Mud building practices in construction projects in the Gaza Strip

The need to use Mud in building works resulted from the shortage of construction materials in the Gaza Strip. This study investigates the applicability of using mud materials in construction projects in the Gaza Strip. The factors affecting the using of mud buildings were investigated. Techniques encountering the construction with earth materials were studied. A questionnaire survey was used which targeted the contractors that participated in the mud building practices. Two mud-building techniques were used; the Compressed Stabilized Earth Blocks (CSEB) and Adobe techniques. The practice of using mud in building houses is very limited and comes to defy the blockade at the Gaza Strip. The idea of building houses of mud was not accepted by most surveyed contractors due to cultural aspects. The spread of building of mud was mainly affected by "needs for high maintenance, no possibility for future vertical extension, the need for intensive labors and poor resistance to weather conditions.".