Wattle and Daub

Another sustainable earth construction technique

Wattle and daub is most noteworthy for providing high thermal and sound insulation. It’s advantage is  that this technique is much lighter in weight than adobe bricks or rammed earth. In addition it has a very low carbon footprint. It is also the best construction technique for earthquake prone areas as the bamboo structure in the wall keeps the wall from breaking apart.

It is an ideal technique to create walls within an existing skeletal framework. This artistry is mainly used for building non-load bearing walls like interior partitions between rooms. But depending on the finishing, it can also be used for exterior walls in a skeletal architecture. It gives a cozy feeling to the rooms, insulates heat or cold very well and is a great sound insulator. These characteristics make wattle and daub walls far superior to concrete walls between individual rooms.

Wattle and daub may also be made into loose panels for use as infills to strengthen wooden- or bamboo-framed structures.

When you walk into Chiangmai Life Construction’s areal, there is a demonstration wall with an intriguing cross-section showing  panels of split bamboo woven into solid lattices (wattle) and plastered with mud  (daub). It is actually an integration of 2 wall forms: wattle wall and earthen wall.