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Frequently Asked Questions |
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Can I see some work?
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Our
office is housed in a rammed earth building, so our
clients see and feel the rammed earth when visiting
us. Depending on scheduling and accessibility, we
may be able to take you to a building under construction.
While many of our customers have indicated a willingness
to show our clients their finished homes, we prefer
not to trespass on this generosity, and will only
do so if there is a special feature of interest to
a client which cannot be shown elsewhere.
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How does it cope with rain/storms?
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Rammed earth is extremely durable. There are numerous examples of rammed earth
buildings and structures which are hundreds of years old – for example,
much of the Great Wall of China is made from an earlier method of rammed earth
construction. Modern methods have improved the finished product enormously
from those days. Today’s rammed earth has the benefit of modern soil
technology and testing methods, and a better understanding of the chemistry
involved. Other advances in the technology include the addition of a small
percentage of cement, better structural design methods, the inclusion of damp
courses and concrete footings, mechanical compaction of the walls, regulatory
controls by building authorities and the use of water based silicon water repellants.
We expect our improved rammed earth walls to last for many hundreds of years. In addition to the above improvements, in particularly exposed positions (such as garden walls) it is possible to to add a water repellant admix to the soil mixture. This waterproofs the walls right through, not just on the surface of the wall. This product also increases the strength of the walls by up to 25%. Rammed earth homes are simply wonderful to be in during storms – unlike lighter framed homes the walls don’t move or creak in strong winds, and the sound insulation aspect of rammed earth means that the noises of thunder, wind and rain are muted. A rammed earth building feels strong as rock. |
How much does it
cost?
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As
a rule of thumb, you can expect a rammed earth wall to cost you approximately
the same as a masonry wall. Issues
which will affect the cost include: how far the soil must be transported; how
much wall area is required (economies of scale apply); how complicated the
design is; how high the walls are. We
can quote on the cost of the walls at an early stage of design so that you can
compare the cost with other methods suitable for your house.
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Is it load bearing?
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Rammed
earth walls as constructed by Rammed Earth Constructions P/L are load bearing.
Engineers recognize rammed earth as load bearing, so you are unlikely to need
other structural framing for your home.
Rammed earth also provides substantial bracing to buildings - usually
well in excess of the minimum requirement that most homes are constructed
to. It provides a feeling of stability
and security in even the worst weather conditions.
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Can I have curved
walls?
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Yes,
it just depends on the shape of the formwork.
It
may cost a little extra to have special formwork made
up, if it is
different to our stock formwork.
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Can
I have circular windows in my building?
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Yes, within some limitations we can achieve most features. We have incorporated circular windows, wall recesses, columns, sculptures, stones, crystals and artworks into our walls, as required by customers. However, you need to be aware that - as a general rule of thumb - the simpler the wall is, the cheaper it will be to build. But it is best to discuss these sorts of features and additions with us - don’t just rule them out!
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What about termites?
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Rammed earth is an excellent material to use in termite areas, being most unappetising and impenetrable to termites. We have never seen any attempt by termites to penetrate our rammed earth walls. However, it is not recognized as a termite barrier by the building authorities, and other steps must be taken to meet the Building Code’s requirements. A very common method in rammed earth houses is simply to build on a concrete slab, as the concrete slab itself provides termite protection as well as an excellent foundation for the rammed earth. It also means that you do not have to spray poisonous chemicals around your home.
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How
do you conceal electrical & plumbing services?
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Electrical conduits are built into the walls during the construction process. Plumbing, if lagged, can also be included in this way. Building in these services requires a little extra planning at the design stage.
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How do you
finish the walls?
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We either leave them smooth (an ‘off-the-form’ finish), or we wire-brush them to provide an overall textured wall. The wire-brush finish removes the formwork lines, exposes the soil texture and gives a softer finished look. Depending on the wall’s exposure to adverse weather conditions we then may waterproof it with a water based finish designed for earth walls. It is also possible to plaster, render, paint or otherwise treat the walls in exactly the same way as for other masonry walls. Some customers have used lime wash in ochre colours very effectively when a cheaper, poorly coloured, soil was used to build the walls. A waterproofing agent is applied to external walls and a dust sealer to internal walls.
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Can
you hang pictures/shelves on rammed earth walls?
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Yes. You can treat the finished walls in the same way as you would treat other masonry walls. Just use longer fixings. Nails can be driven directly into rammed earth by hand or using a nail gun.
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Can
I use the soil from my own land?
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Sometimes this is possible, and we have done this in some cases. However, it is unusual to find a soil which is suitable. Even with quite good soils usually other elements, such as aggregate, need to be transported in to mix into the existing soil. Using soil from the site also creates more work, as it may need to be screened to remove any large stones, organic matter or excessive clay lumps. We have found that it is better - and cheaper - to select the soil mix from a quarry, where the heavy machinery at the quarry site makes light work of screening. Careful selection of material also means that the finished result usually has a more attractive colour and consistent finish than would be possible than by using soil from the building site. We have developed and tested standard soil blends which can be delivered quickly.
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What colours
are available?
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Rammed earth reflects the colour of the soil mix used, and this is determined to some extent by what is available locally. We don’t add coloured oxides to the mix. We have built homes in hues from a pale cream, to sandy yellow, peach, light tan, grey, right through to a strong earthy red. We have also incorporated areas of different colours of earth, to create different effects. For instance, in the EcoCentre at Crystal Waters we introduced a different colour in a wavy line alongside a water feature, to reflect the feeling of water movement.
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Copyright(c) 2002 Rammed Earth Constructions P/L. All rights reserved.