Modern House For £500, with Dried Clay Blocks

Lake County Mail, Issue 28, 3 December 1947, Page 6

Modern House For £SOO, with Dried Clay Blocks

Mr and Mrs H. J. Holm, of Cromwell, are proving that there are ways of overcoming the housing shortage and high building costs. Residents throughout the district are watching their efforts with interest. Working from sunrise to sunset, Mr Holm is making clay blocks while his wife follows, trimming them to the correct size when drying. For a sixroomed house with a double outside wall, about 6500 blocks are required and with an average production figure of 130 blocks per day, it can be seen that the task is n6ne too small. They still require about 2000 blocks before building can start. Mr Holm stated that he had lived in a clay house that had been standing for over 60 years and that he had found it cool in summer and warm in winter. When the house was demolished it was found that the blocks were in such good, condition that they were used for rebuilding. Houses of almost any design can be easily built and given a rough-east finish, or plastered. The average cost per house is £SOO.