In a rammed earth wall there are layers that are made from each time a lift of material is compacted but there are also many ways to add artistic highlights to the surface of the wall. The following are just a few samples.
Artistic layering using rammed limestone with some red and black lava.
Rammed earth layers showing nicely on a pillar.
Some layers of various shades of green stones.
Rammed earth layers made with small lifts.
Gold and copper highlight layers.
These rammed earth garden walls were built in Vancouver, B.C. and were a community involved project. Jean who is a landscape architect decided to try the rammed earth in her own back yard first. Part of her overall improvement plan was not only for her property but to enhance the neighborhood as well. Jean and Mike invited their neighbors to participate and many of them did and enjoyed the process.
The landscaping is done around the walls and the fence posts are up.
A closeup of the rammed earth, the red layer is lava and so is the thin dark black line.
The top of the wall was troweled organically, leaving in rounded to be more comfortable when people sit on it.
The following pictures show the process of building the walls.
The footing is poured and the curb stakes and batter boards are being removed.
Adding pigment to the mix, in this case we used crushed limestone.
Mixing by hand, since we had a small volume and lots of people we mixed by hand.
Ramming the first wall.
Placing some lava along the edge of the wall, the kids liked this part the best.
The curve is formed and jean is putting a finishing nail into a piece of trim we will use to make a small chamfer between the rammed earth wall sections.
Removing the forms on the curve.
The curve complete.
Clamping the top of the form.
Penny tamping.
John, Linus and Jean tamping.
The all girls building crew.
Placing more lava on the edge of the wall.
The dance of the hand tampers.
Forming the final garden wall section.
The Yoga Eco-Village Temple is the proposed centerpiece for Yoga Eco-Village on Salt Spring Island, BC. This west coast rammed earth building has 2 yoga studios and a meditation studio configured in sacred geometry. The main yoga studio is 2 stories inside and will have a large painted mandala ceiling.
South view, the clerestory area of the main studio is clad with cedar siding.
The main entrance to the yoga temple with decorative floral panels on each side.
Isometric model view of the yoga studios from the south-east.
This is a view of the rammed earth walls and wood beams with the roof removed.
The floor-plan of the yoga studios.
Gary’s rammed earth garage is on Salt Spring Island, BC. The foundation is done and now on to building the walls and roof. The garage walls have no insulation inside and are 1′ thick, with the exception of the pillar between the garage doors, which is 2′ thick.
The rammed earth mix is given a light spray as it’s turned.
Shoveling material into the forms.
Installing the chamfers for the pillar detail.
The pillar looks great with the double chamfer detail.
Tamping another wall.
The pneumatic tamper is fast, you can see the trail it leaves as it compacts.
A good picture of the wall texture. The highlight layers are a mix of crushed white and gray limestone.
Rudy, Clifton and Yashwant..the core building crew on this project.
The rammed earth walls from the south east.
The walls for the garage are almost done.
The crane is lifting the first bundle of trusses onto the walls.
Guiding the bundle of trusses onto the walls.
The layout of the roof trusses begins.
The roof sheeting being installed.
Yashwant working on the facade.
Quality rammed earth walls have fantastic strength, for example a 2′ x 2′ pillar could hold the weight of a double decker bus. We test our walls to make sure that they are performing as expected and every test we have ever done has met or exceeded our engineers specifications. Experience in material selection combined with proper mix and curing procedures are the way to achieve consistent results. Wall testing can be done either by ramming test cylinders or by coring a finished wall. The samples are sent to a lab where crush tests are performed.
Coring a rammed earth test wall that we had built for this specific purpose. It’s always fun working in the rain!
This is what the rammed earth wall looks like after the core sample has been removed.
The rammed earth core sample shows the inner material much differently than the outside of the wall as the stones have been cut through. Notice how there are various particle sizes, this is a characteristic of a good mix. Having a good particle size distribution allows the material to be compacted better, leading to a higher quality wall.
