Rammed Earth Wall Testing

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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-rammed-earth-wall

Coring a rammed earth test wall that we had built for this specific purpose. It’s always fun working in the rain!

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This is what the rammed earth wall looks like after the core sample has been removed.

rammed-earth-core-sample

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.

Stohl Lake Farmhouse – Building the rammed earth walls

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This was a great project for myself and the crew to work on; Stohl Lake farm is beautiful, the people are friendly and we had good weather to top it off.

rammed-earth-wall-layers

This is a great example of the layers in the rammed earth walls, the light is perfect, it’s early morning with the sun filtering through the trees.

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Spraying the walls to slow down the curing in the hot summer sun.

forming-rammed-earth-curved-wall

Forming a 1 foot thick interior curved wall.

new-rammed-earth-wall

Inspecting the new wall the next morning. The wall color is dark when wet and will lighten up as it dries.

spraying-rammed-earth-mix

David spraying  some water on the mix.

round-window

A view of our volume displacement drum for a round window.

volume-diplacement-drum

Top view of the drum.

yerba-mate-building

Rudy holding a bottle of Guayaki Yerba Mate. David our client is the founder of Guayaki and kindly supplied us during the hot summer of building, Cheers!

round-window-exterior

The round window after the drum has been removed.

rammed-earth-infill

Making an infill, that’s the rammed earth under the windows between 2 larger walls.

walls

A view of the walls from up the hill.

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The rammed earth builders super crew.

hand-tamping

Hand tamping, this whole project was done by manual power. There was a silent retreat on the farm when we started so to keep the noise down we used traditional tamping and ended up doing the whole project that way.

rammed-earth-house-roof

The house is shaping up nicely, always good to have the roof on.

rammed-earth-window-sill

Showing the fine work on the sill and around the windows of Dewey and friends.

Raw Materials for Rammed Earth Walls

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The raw material for building rammed earth walls can be sourced locally almost anywhere.

gravel-pit

This is the local gravel pit, when this picture was taken the house we were building was only about 2 km away. The raw material is loaded into the crusher that crushes the larger rocks and screens the mix to a diameter of 3/4″ or less. The sand and smaller percentage of finely distributed silt and clay are naturally occurring and already mixed in with the stone.

Ravine House Footing and Wall construction

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rammed-earth-footings

Batter boards are being leveled and placed for the footings. Wide footings can support the heavy walls but also act to give seismic stability and make a bond beam unnecessary.

rammed-earth-footing-steel

Steel is in place and the footings are ready for concrete.

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Forming the first column.

rammed-earth-ramming-column

Ramming the column.

rammed-earth-column

Fidel admires the first column on the house, it is one of two at the entrance that are 12′ tall. It is wet as the forms have just been removed and will turn pink as the column dries.

ramming-walls

Ramming one of the 12′ entrance walls on a beautiful sunny day.

rammed-earth-walls-tall

A couple of 8′ rammed earth pillars with the 12′ entry walls in the background.

rammed-earth-corner-wall

Making a corner wall section.

rammed-earth-tamper

A mechanical rammed earth tamper on loose material with the isulation showing.

rammed-earth-infill

Ramming an infill, a window will go above this section.

rammed-earth-kitchen-wall

Green rammed earth for the kitchen wall.

rammed-earth-pillars-layers

These are some of the nicest rammed earth pillars ever! A big statement yes, but true. The layering and texture of these pillars is fabulous, the picture doesn’t fully capture the feeling in real life.

corner-wall-completed

After the last corner wall is completed.

rammed-earth-complete

The rammed earth is complete! It was an epic journey and very rewarding.

Hart House – Building the walls

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Building the Hart House walls was a challenging build. That November was the rainiest and windiest in 50 years and it rained almost every day but we persevered and are very proud of the results. Josh and Heidi went bold with red walls and it was a fabulous result. The exterior walls of this house are 2′ thick which is a standard width for exterior walls.

rammed-earth-mix

The rammed earth mix.

Rammed-earth-form

The first form is ready to go.

hand-tamping

Clifton and Lowe inside the forms hand tamping.

insulated-rammed-earth

A good view of an insulated rammed earth wall in the making.  We use a rigid insulation that can withstand the forces of compaction.

rammed-earth-forms

The rammed earth forms we use are an efficient and flexible system of forming plywood, pipe clamps, form aligners and dimensional lumber. The wood can be used on other parts of  the building after the walls are done.

rammed-earth-forms-curved

Making the forms for the curved rammed earth walls. The forms are made in 4 pieces, 2 of which are very heavy, they are made with 3 laminated sheets of plywood that have been glued and screwed extensively with vertical 2×6’s.

ramming-curved-wall

Ramming the first curved wall on a cool November day.

top-rammed-earth-walls

View of the top of the walls on a rare day we had the tarps off.

rammed-earth-electrical

Recess detail of an electrical box.

helpers

Our little helpers, purely voluntary..no child labour here!

rammed-earth-walls

Josh feeling the good vibes of his new rammed earth walls.