How do you stop mud-brick houses from deteriorating?

Lol, true. But I have heard normal houses can still be in good nick by the time they are 100yrs. But I WILL be coverd in dirt by that stage……in my grave! Unless I get cremated lol.

Haha well I think they only stay that long with good Upkeep? I know things can be preserved just not mud. You could keep it out of the rain?

Mud houses were originally built to be maintained, even though us humans are no longer that way inclined. What you have to do, is slap some more mud on your house. The mud will set and you’ll have new walls/roof that don’t crumble. Though I doubt you are living in an authentic mud house… I don’t think you’d have an internet port if you were…

Thanx for your help, It has a tin roof and a few wood walls but it is mostly mudbrick, so its not authentic. But if it where authentic I would just use my friends computer……….

Humidity is your enemy. A mud house that is dry is usually tough as rock. At least if it was sticky clay-mud and it isn’t sandy.

I live in a medieval half-timber house where the panels are filled with a clay-mud and straw mix. (And yes, I do have Internet in that house.) My house is roughly 500 years old, and still standing - though it has been renovated a couple of times. So don’t listen to people who say your house is supposed do surrender to erosion. ;-)

You need to get the walls dry. If there is humidity crawling up the walls from below, you will need to excavate around the foundation of your house and insulate the basements walls, seal them with tar and bitumen and then make a drainage in order to lead the ground water away from your walls.

Then, if there is humidity in your rooms, you might need to operate an air dehumidifier for a while (there are electrical machines like reverse laundry dryers). They suck in wet air and spit out dry air.

And you might need a few turns of opening the windows for 5 minutes, then closing them and heating the room, then again opening for 5 minutes and so on - a couple of times a day. That will also carry humidity out.

Also check whether any of your water/heating system installations might be leaking.

Do not - ever - use gypsum or any stucco that contains gypsum in a mud house. Because gypsum and mud can make chemical reactions together and expand like yeast dough. You are way better off with cement or lime/chalk stucco. Lime/chalk colors are also good for the walls inside. Always use colors “open to dispersion” if you paint any walls. Means that the walls can “breathe” ant there are open pores. Never seal them with any airtight wallpaper or coat of paint.