How to Build a Rammed Earth House
A rammed earth house is the oldest way of human residence. This method of construction was highly practiced in the twentieth century. It is durable, beautiful, insulated and inexpensive. Also, the material required in its construction is easily available. The rammed earth house has a wall thickness of 18-inch to 24-inch. The thick wall gives a feeling of security and stability. Over the years, the rammed earth house has been replaced by other home materials such as wooden constructed houses but the level of comfort and strength is utmost in a rammed earth house.
The walls of the house are constructed in lengthy horizontal segment. The wooden pieces supporting the earth can be altered so as to build one board or pane at a time. The space between boards is filled with concrete.
A rammed earth house offers its residents utmost comfort and warmth. It is a perfect house to live in as it provides you coolness in summer, and in winter it keeps you warm. Also, it is resistant or less prone to earth quakes and is thus sturdy and solid. However, earth resistance is dependent on the building design, strength and thickness of walls, the intensity of the earthquake and the quality of construction.
Constructing a rammed earth house requires waterproofing additives mixed with soil. This kind of construction is the same as that of abode construction. Dry weather is required in abode construction for the bricks to harden so it is usually used in areas that have a hot climate. However, rammed earth houses can be built in rainy areas of the world as well. Cement and soil is blended to construct walls.
Due to the various benefits involved, rammed earth houses are gaining importance all over the world. Another additional feature is that these houses are termite and fire resistant. Also, they are environment friendly. Rammed earth houses are known by various names in different parts of the world. They are:
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Jacal
Barjareque
Pise
Rammed earth houses are again being used for building homes. It is very simple to build this kind of house because of:
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mortar is not required to be mixed.
the mud is not sticky.
you do not have to wait for bricks to dry.
water required in construction is one-fifth of what is used in other construction processes.
The price of a rammed earth house depends on the following things:
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building design.
slope of the location.
accessibility of location.
the percentage of finished work.
the amount of labor employed.
For covering the base, large wooden planks are used. The house should be constructed, considering the climate and location of the place. The thickness of the wall, the weather, the level of compaction, soil kind and stabilization rate are the factors on which wall resistance is dependent. The construction of rammed earth houses does not take much time. The foundation can be made strong by filling the trench with large and heavy stones.
