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Primitive Technology: How to build a Tiled Roof Hut with Underfloor Heating (film)

survival-archivePosted for Everyone to comment on, 4 years ago8 min read

In a departure from my normal format I have uploaded a film today because I find this guy to be particularly amazing. His system feels intuitive and logical. His tools are home-made and his techniques are simple.

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I don't think he uses anything other than mud, wood, stone & fire. Here you can see him making roof tiles.

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He doesn't speak at all yet his films are incredibly informative & also quite peaceful to watch.

I highly recommend you give it ago.

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His YouTube channel here

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The words under his film are as follows:

I built this tiled roof hut in the bush using only primitive tools and materials. The tools I used have been made in my previous videos. It should be pointed out that I do not live in the wild and that this is just a hobby. It should be obvious to most that this is not a survival shelter but an experiment in primitive building technology.

To cut and carve wood I used the celt stone axe and stone chisel made in this video. To carry water and make fire I used pots and fire sticks made in this video. Finally, to store fire wood and dry, unfired tiles, I used the wood shed built in this video.

The wooden frame was built with a 2X2m floor plan and a 2m tall ridge line with 1m tall side walls. 6 posts were put into the ground 0.25 m deep. The 3 horizontal roof beams were attached to these using mortise and tenon joints carved with a stone chisel. The rest of the frame was lashed together with lawyer cane strips. The frame swayed a little when pushed so later triangular bracing was added to stop this. Also when the mud wall was built, it enveloped the posts and stopped them moving altogether.

A small kiln was built of mud from the ground and a perforated floor of clay from the creek bank. It was only 25 cm internal diameter and 50 cm tall. Clay was dug, broken tiles (from previous batches) were crushed and added to it as grog and it was mixed thoroughly. This clay was pressed into rectangular moulds made from strips of lawyer cane to form tiles. Wood ash prevented the clay sticking to the stone. 20 tiles were fired at a time. 450 flat tiles and 15 curved ridge tiles were made with only a few breakages. 26 firings were done in all and the average firing took about 4 hours. The fired tiles were then hooked over the horizontal roof battens.

An underfloor heating system was built into one side of the hut to act as a sitting/sleeping platform in cold weather. This was inspired by the Korean Ondol or “hot stone”. A trench was dug and covered with flat stones with a firebox at one end and a chimney at the other for draft. The flames travelled beneath the floor heating it. After firing it for a while the stones stay warm all night with heat conducted directly to the sleeping occupant and radiating into the room.

The wall was made of clayey mud and stone. A stone footing was laid down and over this a wall of mud was built. To save on mud, stones were included into later wall courses. The mud was dug from a pit in front of the hut and left a large hole with a volume of about 2.5 cubic metres.

The finished hut has a swinging door made of sticks. The inside is dark so I made a torch from tree resin. A broken tile with resin on it acts as a small lamp producing a lot of light and little smoke. The end product was a solid little hut, that should be fire and rot resistant. The whole project took 102 days but would have taken 66 days were it not for unseasonal rain. For a more in depth description see my blog (https://primitivetechnology.wordpress...).

Wordpress: https://primitivetechnology.wordpress...
Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=294588...
I have no face book page. Beware of fake pages.

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How can you view & download this film?

Set up an account with LBRY here if you don't already have one.
(this way you will earn LBC every time you view my content)

View/download from here

Once uploaded please be sure to save on your device, preferably something small, portable and easily chargeable, like a tablet or decent sized smart phone.

In this situation you could probably just memorise his techniques!

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source

THE NEED FOR SOLAR

If we are going to ensure that we have always have access to these books & films (no matter what is happening in the world) we must have a solar charger for our device.

It is for this reason that I ask you to save them on your device rather than assuming they will always be available to you through my LBRY account.

Fortune favours the prepared.

The JouleStick

I have seen many solar products in my time and this I can confidently say is one of the best because it is practical, functional, durable & inexpensive. It can be a torch or a lamp and most importantly, it can charge your device.

When enough of you indicate to me you are interested I will buy a box of these JouleSticks and sell them on to you for the equivalent of around $50 (plus postage), payable in fiat or crypto.

I want to mention also that the JouleStick is compatible with the JouleBox, should you ever decide to expand on your kit.

The JouleBox

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By the way, I made both of the above films and even took the JouleBox for a test run on an off grid island in Indonesia. My product review can be seen here. Bottom line: I seriously love these products!

Please let me know in the comments if you are interested in any of them.

Or if you prefer, you can contact me privately on Discord: samstonehill#3438

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Archived Publications

SAS Survival Handbook: The Ultimate Guide to Surviving Anywhere

Wild Edibles: A Practical Guide to Foraging, with Easy Identification of 60 Edible Plants and 67 Recipes

Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking

Where There is No Dentist

Where There is No Doctor

The Resilient Gardener: Food Production and Self-Reliance in Uncertain Times

Steal This Book

Aquaponics: Everything You Need to Know to Start an Expert DIY Aquaponic System from Home

How to Benefit from Everyday Herbs

Preserving Everything: how to can, culture, pickle, freeze, ferment, dehydrate, salt, smoke, and store fruits, vegetables, meat, milk & more

Preserving Food without Freezing or Canning: Traditional Techniques Using Salt, Oil, Sugar, Alcohol, Vinegar, Drying, Cold Storage & Lactic Fermentation

The Big Book of Preserving the Harvest: 150 Recipes for Freezing, Canning, Drying and Pickling Fruits & Veg

What Every Survivalist Should Grow in His Backyard

Earthship Volume 1

Earthship Volume 2

Earthship Volume 3

Earthship Global

Vertical Gardening: Grow Up, Not Out, for More Veg & Flowers in Much Less Space

Vertical vegetable gardening: a living free guide

Vertical Vegetables & Fruit: Creative Gardening Techniques for Growing Up in Small Spaces

Healing Herbal Wines, Vinegars and Syrup

The Unofficial MacGyver HowTo Handbook Revised 2nd Edition

The Complete Guide to Edible Wild Plants, Mushrooms, Fruits & Nuts: Finding, Identifying & Cooking

The Wild Wisdom of Weeds: 13 Essential Plants for Human Survival

The Joy of Foraging: Gary Lincoff's Illustrated Guide to Finding, Harvesting & Enjoying a World of Wild Food

Homegrown Sprouts

The Prepper's Guide to Foraging: How Wild Plants Can Supplement a Sustainable Lifestyle

47 Simple Herbal Remedies

Herbal Antibiotics: Natural Alternatives for Treating Drug Resistant Bacteria

Herbal Remedies

The Handbook of Clinically Tested Herbal Remedies (Vol 1 & 2)

The Herbal Medicine Maker's Handbook

A Long Term Survival Guide: Survival Cabins

Teach Yourself to Play Guitar

Prescription Alternatives: Hundreds of Safe, Natural, Prescription-Free Remedies to Restore and Maintain Your Health, 4 Edition

The Kitchen Garden Book: Complete Practical Guide to Kitchen Gardening, from Planning & Planting to Harvesting & Storing

Primitive Technology: How to build a Tiled Roof Hut with Underfloor Heating (film)


I will continue to upload useful PDF's & films as often as I can. If you have any suggestions they would be most welcome.

This project is being run by @samstonehill

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