Posts: 263
From: New England
Registered: Jun 2002

posted May 28, 2004 12:39 PM         

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just wondering...
are any of you guys familiar with rammed earth building? familiar as in, have you built a rammed earth house or worked/lived in one?

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Posts: 1681
From: sleepy Rocky Mountain village
Registered: Dec 2002

posted May 28, 2004 12:59 PM         

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nope. But I've read alittle about them in a few magazines. Have you much experience with them, Xelena?

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It is an old habit with theologians to beat the living with the bones of the dead.
:::Robert G. Ingersoll

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Posts: 263
From: New England
Registered: Jun 2002

posted May 28, 2004 02:57 PM         

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hi harpyr -
my husband has worked with it but i personally don't know anyone who lives in a rammed earth house. i've only read second-hand accounts as well. but i'd like to know more!

btw, i saw your picture posted the other day in the photo album and you look just like my mom when she was younger - veeeeddy interesting...

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Posts: 19242
From: Columbus, GA USA
Registered: Nov 2000

posted May 30, 2004 02:29 PM         

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What exactly is that?

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"Never mentally imagine for another that which you would not want to experience for yourself, since the mental image you send out inevitably comes back to you." Rebecca Clark

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Posts: 263
From: New England
Registered: Jun 2002

posted June 02, 2004 11:59 AM         

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it seems like a pretty neat technology, Randall - an offshoot of adobe.

builders use sand, clay, and sometimes a small percentage of cement to create a mixture that is then compacted into large blocks (or even whole walls) that are bolted together. the result is fire-proof, warm in winter/cool in summer, quiet, and has a less ecological impact than a timber-frame house.

they're building with it quite a bit in the American southwest and in Australia, but it's also great for building in places like northern africa and other areas where wood and other resources are scarce - but sand isn't!

it doesn't seem great for wet climates, but i've seen from a few sites that the brits are into it. here's a cool UK site (check out the Bucky Fuller map under the Resource tab): http://www.rammed-earth.info/

here's a U.S. site that has nice photos: http://www.rammedearthworks.com/

and here's an australian article: http://www.rainforestinfo.org.au/good_wood/rammed_e.htm

save the trees!

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Posts: 800
From: beautiful, hidden mountain village, BC, Canada
Registered: Aug 2003

posted June 02, 2004 01:55 PM         

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Tire houses are really cool as well. They use the tires as a form to ram the earth into. It recycles used tires while creating an ecofriendly, extremely economic house. They call them Earthships. I love all these ideas that are coming up for alternative building practices.

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Posts: 263
From: New England
Registered: Jun 2002

posted June 03, 2004 09:28 AM         

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i agree, fishkitten - earthships are a wonderful concept. "econests" is another lovely term.

thanks for the heads up on tires. do they remove the tire forms or leave them on? i'll have to check it out!

there's defnitely a lot of creativity bubbling up with housing and community these days. fun stuff. i like the houses that are built around existing trees - so the trees grow right up through the kitchen or the living room... (though i don't know what happens in twenty years when the tree doesn't stop growing because the house is too small! )

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Posts: 800
From: beautiful, hidden mountain village, BC, Canada
Registered: Aug 2003

posted June 03, 2004 11:28 AM         

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They take a whole used tire, put it in place, then use a 5 pound sledge hammer to pound it full of earth. In the end, the walls of your house can withstand earthquake, flood..pretty much anything. Then they put a kind of stucco material over it, so it looks sort of like adobe from the inside.

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Posts: 19242
From: Columbus, GA USA
Registered: Nov 2000

posted June 04, 2004 12:55 PM         

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"Never mentally imagine for another that which you would not want to experience for yourself, since the mental image you send out inevitably comes back to you." Rebecca Clark

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Posts: 19242
From: Columbus, GA USA
Registered: Nov 2000

posted October 23, 2004 11:06 AM         

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*bump*

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"Never mentally imagine for another that which you would not want to experience for yourself, since the mental image you send out inevitably comes back to you." Rebecca Clark

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