Rammed Earth Homes and Such

[Mangosteen]

Thought this would deserve its own thread.
Anyone familiar with rammed earth instead of concrete brick or wall?

Someone at Lighthouse Landing is building his trophy museum out of rammed Earth. Is this a technique that is cost effective over cement?
Looks pretty.

[jpohlic]

It can be very labor intensive. Commonly found more in third world countries where labor is cheap, I'm guessing it would be much more expensive to build here than concrete. I've never done any rammed earth projects but have done some cob construction and it gives a similar end product. Good for the DIY builder if you know what you're doing.

[Big Grey Wolf]

Concrete may be price competitive now. Just heard that concrete in Edmonton that was being scallaped for upto $250/meter two years ago is now well below $200/meter. Nothing like a little recession to bring prices back in line.

[roger]

there are couple youtubes on rammed earth walls that are still standing from the ming or ling or wang dynasty(one of them!)
wouldnt be my first choice for a home...a root celler for potatoes maybe.

[Spidey]

Randy Bachman has one on Saltspring Island (or maybe he lost it in the divorce.) He used to broadcast his CBC radio show Vinyl Tap from there. Here's a link to an article on it with a couple pictures. Looks really interesting.

Warning: there appears to be a David Suzuki youtube video at the end of the article.

http://rentfluff.com/blog/rammed-ear...g-island-home/


Edit: Here's the actual original article with better pictures:
http://www.homesanddesign.ca/communi...rfect-harmony/

[bcgirl]

Originally Posted by Mangosteen

Thought this would deserve its own thread.
Anyone familiar with rammed earth instead of concrete brick or wall?

Someone at Lighthouse Landing is building his trophy museum out of rammed Earth. Is this a technique that is cost effective over cement?
Looks pretty.

I Know your banned but I thought maybe if anyone else is interested in rammed earth I would post here. I work for and help run a rammed earth construction company in Grande Prairie Alberta. Check out our website, www.innovativeearth.ca.

The owner built his rammed earth home back in 2008, very efficient design combined with the thermal mass of the rammed earth makes an efficient home. The huge difference between concrete and rammed earth is the aesthetics,, building process, porous qualities and the small amount of cement needed. Porous qualities make the product interesting, the home is air tight but the walls do absorb and release a certain amount of moisture. Another difference is that you may want to add brick, or side your concrete product, you don’t with rammed earth, that also cuts cost. Maintenance is very minimal to none and your structure will last for generations. It is a very sturdy product, take in the fact that the owner built his house 10 years ago and there are no issues with mold, structural cracks or anything else. His house is located at lake point properties on bear lake and it sees a ton of wind. Neighbours have had issues with siding flying off, you don’t see that with rammed earth lol. Just a couple of sofets have come loose and blown away, but that’s it. He also has one door that leaks in bad rain storms, this has only damaged a small amount of drywall in the basement and no issues with mold or water damage.

Price is variable depending on your project size, type and intricacies. Cost can range from $60-$120 per board foot, it has a huge range. Someone mentioned about being cheaper in third world countries because of labour, that’s a large part of it but it also comes down to other costs such as WCB and building codes. In a third world country you may not be mandated to put rebar or a certain amount of cement in it. Which lowers the cost. In Canada we have to abide to the engineering standards and building codes which specify quite a bit of rebar, insulation and an 8-10% cement to aggregate mix ratio. These are a part of the cost and can add up. I hope I enlightened you on the subject of Rammed Earth, please feel free to contact us if you have any other questions!

InnovativeEarth.ca

[calgarychef]

I’m more interested in cob construction. In England and Europe there are cob houses that have stood for hundreds of years. That’s incredible! A mixture of clay, sand and straw that can be formed into any shape you want. The houses if made with modern roof insulation and windows would be very energy efficient.