Rammed Earth : You won’t Believe How They Build This! 

Is rammed earth building good for hot climate passive house?

Adnan Malik I’m pretty sure that is one of the best uses for it.

James Kniskern ,you seem to know your stuff .not just building but some other really neat things. I believe I’m your 4th subscriber.im a bigshot you tuber too..scrolled through your videos.every one looked interesting.let me know if you see this .my daughter & I have a spot in NC Sandhills that we’re going to pass on down the line one day & it’s been whispering “use what’s here to build “.getting louder every day. A lot of variety & the lay of the land & everything just feels right .like to make it nice for generations too enjoy.a good start anyway . your comment struck a chord.a couple things in particular. It’s late. better go.Id like to know if you could point me in the right direction or at least a direction.a good book,contact .anything would be helpful.not sure where you reside so...but if you would let me know what you think I’d appreciate it. So much misinformation online .mind-boggling amount of good & bad. Good evening , Burke Wills

I was thinking, this isn't that different than just using cement blocks, it seems. You could use cement blocks then use a form and concrete to get a architectual looks on the wall exteriors.

@@wbwills2 I'm in KY. Have a strawbale house my wife designed. We know a few things. 😁Our house is a hybrid of ancient and modern building techniques. Some we used for efficiency, some for esthetics.

I'll bet a couple gaming computers running would be enough to heat it.

@calavante swamp coolers work in Arizona because the air is so dry. They don't work in the midwest where the summer heat of 90 degrees is accompanied by 90 percent humidity!

calavante We can’t help it that you don’t get out much. LOL!!!

@Douglas Gault, Wow, that's awesome! It seems clear that the people who are criticizing this type of construction as overly expensive, are failing to take into account the fact that the cost of occupying and maintaining these types of structures, is very, very low. True, you have a higher cost up front, but these buildings will pay for themselves, over the years, in money saved on heating, cooling, and structural maintenance. And because they are built to such a high standard, they will outlast any conventional stick-built structure, and are going to be worth much more. In my opinion, this is a very smart way to build.

Michael Lambert why do they call it a swamp cooler if they only work in the dessert where there are no swamps?? 🤔

Why the rest of the Great Wall are not rammed Earth. The Chinese see rammed Earth was Bullshit. And Chinese Wall was mixed with Clay. Not only Earth

Jimmy Nam That means " TABOUT ´´

you are in usa, the government just let them to do that now...and they think they are free...they don`t let them to collect rain water ....in usa that free country...hahahah

We do the same thing in our region (Northern Caucasus). Besides straw we also add horse manure and make adobe bricks of desired size.

in many countries it's very economical to use earthen materials like clay and soil because it's everywhere, and it works as a good insulator. the only problem is that if it rains you will have to repair you're house constantly, which is why you normally find these types of houses in deserts and places where it doesn't rain.

Still waiting on that update Matt.

Thank You Mr Madeira

this technique is recent and only possible with modern technology... there's a huge difference between mud huts and compressed earth.

To all the wannabe rammed earth "experts" responding to Victor's comment, I suggest you google "historic rammed earth"

@@methemanization i just want you to know i only read the first line of that. congrats

Same greetings from Hungary applying this method for hundreds of years.

nice

wow that is fantastic. I've heard the original old "straw and mud" houses lasted a very long time... some still around today.

@@TiempoNuevo-ew7ty They were using baled rice straw to build houses a few years ago .Talk about thick walls . Came about as a result of restrictions on field burning . Needed a place for their straw . I think it's too much matter and decays too slowly to turn back into the soil each year .

Sounds like a bad climate for the material coupled with some poor choices on detailing.

Who cares about some boring calculations?) Only empiric approach, only hardcore!))

Doesn't concrete also produce CO2 ? Is there a danger of that? You are in a giant Stone box...

@@werewolf74 The manufacturing of cement releases a lot of C02, chemically and by burning fossil fuels for heat. Concrete doesn't off-gas significantly after its cured if that's what you were thinking.

That's terrible to hear, they must have been so disappointed. We have 8" of roxul in the middle and we did put 6 inches under slab and on all perimeters. We even cut the center of our top cap and filled it with foam, so there are zero thermal bridges. Our 2650 sq/ft home with a heat pump costs the same to heat as our 300 ft cabin with baseboards.

@@jeta-mariaswanepoel hi Mevrou hoe gaan dit met "U"

There are examples of this in Australia ,I was in the 1980's, western Australia south of Perth, Mathia's Bay.. great surf there. 18" thick. Remember that there is a ocean breeze there.. also some fire shelters in Victoria..

That’s fascinating. You built a whole wall in a day? Did you need water or was the mix all dry?

I think the Portland cement is the big difference. Those old earth huts just broke down and made everything unstable and dirty. These are more like brick houses then earthen houses.

It was considered poor man's home because the culture was arrogant and ignorant and prejudice. They think poor people live like savages and don't know anything about quality culturul construction. But these Off grid, or adobe or earthen homes prove that the "poor man" was actually ahead of the game. lol

The good thing about rammed earth houses as built in places like Portugal is that although they don't last forever, but when the surface of the walls start to degrade they can be easily scraped out and reformed with a little water and re-plastered with earth stucco. When these start to break down the cement means they can't be recycled. Adobe houses use a similar principle.

@@kkknotcool More like brikies mud than brick.

A Hobbit House is EXPENSIVE!

I wonder if this is cheaper than standard constructed houses.?.?.?.

@C J , we are in South East Arizona. It does great here, but we do have a heat source for the winter. I think most people use a ridged insulation when building with rammed Earth in the colder climates.

@C J , it will get to about 80 inside our house when the temps are I'm the high 90's low 100's outside. We typically see a temperature difference of about 20 degrees f. At night it typically drops to the high 60's so we open our windows and it cools everything down for the next day. Once you learn how to manage the thermal mass, it's great.

@C J I built and live in a rammed earth home in Canada. The biggest difference I noticed was the requirement for vertical rebar, and horizontal rebar through ties, which add a great deal of strength. Snow load requirements make it mandatory here, and somewhat higher percentages of portland cement are likely necessary, depending where you are. In the video I think he mentioned the walls are 1800 psi, ours crushed out to 4000 psi, but they needed to be a minimum of 2600 psi to satisfy the structural engineer. We have a 24" wall, with 8" inner and outer walls, and 8" of insulation in the middle. It is a very high performance home and I would love to see more of them in Canada, but unfortunately the added requirements do make it more expensive up north.

@C J it is difficult to determine the R value of the walls. On paper they have a static R value of approximately R 30. The dynamic R value is much higher. In our case, with 24" walls and 8" of encapsulated insulation, I would guess a dynamic R value of >R60. Put into perspective, our home has ten times the area of our tiny home we lived in while building, and costs the same to heat. Ranted, they have different heating systems, but a rammed earth home simply stores so much energy that it performs beautifully. It breathes very well, yes. We did not seal the walls, but many people do. Instead, we are relying on the plasticure we added to the dry mix for water repellant.

yes but now with Ethernet and warm floors😉

Think it was much older and we have a way to go

Reminds me too much of the bleak concrete high-rise housing of places like Russia and China.

butlerproman ...I happen to like the look of it personally due to it reminds me of uneven logs that span the entire building. I’m sorry it reminds you of that. It may be similar but this is what I have to say about it. Though what you have may be meager or great it’s the nature of the hearts in it that makes the home. So at that even though they have little real wealth isn’t measured by possessions. Also I’d be happy to have a home made of blocks or wood or stone if it’s mine.

I dwell in Mesa and have a MSBE from ASU. Would say depends on the location in Phoenix because of the lack of diurnal temperature change due to urban heat island affect in some microclimates. What does work in conditions where insignificant diurnal temperature difference is internal thermal mass. Right now living in a poorly insulated house temporary, so have 30 gallons of water stored inside and have been only needing to turn on the aircon in the evening, though shifting more towards the afternoon with warmer temperatures as Summer comes. Hope this helps.

@@adrielrowley The thermal mass of rammed earth would be similar to that of Adobe, right? The rammed earth used here is compacted dirt with 9% cement added. Most Adobe does not have cement added, otherwise, they are similar as to components.

@@DavGreg, adobe has the same concern of maintaining the average OA temperature. Both use a bonding agent, one cement and the other clay, differing on strength and stability (adobe is soft and will dissolve in rain). Straw bales have a R value of about 50 with little to no thermal storage, though have not come across too many in the desert (last time considered was long ago in California). This all starts to head towards experimental architecture. In short, praxis must support thesis.

North Phoenix here and I wonder the same. I know we have them here (more near Tucson) but I'd like to hear about the performance.

onekindesign.com/2017/06/22/rammed-earth-home/

USMC03-1408. He has a hangover and a large debt to pay. lol.

lol

@@rorytennes8576 Nope, it's what happens when you're given a job that engages your brain and you get a chance to explain the decision *you* made.

I noticed that, but in my view it's because the interviewer's manufactured enthusiasm is actually a little annoying.

Yeah, they both look like they are losing a lot of money.

if you get this response let me know how to contact you, if you are still building in homes. I am interested in one near Temora.

They don't love it, they were laughing at it! Matt even acknowledges that it was "dorky" (which it is) and appeared a bit embarrassed by having to do it with real professionals he respects standing there. He probably thinks he has to do it for those that need a "dorky" tag line to be entertained.

And to think most folks think cave men were primitive dummies!

Isn't it ironic? the industries go for profit and quick, unsustainable build methods, when the end result will be thus. Such a disappointing Era, when we know.

Well, I think you are weighing cubic feet of earth. And, the lintel only supports the weight of the material below the included arch in the wall. Just like a brick , or, stone wall.

Thats about right but from the description of the mix maybe closer to 130

110lb minimum.. I suspect that it is more into he 130lb range

you may not make a mistake yourself, but you won't get a second chance to beat the shit out of the guy that knocks you off

Go back a few thousand years and native American's did this too.

for this guy everything is DAAANG COOOOL WOW

I wonder if they could make a video of the houses made during the Whole Earth Catalog days and what they look like today. I remember that was a great catalog.

Yes, until the old hippies got old and got jobs and realized that paying for labor makes it impractical. Those old school homes used nothing but friable clays, so its difficult to pass building code in any place with earthquake or rain issues. High desert is perfect. But importing the crew makes it very expensive.

@@markdoldon8852 Hi Mark! You know construction and materials... so if the old school people had used a percentage of concrete they would have passed code in earthquake and rainy regions? Do you know if any of the old school homes are still standing 50 or more years later? Are the homes presented here with concrete in the mixture... those walls don't deteriorate in the rain or break up in earthquakes and would pass code? I wonder too if the Whole Earth Catalog plan included different mixtures for areas of rain and earthquake too. I read that Germany is now widely using aircrete as the ideal material of the future. It's very easy to make, strong, light weight, waterproof, and a very low cost building material.

And then another video after 10 years. I want to hear how the owners liked these houses and if there were any issues.

You mean "economy", in quotation marks? In other words something that is the opposite of the entomological meaning of the word .

Maxim C What exactly does the study of insects have to do with the meaning of the word or usage of the word "economy" and/or it's opposite meaning or usage? I am not trying to be rude or sarcastic just trying to understand what you're saying!

Tim Cole Yes the grand ole Department of Agriculture and their studies and any department of the government and their studies!!! They tend to suck inordinate amounts of tax payer's dollars & tend to have no answers good for the people and/or if they do happen to show benefits for the people or a competing business of any company donors of certain politicians and actual employees of the power hungry competitor businesses, are generally appointed to the committee put together for said study, then those positive processes, items, crops tend to go by the wayside and/or are criminalized i.e. hemp plants...the cousin to marijuana...which was actually the original plant that was outlawed not marijuana, but then when they perceived marijuana as some potential competitor to medicine the drug it was also pulled into the restriction because of the name being used in its official name and slang and the possible recreational usage and no way could the government say they were going to legalize street drugs anyway. So basically it went mostly unprotested by most voters who would vote way back then, or didn't know everything about the plant to protest either restriction! Hemp was outlawed because of all of it's various uses, but mostly due to it's competition with lumber, oil and petrol companies! Hemp is so versatile it threatened the profit margins of logging, lumber companies, oil/petrol refinery companies! oil riggers, oil drillers, and the oil companies themselves. Hemp can be used to make a higher octane then most biomethane gases and is cheap to grow and extremely easy to grow and it grows a lot per square foot or acre especially in comparison to trees and is much more cleaner than gas and it also creates an oil that may or may not be used as a lubricant. I am not sure if hemp oil has ever been tested as a lubricant because the oil can be used medicinally, as well as for food!!! The plants can be used in many different ways for food and the seeds are very high in protien and are in fact higher in protien than any meat generally eaten in most American diets! And probably in the world, though i have not seen the protein labels on everything, hence the probably!! It can be used for cooking oil, hemp butter and more. Hemp can be used to make clothing, rope, and many textiles. It can be used in building, making fuel, all paper products, is easy to grow and grows rather fairly quickly and 1 acre is the equivalent to if memory serves me correctly at minimum, 10 acres of trees. One can find hemp plants growing in the wild around old manufacturing buildings from the 70s or before in cities like, if memory serves correctly on this one, Detroit and other known manufacturing cities mostly up north is where I heard most of the growing took place At least!!! It is also if memory serves correctly what Henry Ford used as a fuel source for his first vehicle built!! But the oil manufacturers convinced him as they did most electrical car companies to do which was to use petrol and oil from the crude oil instead of the hemp methane fuel and oil lubricants if it was used for his first vehicle as a lubricant as well! Same as the oil owners and eletricity owners and most businessmen stopped funding Nicola Tesla, because of money, and control! Nicola was going to create a world wide system that would allow free electricity to all people...they would loose large portions of their money making installations in society and thus their money and power and control of the people. They wanted control of the commodities and thus control of the money, power and people. They have even gone so far as to demand one must, MUST have electricity and running water in most cities! Thus controlling the people and the money!

@@theducklinghomesteadandgar6639 When something is "too good, doesn't stimulate" the "economy", that means that that concept of "economy" is stupid. Nowadays it's showed by intrinsic and planned obsolescence put into design of things we produce - we produce low quality things, so that they break up soon so that the cyclical consumption, that "keep "the economy" afloat", keeps happening. More on this, and how *an actual economy* would look like from: *Zeitgeist Moving Forward - Economy of increasing inefficiency (The Anti-Economy)* (a clip on Nikhil VJ youtube channel) *Zeitgeist: Moving Forward - Project Earth* (on Christian G channel) And/or the documentary *Zeitgeist Moving Forward* itself. In the next comment will try to link direct links.

@@theducklinghomesteadandgar6639 And another clip: *Zeitgeist: Moving Forward - Project Earth* Christian G

not enough humidity and probably not quite cold enough their to be a real issue I would guess. any condensation that might form the atomo would probably greedily absorb.

@@nerys71 You'd guess wrong. Some of the hundreds of years old historical rammed earth buildings around here have steel detached roofs covering the remains due to erosion by wind, water and ice. When people lived in them they were always having to maintain them. Far more than some construction types. They also usually put a stucco type covering over the outer walls. Because it was easier to maintain, and you didn't want the weather to destroy the actual wall.

@@shaunofthedead3000 Any hundreds of years old rammed earth buildings are not at all like modern rammed earth which have a specific cement content. And rammed earth historically is quite rare, are you referring to adobe buildings? Those were fairly common and are very susceptible to weather. But very different from rammed earth

That is no exposed steel beam that is actually 3/16" cover plate for embedded struct angle above it, therefore that amount of heat transfer is far less than a beam. We supplied the steel

Yep ... I would think that would happen.

Rammed earth is awesome. Too bad they overlooked passive solar heat with large windows that reach from near floor to ceiling.

? Native American's were using this technique thousands of years ago. 9000 years ago in my country this was the same,....so, guess again m8.

@@thatdutchguy2882 "Native Americans"............? Hate to burst your bubble but America is nowhere near 9000 or even 900 years old. Whatever it was called prior to America may be, but not America. And where are any of these structures that you brag about today? This 5 story building in Timbuktu still stands today in pristine condition. Furthermore, the oldest man made structures still standing today only date back to just over 3000 B.C. Which would put them at just over 5000 years old. And your talking 9000 🤣🤣🤣 stop smoking.

@@realnewsthatmatters9319 pfft 9000 yrs, Australian Aborigines go back 60,000 yrs but they never built anything just moved around

@@colstace2560 60,000 years ago the world was still in the ice ages. Where are you guys getting this bogus information from?

@@realnewsthatmatters9319 Well I guess everyone needs a jackass to show how smart he isn't. The ice age did not cover the entire planet. In the United States it extended to approximately 500 miles south of the northern border. If you're going to be snarky and show off how brilliant you are please try being intelligent about your comments.

Because your not there Clint

Yes, I noticed their reluctance also.

Well it's dirt like Adobe but compressed. I don't even want to ask the price .Its modern Pueblo and now modern American

This won't last long folks. I wouldn't buy stock in this company. Way to expensive and ugly and what women or man wants to walk on super hard surceases all day, and you think fixing cracks in concrete floors are expensive, with this construction you'll have the walls to-boot.

@@elpresidente3397 no. no it isnt.. they say multiple times it's portland cement with dirt added

Bro you are weird..

@Funk Enstein right? a fall from that height would be horrible.

They probably already got fined just for this video

A very Old building method, some of the oldest buildings in the world are earth built

Marfa is a strange place. It's where NY'ers from SOHO go to die. ;)

West Tejas is a place that has to be seen to be appreciated.

that is West Texas.

You can't bring that wookie in here.

It uses existing material and less Portland cement, which is a huge greenhouse gas producer.

The fuel cost of the workers and compression drives up the carbon footprint. It doesnt perform as well or last as long as a concrete/rigid insulation wall.

@@sparksmcgee6641 There are rammed earth buildings from hundreds of years ago still standing.

I hear you hyperstrike. Whenever I see oak cabinets I'm like, why not just use pine and stain it?

@@rammedearthworksllc2864 Rammed earth on the project in the video. You're using sandy soil, aggregate and portland cement in the case in question. What is concrete? Sand, aggregate, portland cement. YOUR POINT? Yes, in other cases (like earthship construction) rammed earth is just that. Compacted soil in a retention system (tires in this case) and nothing more. But I wasn't talking about that. Okay, tired of this stupidity already. Thanks for your time.

What is the mixture ratios?

The Chinese, among others, have been building this way for millennia. Of course they didn't use a cement foundation or bond beam. Rebar was most likely bamboo, and stabilizer was probably fired and dowsed limestone (like Roman concrete,) if they used any stableizer at all. Form-work was mostly done layer by layer -- not at all like this elaborate method. Tamping was done with a wooden or stone hammer. As each layer was finished, the form work was removed and reassembled at the top for another layer. Often a limestone render was applied to the surfaces. The only metalwork one was likely to find decorative on doors and windows or locks and hinges. Some rammed earth structures date back well over a thousand years. Built right, they can even be earth-quake resistant. It would be a very good method to employ for a tiny house -- especially for someone young with unlimited time but limited funds. One can even make rammed and fired roofing tiles.

Ditto on a series on cottages and smaller homes (including, but not limited to, tiny homes). I am planning on building as I get closer to retirement but it will be probably 800 Sq Ft +/-.

@@fga55 8% cement I think

@@dr.mikeybee not to mention fire proof. Good if you can use your own soil from earthworks on site

Rick Carrarini Much of that can be reused

There is another method that I'll be using where you make the RE wall in 4 foot sections at a time. U design it it key into each section as you go. when it sets, you strip down the forms and set it up next to it. greatly reduces the lumber costs and is better suited for the DIY builder or small crew.

@@klincecum I wouldn't bet on it. If these houses were being churned out by the thousands, then maybe. But these are going to be one offs and all bespoke. I'd be surprised if half of that wood get reused.

@Marten Dekker Go use a saw.

@@poppyrider5541 All of the wood is reused as forms to build other buildings several times. It's just like using concrete forms. The wood forms last for years.

Well said. made me laff, but so true.

Well yes but that's small scale think 10,000 new homes in the the middle of India. Where only 10% of the 50 tone house needs to be brought in and the rest found locally (with in 50 km radias).

Or put it this way a cubice meter of road base similar size different material is 1.5 tone and cost $38+ ($42 for 7 bags of cement) is $80 per Cubic meter Where a cube meter retail for concrete is $180 and weights 2.3 tone. It's half the cost and a fraction of the weighting. I could rant about this for hours but I'm not smart enough to know the total cost of labor and materials and transportation. But to me it seems likely that you could use a cheap waste products to build a house.

Poor man is the one who miss knowledges. And you need more knowledges technically and practicaly to build in earth than to build in concrete.

Well said Stu