# I'm on clay - Can I use for building decorative wall? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 4, 2007, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-on-clay-can-i-use-for-building-decorative-wall/398730 "2007-04-04T16:41:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Canadiangirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dc4da7/32.png) [@Canadiangirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Canadiangirl)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2007, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-on-clay-can-i-use-for-building-decorative-wall/398730/1 "2007-04-04T16:41:18Z")
The town that I live in is on clay. I was going to put a fence up this summer. When I was in Mexico, they built walls with construction blocks then mortared or plastered over them then painted them. So I was thinking about building a wall instead of a fence out of the native clay, perhaps mixed with something else to give me a free form, Arizona/Mexico looking wall. Is this possible with our weather? What do I use as a base? ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2007, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-on-clay-can-i-use-for-building-decorative-wall/398730/2 "2007-04-04T17:27:24Z")
Adobe has obvious problems in a rainy climate. However, you can make Earth Concrete. Use the native clay instead of sand or fine gravel, and mix it with Portland cement and water (using a ratio that I don’t have handy.) The article I read about Earth Concrete (probably in an old Mother Earth magazine) spoke of making walks and patios in place. They’d use a rototiller to chop up the soil, then use it again to mix in the cement and water. Then they’d smooth it out with a float, just like a conventional concrete walk. In your case, you could build a gaggle of block forms and pour the stuff into those. Pull off the form when the stuff begins to set up, just as regular block makers do. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2007, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-on-clay-can-i-use-for-building-decorative-wall/398730/3 "2007-04-04T20:03:44Z")
At camp once, I did a little sculpting in clay I had found “wild” by a riverside. It took over a month to dry completely, and that was just for a small piece smaller than my fist. Of course, I kept it indoors during that time, but you won’t have that luxury for a fencewall. So unless your local clay has exceptional drying properties, or Ontario is a lot more arid than I thought, it probably won’t work well. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2007, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-on-clay-can-i-use-for-building-decorative-wall/398730/4 "2007-04-04T20:37:00Z")
I think you’d need to dig down to the frost line, about 3 or 4 feet, before you even start, or else the freeze/thaw cycles will crumble your wall in no time. Of course, clay might crumble in no time anyway due to the extremes. ---
**Author:** ![Kevbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e47774/32.png) [@Kevbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kevbo)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2007, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-on-clay-can-i-use-for-building-decorative-wall/398730/5 "2007-04-04T23:11:36Z")
If you don’t want it to end up as ugly as a mud fence…oh wait, it IS a mud fence… anyway, you need to at least cap the top of the adobe, and protect the base from splashing. In arid climes stone or brick can work as a top cap, but it really needs stucco over the whole works, and you have to keep the stucco in good repair. Note, I’m posting this from inside a real (as opposed to just in the style of) adobe building. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2007, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-on-clay-can-i-use-for-building-decorative-wall/398730/6 "2007-04-04T23:59:22Z")
[How to Build an Adobe Wall](http://www.wikihow.com/Build-an-Adobe-Wall) CMC fnord!