First Roundhouse: Floor

Dancing on the earth floor
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Roundhouses of this kind commonly have beaten earthen floors, and ours was no exception. We started by levelling the slope of the field, dumping earth from the highest point on to the lowest, and thus creating a platform. This platform was thoroughly danced upon by a party of drunken Welsh folk dancers, which packed down the earth to create a hard surface. In hot countries like India they mix a kind of daub (earth, clay, manure and straw) or adobe and actually pour the floor onto the ground inside the house prior to the thatching. This dries in the sun, and any cracking can be easily sealed.

The wall posts before wattling
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All we did was ram the earth, but in future we would mix some lime into it beforehand. The lime sets off and makes a very hard and durable surface comparable with a concrete floor. As far as I know, the early British did not use lime in this way, but may have used different hardening agents such as pig's blood. If anyone knows any good floor recipes, drop us a line.

Introduction

Walls

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