Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Jan 10, 2019 8:22 am Hello.... we are in the very early stages of researching our build of our new home. One of the ideas that we would like to explore is Rammed Earth as an alternative building material. We will be building our house on half an acre in New Beith QLD. At this stage the design is a simple two story four bedroom home. - Just looking to see if anyone on this forum have build with rammed earth in QLD ? Please post costs and experiences, what to do and what not to do etc. Thank you.... Scott and Jess Re: Building a new home with Rammed Earth - Experiences 2Jan 10, 2019 8:31 am gablesrocks is building a design that includes a rammed earth wall (think in NSW though). Re: Building a new home with Rammed Earth - Experiences 3Jan 10, 2019 8:53 am Designer,Engineer (Civil,Const & Envir),Builder,Concrete & Masonry Contract.Struct Repairs Re: Building a new home with Rammed Earth - Experiences 4Jan 10, 2019 11:24 am Hi SJCAbode Hi, just started writing my blog so happy for you to view it. We built a rammed earth wall. It is awesome to build but the cost can be a factor. If it is, then I would suggest doing the north side of your house with rammed earth as the wall will soak the heat during the day and release the heat at night hence saving you cost on heating. During the day because the heat gets sucked in to the rammed earth wall your house remains cool. Also keep in mind Powerpoints, light switches, lights, water pipes conduits will need to be planned in advance. If you add windows and make it double storey then this will add additional cost. The complicated the design eg curves etc add more costs. Re: Building a new home with Rammed Earth - Experiences 6Jan 11, 2019 2:51 am I guess this one will be helpful: http://www.yourhome.gov.au/materials/rammed-earth The main problems: 1) looks. Certainly not for everyone. 2) high thermal mass but not very good insulation (R value of 30 cm wall is between 0.35-0.7, similar to uninsulated double brick). It may be really problematic to pass energy certification (such as BASIX in NSW) with such walls if they are used uninsulated. Meaning that a streak of two or more cold/hot nights and days will make your life uncomfortable and, considering that insulation is poor, it will be really hard to heat or cool the house effectively - everything will be lagging. 3) services would need chasing and therefore it will be either render or gyprock from the inside (so no "feature wall" look if the wall has services); 4) costs (although, as always in Australia, they are always high for something which is not very popular, I really don't see any single reason why it should be costing more than brick veneer as technologically it is very simple and straightforward process especially if you use onsite soil). Pros: 1) it may be a perfect internal feature wall or if used as external wall, needs to be insulated from the outside. 2) excellent acoustics; 3) highly hygroscopic, vapour permeable and therefore breathable. Good for your health, prevents mold, regulates PH levels, although will certainly need waterproofing if used in the wet areas or below the grade. Re: Building a new home with Rammed Earth - Experiences 7Apr 16, 2019 10:24 pm Hi gablesrocks, how much did it cost you to build your rammed earth wall ? How many builders were not interested in taking the risk of working with rammed earth ? And finally who build your rammed earth wall ? Thanks Re: Building a new home with Rammed Earth - Experiences 8Apr 20, 2019 4:11 pm SJCAbode we had a builder from Penney Construction come into Sydney from Mudgee to build. He was professional and thorough and his name is Justin. I didn't find it an issue to a find a builder who wanted to work with rammed earth. It was more of an issue to find someone to do the work. The cost depends on where you are located however average pricing is $650 per sq m for a different coloured wall. However for a brown coloured one which is considered standard it would be between 400$ - 550$ per sq m. Thanks You have mandatory building inspections and privately engaged building inspections. The difference between the two comes down to inspecting the building so it's safe and… 3 18019 Is it just a report written to give to the bank initially and it is based on what and how your payments are made up for, or is it a full service where they go out and… 2 5540 Hi Suku18 In NSW the statutory required insurances are: 1. HBCF ( Home Building Compensation Fund) - This is if the builder dies or goes broke. But this only covers 20%… 1 2649 |