Knowra Wattle and daub Wattle and daub Wattle and daub is a wall-building method in which a woven framework of slender branches is coated with a sticky mixture, often earth, clay, and straw. It is distinctive for combining a lightweight lattice with a thick infill.
Wattle : A woven lattice of slender branches or strips used as a framework in traditional construction. This woven framework provides the support onto which daub is pressed.
Timber frame : A building structure whose primary load-bearing skeleton is made of timber members. The frame carries structural loads while wattle and daub closes the spaces between its members.
Neolithic architecture : The built environments and construction practices of communities during the Neolithic period. Early wattle-and-daub-like construction belongs to a long history of settled building with local materials.
Historic building conservation : The study and practice of maintaining, repairing, and adapting historically significant buildings. Repairing wattle-and-daub walls requires preserving compatible materials and traditional construction details.
Rammed earth : A building method in which moist earth is compacted in layers within temporary formwork. Rammed earth forms solid compacted walls, unlike daub applied over an open lattice.
Daub : A sticky building mixture, commonly made from earth, clay, and fibrous material, applied as wall infill or coating. This mixture fills the gaps in the wattle and forms the wall's solid surface.
Lath : A narrow strip of wood or other material fixed to a frame to support plaster or another wall coating. Wattle functions like a flexible, woven lath that anchors the daub.
Iron Age Britain : The societies and material cultures of Britain during the Iron Age, before Roman rule. Wattle-and-daub walls were used in some Iron Age British roundhouses.
Earthquake-resistant construction : Design and construction practices that reduce damage to buildings during earthquakes. Lightweight wattle-and-daub infill can behave differently from heavy masonry during ground movement.
Brick : A rectangular masonry unit, commonly made from fired clay or concrete, used to build walls and other structures. Brick walls rely on discrete masonry units rather than a woven frame and earthen coating.
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