I like alternative and traditional building systems. You may not have gotten that impression from my enclosure topic. But it's true.

That said, I have been doing a lot of research on clay systems.

I am working on designing and hopefully soon building a traditionally built Swiss style frame for some extra shop space, and I want to use a traditional method to enclose the frame as well.

That said, right now I am looking at a system employing a clay infill covered with vertical boarding on the outside and lime plaster on the inside (or maybe boarding on the inside as well)

For the clay infill, I am considering pre-making the infill in the form of largish clay bricks which will already be dry by the time of raising (which right now the goal for raising is fall of 2011) and will be stacked between posts spaced at about 6 to 8 feet, with a brüstungsriegel (don't know exactly what to call this in English) spanning between the posts at the wall's midpoint, or perhaps two of them between every post for added support of both the infill and the siding.

I have a few questions about this, though.

1: How exactly should the clay slip be made? And what consistency should be used if I will be making bricks and not filling large cavities all at once.

2: What is a good way to cement the bricks together? Would just fresh clay do the job? Is there a preferred method? I don't want to just dry stack them, as this would leave gaps that could (and therefore would) create drafts

3: Would it be a good idea to coat the insides of the timbers with a thick slip so that the infill gets 'stuck' to the timbers a little more, or is this not worth the added effort since the expansion and contraction of the timbers will negate this anyway.

Efficiency isn't really too great a concern on this particular building. It will be heated with wood and at least initially not cooled at all (we'll see how long that lasts come summer time!)

However, the discussion of efficiency is certainly welcome. Part of the reason for using this system instead of strictly traditional infill of straw-clay or fired brick is to test the feasibility and performance, and to see how well it works in this climate, and also to see how it works labor wise.

A possible variation to this for efficiency purposes would be to have two layers of woodchip-clay brick with a cavity between them which is then filled with cellulose, a method I have heard of already so it is not my own I know. One layer of bricks could be set on the outside of the frame so that it covers the timbers, and have 2x4 nailers embedded in it somehow if siding is to be applied. I know of an old house that burned down a few years back that was structural brick, 12" thick solid brick walls, with a 2x4 framework added to the exterior so siding could be applied (it was an Amish house originally, that's why the brick was covered with siding)