Business & Property Mudtec leads the way in sustainable building materials

The blocks are unfired and have many environmental benefits

Compressed earth blocks are the key to sustainable construction in the future and Somersby company Mudtec is making inroads into the relatively new market.

Owned and operated by Kenney LeMire and Will Eastlake, the company had its beginnings in 2019 and has survived two years of COVID lockdowns to stay afloat.

“Will and I are both building designers and studied architecture together,”LeMire said.

“We designed a couple of houses for Narara Ecovillage and specified compressed earth blocks as ideal building materials.

“But when they went to go to construction, these blocks weren’t accessible on market.

“Another couple of men from the village also wanted compressed earth blocks for their homes so the four of us joined forces to create Mudtec in July, 2019.

“We set up at Somersby in an open-air hardstand which we have since covered with a shade structure and bought some equipment.

“We were lucky that a suitable machine popped up on social media and it seemed like everything was aligning.

“The machine was 30 years old but we still use it today.”

When the two home owners dropped out of the enterprise,

LeMire and Eastlake decided to persevere with Mudtec.

“The business went through a few different phases,” LeMire said.

“We almost morphed into a construction company and hired a block layer as part of the team as well as some other staff.

“But we eventually decided against moving in that direction and started to down scale and focus on producing the blocks.

“It was slow going during the pandemic but we have a renewed focus this year and are planning a marketing push.”

LeMire said the blocks had been used on many homes in the ecovillage and around six homes outside it.

“These blocks have many advantages,” he said.

“They are unfired with hugely reduced embodied energy and all soil used is local.”

The earth blocks, 250 cm x350 cm, are roughly equivalent in size to four and a half normal bricks.

They are either solid or with two holes for electrical wiring or plumbing work to pass through and are made from a mixture of special soil, brickies’ sand, clay, lime, water and oxide to colour.

The mixture is compressed and allowed to dry in the sun on pallets and plastic to slow the drying process with no baking ovens used.

“They use only 6-7 per cent cement as opposed to up to 30 per cent in concrete Besser blocks and being unfired they breathe, take on water vapour, purify air, reduce internal humidity and create nice internal comfort level,” LeMire said.

“The blocks are big and heavy with a lot of thermal mass –when used correctly they can really help the solar passive qualities of a house.

“This is one of the tools we should be using in construction – the blocks have a lot of benefits over other products on market.

“They are essentially rammed earth walls but in brick form, a fraction of the price of other materials and can be laid by bricklayer.”

The blocks are not only used for architectural walls in domestic application but are also being used for landscaping and retaining walls.

They are strong and solid and environmentally conscious.

They are also fire resistant like stone which is a great choice for building in bush fire prone areas or where fire proofing is essential.

They are natural in colour and complement architectural façades when used beside timber on sandstone.

To find out more go to https:// www.mudtec.com.au/.