Compressed Earth Block Testing at The Baleyreeshire 

Hi, Cobb House, you seem to go wrong somehow on compressing and getting a solid block. First, mix with cement very little (90% soil 10% cement) and very little water (about 20 liters) for 3 wheel barrows and 50kg cement. Mix thouroughly to have even mix. Then, compress, the block will be even, solid and after afew days curing, it will be very strong. Role of cement is binding- water is to activate the cement Soil has to be sieved or fine or relatively fine with uniform texture, yours has too much lumps probably rock. Try this and you will get it right the first time. Best wishes

Just by reading the comments I got many answers, thank people keep up the good work,

cement can do the tric but it is expensive. use clay mix with river sand but before you press it you have to pass the dirt on a screen to get rid of the bigger rock to make the brick stronger use dried grass or straw

Nice

Screen subsoil through a 1/4" or 3/8" screen, add moisture so that a ball squeezed in your hand holds shape but doesn't leave hand wet and sticky and break apart in pieces dropped from about 3', If its in a couple pieces rather than shattering into many smaller pieces its good. The soil you are looking for should be about 25% clay. You can add sand or clay depending on what you have to start with. A simple soil test with a jar and some water can give you fairly accurate results. Add one part cement to (12 - 18) parts soil mix depending on how much shrinkage you get on a test block. More shrinkage more cement. You may use lime instead of cement but twice the amount is needed. This is relatively easy to do once you find out what the results are from your soil test. Good luck.

beautiful can you please explain Wat do you mix with earth ? tanks

first，the soil is too dry， the second the Compression ratio is not enough

Lime rather than Portland cement?

Where do I get one of those and how much do they cost

Where do you buy one of those machines and what is the name of it?

At least you’re testing it.

Very common in Afrika. Search Makiga. Okolea.

The mix was too dry.

Absolutely perfect!!!

These bricks have no 'tegridy, they need some cement for better results!

LITTLE WATER WOULD HELP PORTLAND WOULD TOO

Check excellent soil brick training youtube video JimJulie.

Clay, sand, water, hay. Compress, let dry.

What the hell? Was he trying to demonstrate how NOT to make a C.E.B.? Why didn't he say so if that was it? Mistakes: 1. No water. C.E.B.s must have the correct water content, not too much, not too little. 2. A soil test will tell if there is the correct ratio of sand-clay, optimum being 7-3. 3. The mix needs to be sifted for optimal fineness. If the CEB is tested (after drying) and found too weak (not enough compression strength), this is due to inferior clay. But it might still be good enough if P.C. is used to compensate. How much? That requires testing. Start with 5% and go up. Remember, P.C. requires a cure time, while kept moist. This is time-consuming because it takes about 4 weeks, therefore you should make CEBs of all the varying mixes at once. There are many other cheaper binders but they require research and most are not up to it. I enjoy it. I like to study and think over the info. It's like solving a mystery. The look of earth mixes plus the cost savings are well worth the testing effort. If using a machine, I would only get one that produces interlocking CEBs. No mortar needed. If using rebar, basalt is far superior.

This was painful to watch. How could they not know how this works after aquiring the press... Didn't they do ANY research? No binder / cement (5 to 8%), no moisture , not fine enough material, etc

지금 뭐하는 거죠? 지금 그렇게 압착을 해서 무슨 강도가 나와요? 도저히 이해가 안가는 작업을 하고 있네요. Really stupid...

You are doing it wrong. You need to use a stick to ram the earth as much as possible then compress.

This is done incorrect. Too dry and clay and straw not fine at all too thick. Try again