User:Materials/Rammed Earth

Introduction
In the third world countries, a vast population lives in rural areas, and many of them live in houses made up of locally available materials like earth, timber, bamboo, etc. In many instances, rammed earth is used to construct the walls, and bamboo and timbers are used to construct the roof and other supporting structures. Walls are uniform in thickness, which vary usually from 457.2-609.6 mm, and their dimensions depend on the space required. For example, a typical two room house with two stories may have the following dimensions (Fig. 1): height H = 7,620 mm; wall thickness, t = 547.2 mm; length, b = 6,096 mm; and breadth, h = 3,048 mm. The roof is covered by a material such as straw, grass, palm leaves, tiles, asbestos, etc. Its weight occasionally increases because of snow, rain, etc., and is transmitted to the ground through the walls

Where is this material used?
North Africa, Australasia, regions of North and South America, China and Europe, including France, Germany and Spain Rammed earth construction has been practised in the UK for well over 200 years

As the needed material is easy to find, it has been used throughout the world, historically and recently Countries which have done efforts toward national standards for earth building * Australia * New Zealand * USA * Zimbabwe * Germany * Spain

Introduction
In the third world countries, a vast population lives in rural areas, and many of them live in houses made up of locally available materials like earth, timber, bamboo, etc. In many instances, rammed earth is used to construct the walls, and bamboo and timbers are used to construct the roof and other supporting structures. Walls are uniform in thickness, which vary usually from 457.2-609.6 mm, and their dimensions depend on the space required. For example, a typical two room house with two stories may have the following dimensions (Fig. 1): height H = 7,620 mm; wall thickness, t = 547.2 mm; length, b = 6,096 mm; and breadth, h = 3,048 mm. The roof is covered by a material such as straw, grass, palm leaves, tiles, asbestos, etc. Its weight occasionally increases because of snow, rain, etc., and is transmitted to the ground through the walls

Where is this material used?
North Africa, Australasia, regions of North and South America, China and Europe, including France, Germany and Spain. Rammed earth construction has been practised in the UK for well over 200 years

As the needed material is easy to find, it has been used throughout the world, historically and recently Countries which have done efforts toward national standards for earth building
 * Australia
 * New Zealand
 * USA
 * Zimbabwe
 * Germany
 * Spain

What is it typically used for?

 * Walls (load bearing)
 * Foundations
 * Floors
 * Roof (Flat as a layer against weather and dome shaped as a structural member)[2]

How is it typically connected?
Roof to wall connection
 * Wall plate, collar beam, bond beam or roof plate, continuously around the top of walls.
 * Wall plates may be either timber or concrete
 * Lintels can be either timber or in-situ/precast concrete

Roof fixing In the absence of a wall plate the roof may be tied down directly to the wall with ties embedded within the wall

Basic material properties?
Full Article: Basic material properties in Rammed earth building Gravel+Sand+silt+clay (or cement/lime) Soil Specification
 * Colour
 * Particle Size Distribution
 * Plasticity
 * Dry Density
 * Compressive Strength
 * Other mechanical/durability tests
 * Cement stabilization

Amount of skilled labour required?

 * Basic material are readily available across many countries
 * Traditional tools for digging the earth and preparing the final mix
 * Simple wooden formworks
 * Human power for ramming

Recyclability

 * The main material is soil
 * It is unbaked and chemically unchanged
 * It can be broken down and return to the environment

Environmental impacts

 * Rammed earth has potentially low manufacturing impacts
 * Low embodied energy
 * Cement content
 * Degree of local material sourcing