housing Knowledge Network
Excellent find by Jay. Thank you!
Almost as interesting was one of the videos that came up when it finished: Conical Tile Arched Roof CSV. I wish they were subtitled.
Good idea. Try it on some test samples and see if it works. Or send your idea to the Rural Housing Knowledge Network.
You missed the main point of the video. The special t-shaped parts that got fired are embedded in adobe bricks to create a durable exterior surface. The gaps between are mortared. Watch it again.
I watched the video but didn’t see any “tile faced brick.” What did I miss?
I find it fascinating to learn about all the amazing and different techniques that are used around the world. Many of root concepts can be adapted for use with completely different technologies.
I find myself wondering about doing essentially the same process shown in this video, but making the face tile larger so that it will overlap the height of the block. Then bevel the mold for the outer block face so that when the block is laid on the wall the tile can overlap the block below like a clapboard or a shingle.
One might be able to eliminate the need for mortaring the joints entirely. That might save a lot of time during construction and eliminate maintaining the grout over time.
Innovative. Using nature. Not bad at all.