Dirt into Mud Brick?

[Kereminde 5]

A thought again while I sit huddled in my thatch hut for dawn to come and clear out the skeletons with bows.Much like Vanilla Minecraft, dirt accumulates. Short of terraforming yourself a new peninsula, what else can you use it for?

 

Well, the other mod I liked for some indepth play (Millenaire) had "Mud Bricks" made from Dirt + Sand, then needing to dry in the sun. So why not adapt that? Such as, using Dirt and Water to make Mud, then combining with a mold or sticks (making a frame) to make "Unfired Bricks" which can be then turned into Mud Bricks. You'll still need Mortar to make it into a block, but they would allow an alternative (if work-heavy) to chiseling stone brick. 

 

To balance it, depending on whether or not Creepers are considered a danger to structures . . . they have low blast resistance.

 

Or maybe they're just useful making walls?

[Kazahied 42]

With my time in the USMC i have actually encountered mud based structures, they can handle a lot more than you would think. (direct fire from a 40mm grenade launcher) This sounds like an excellent idea. Considering that most cultures developed architecture from mud and adobe buildings and in some remote locations several cultures still use mud to build. 

Even American colonists did a similar technique, they built sod houses which were a frame of wood packed with sod and adobe. Warm, functional, cheap.

[AllenWL 186]

Dirt + water = mudSand + clay = loamMud + loam + straw = unfired mud bricksunfired mud bricks + pit kiln = mud bricksMud bricks wern't 100% mud, but mixed with straw, loam, sand, etcLots of dirt-made building material had straws or something of the like to support it.Like Kazahied said, very sturdy, warm in the winter, cool in the summer, cheap. Won't rot, or get termites.Really, it's a great material.

[Euphoric 48]

Extrafirma addon has this. But it doesn't use dirt.Just throw the dirt away.

 

Also, using water is not a good idea, because you need a wooden bucket and for that you need metal and if you have metal, you can just fine create stone bricks.

[PaoloEmilio 53]

A thought again while I sit huddled in my thatch hut for dawn to come and clear out the skeletons with bows.Much like Vanilla Minecraft, dirt accumulates. Short of terraforming yourself a new peninsula, what else can you use it for?

 

Well, the other mod I liked for some indepth play (Millenaire) had "Mud Bricks" made from Dirt + Sand, then needing to dry in the sun. So why not adapt that? Such as, using Dirt and Water to make Mud, then combining with a mold or sticks (making a frame) to make "Unfired Bricks" which can be then turned into Mud Bricks. You'll still need Mortar to make it into a block, but they would allow an alternative (if work-heavy) to chiseling stone brick. 

 

To balance it, depending on whether or not Creepers are considered a danger to structures . . . they have low blast resistance.

 

Or maybe they're just useful making walls?

--

That's not the correct procedure for making adobe. Adobe is made with clay (dirt works too) sand and straw. And they don't need mortar. And if dried well neither they have to be fired.

[Kereminde 5]

Don't know if they're adobe or not, just trying to think on the potential.

 

As for "just throw the dirt away" . . . alas, unlike Rotten Flesh it has one actual use. So while i gleefully throw Rotten Flesh into firepits to dispose of, Dirt I find an occasional use for.

[Kazahied 42]

Like terraforming an island in the middle of nowhere.The only use i have for dirt right now is to fill in old mines so people dont fall in them

[PaoloEmilio 53]

There are another uses I find for dirt:

 

-Remember farmland blocks aren't retrieved not even back into dirt when digged. If you wanna get rid of a farmland and need to fill the hole use some stored dirt.

-Building tillable soil near water sources.

[HM Silverbane 3]

you could use dirt as part of the old wattle ans daube type homes.

 

since we are missing one smelly part of how we used to make the daube (cows dont make it here,thankfully lol) we would have to find other ways to make the daube.

wattle could probably be made from sticks, maybe one atop the other to make the uprights, then two side by side to make the wall (combine the two to make a fence like block that is the wattle. it could also be used like fences as decor walls) then mix up the daube from a combination of a filled clay jug of water, dirt, clay (to make it sticky since we miss the other stuff) and straw and then later combine the daube ball with the wattle block in the crafting box and bingo. wet daube wall block.

will dry out over time (or dry out in the fire one block at a time) has a rough look but can be removed without a pickaxe. not as good against a creepers blast but is handy for quick builds and transitionry shelters when you are traveling.