Browse Forums General Discussion Re: Rammed Earth Construction 2Aug 24, 2010 9:11 pm Rammed earth is a method of building walls whereby a mixture of earth is compacted in layers between forms. Each layer of earth is approximately 15 cm (6 inches) deep. As each form is filled, another form is placed above it, and the process begins again. This is continued until the desired wall height is achieved. Forms can be stripped off as soon as the form above is begun, as the compressed earth wall is self-supporting immediately. Most rammed earth builders in Australia, including our company, use pneumatic rammers to compact the earth within the forms. The soil mix needs to be carefully balanced between clay, sand and aggregate. The clay and moisture content of rammed earth is relatively low compared to that used for mud brick or other earth building methods. A wider range of soils are suitable when a small amount of cement is added to the mix. Most rammed earth builders in Australia add some cement. The result, known as ‘stabilised rammed earth’, is a strong masonry product which provides excellent thermal mass. Re: Rammed Earth Construction 3Aug 25, 2010 10:16 pm Thanks for the info Wondering if anybody here knew anything about it What is your company called ? and do you know what sort of $ per Sq roughly these dwellings come out at. Is it true you don't need framing, so the walls just keep the whole thing up ? Cheers & thanks again. Re: Rammed Earth Construction 4Jan 04, 2011 4:43 am Owner builder magazine is a good source on techniques like rammed earth also http://www.byohouse.com.au/ The Harder You Try - the Luckier You Get ! Web site http://www.anewhouse.com.au Informative, Amusing, and Opinionated Blog - Over 600 posts on all aspects of building a new house. Re: Rammed Earth Construction 5Jan 04, 2011 8:51 am I lived in a old rammed earth home in the Adelaide Hills. If you live in a cold area do not do a rammed earth home. It is very cold in winter and near impossible to keep warm. Unless there is a insulating factor around the outside of the building or some sort of insulation built in to it, you will have a huge amount of mass working against you. My walls are around 14" thick with a return veranda around the whole lot and only a small amount of north facing windows. In winter I have a fire going for around 12hrs a day. Re: Rammed Earth Construction 6Jan 04, 2011 12:45 pm The problem for cold climates is not the rammed earth, but rather the passive solar design. The building fabric is rarely the main culprit if houses are too cold in winter in Australia. You'll find that by correctly orienting the house, allowing enough low north sun in winter to enter and heat up the rammed earth you'll get a very comfortable result. cheers We are about to commence a new build I and I’m reading about defects along the way. My question is should we employ a independent building inspector to come in and… 0 5237 Can you give advice on how to get missing certificates needed for a form 21? Our bank requires us to provide one but we are missing 4 building certificates from our first… 3 71777 DIY, Home Maintenance & Repair That laser level looks lovely! We bought one for less than a quarter of that price off eBay. It worked really well for us and it's still going now, five years later. After… 1 16704 |