BUILDING with RAMMED EARTH
- Thread starter REELDOC
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Probably about the same material cost as poured, but I would expect higher labor cost given the specialized knowledge and required ramming/tamping (which I would think is more time consuming than slapping a vibrating tool into a pour).
That said, one probably makes up for it in other places -- like not having to prime/paint the interior walls and not needing exterior waterproofing of the walls or covering them with some sort of exterior facing (e.g. vinyl siding, hardiplank, stone veneer, or other) ... since it looks interesting and has some curb appeal just as it is (unlike poured concrete). Then there's the long-term cost savings -- no need to repaint the interior walls (ever).
The narrator claims this is competitive with stick-built homes given the cost of lumber, today. That's probably true ... for now ... if you can find someone local to do this ... and assuming the home is a high-priced home (like his is) to begin with. I mean, sheesh, he sourced lumber off his own property. That's awesome, and it saves on material, but the labor to make it usable for his purposes would cost someone more than just buying something; the only reason it saved him money is he and his crew did it all (and likely wrote it off as that house is now advertising for his business).
That said, one probably makes up for it in other places -- like not having to prime/paint the interior walls and not needing exterior waterproofing of the walls or covering them with some sort of exterior facing (e.g. vinyl siding, hardiplank, stone veneer, or other) ... since it looks interesting and has some curb appeal just as it is (unlike poured concrete). Then there's the long-term cost savings -- no need to repaint the interior walls (ever).
The narrator claims this is competitive with stick-built homes given the cost of lumber, today. That's probably true ... for now ... if you can find someone local to do this ... and assuming the home is a high-priced home (like his is) to begin with. I mean, sheesh, he sourced lumber off his own property. That's awesome, and it saves on material, but the labor to make it usable for his purposes would cost someone more than just buying something; the only reason it saved him money is he and his crew did it all (and likely wrote it off as that house is now advertising for his business).
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fieldgrade
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Edit: I see they add 9% cement so that takes care if adhesion.
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Chdamn
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In another life when I was a LEED AP and on the board of directors for the local USGBC, while I was the area rep for a company’s hauling company and recycling facility as well as the corporate “green” manager (holy crap that was a mouthful) I got to tour a compressed earth, luxury condo facility under construction out in Texas.
The president of the company was the owner of the place and wanted my opinion on if he could apply for LEED credits.
Very interesting concept. They had to bring in certain soil components because they didn’t have the right kind of soil. Then they stuccoed the outside to weatherproof the buildings.
The president of the company was the owner of the place and wanted my opinion on if he could apply for LEED credits.
Very interesting concept. They had to bring in certain soil components because they didn’t have the right kind of soil. Then they stuccoed the outside to weatherproof the buildings.
Just from him saying “we filled to here and compacted to here” seemed to imply about 30% compaction from loose soil. He also mentioned finishing the compaction with a hand tamp. This stuff isn’t high pressure. Be fun to play with it in a 5 gal bucket. If I make some can we shoot at them?
I wonder how much moisture goes in the mix. Can’t be mud, can’t be dry.
I wonder how much moisture goes in the mix. Can’t be mud, can’t be dry.
A bunch of junk IMO. Permits, financing, insurance, inspection, huge forming expense, looks like some huge conventional concrete footings, I just don't see it being feasible.
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We're currently looking at alternative building methods. We were going to go log, but our neighbor is in over there heads with one right now. Tamped earth, straw bales, SIPs, laminated concrete, high cubes, 3D printed, etc. and my favorite for decades, tires. Heck, even evaluating some advanced modular designs.
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1858 Remington
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Pls post what you find out about the practicality of building w/ the various methods. Thx.
I've seen pix of big tamped earth blocks stacked on rows of each other. They added straw, cement, & water to the soil.
They used a 4 wheel drive tractor w/ a loader & backhoe to dig the soil & dump the mix in the molds. I'm sure the walls were bullet proof.
Our bunkers were made from sand / dirt bags & timbers. When the bags rotted, we just stacked more bags on top.