How to build a rammed earth house
(Page 3 of 3)
September/October 1973
By John O. McMeekin
FINISHING OFF
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Four walls on a foundation don't make a house, of course, so it's fortunate that the library is loaded with books on how to make a roof, frame a window and do plumbing and wiring. You learn from experience, too. I started with wooden window sills ... but they warped, so I later changed them all to concrete (with the outside lips slanted so water drips away from the earthen wall.
If you're like me and learn to do your own plastering (over regulation metal lath) just by trying, your early efforts will show honest trowel marks ... but nobody's perfect Also, you'll probably never get to like the taste of wet plaster!
Functionally, a rammed earth wall doesn't need covering, but for appearance I also plastered the outside of our home with two coats of mortar made from 1 part of cement and 4 parts sand. The walls were wetted to prevent too-quick drying and the first layer was scratch-finished. I then drove spikes in about every two feet and covered their heads with the second smooth coat.
How long does work like this take? Well, naturally, the more people involved, the quicker it goes. I built most of our house, single-handed, during World War II when I was already working eight hours a day, six days a week. By myself, I would set and fill a foundation form all in one Sunday. Filling a wall form took about six hours. I worked only in nice weather ... but the job did get done.
Still, it was a time-consuming process. Once we had an intelligent, enthusiastic visitor of 28 who was all set to start his own rammed earth construction. "You plan to build a house all by yourself?" I asked.
"Yes, indeed!"
"Don't."
"Why?"
"You're too old!"
Apart from the time factor, why aren't homes of compacted soil more widely used? Probably because nobody makes a buck on them. Oh, I suppose a contractor could air-hammer the walls, but I doubt that there'd be any economy left in building with dirt if you hired such work done. For those who have the patience to do the job themselves, though, this is an ideal low-cost construction method that gives most satisfying results. I should know ... I've lived in my own rammed earth creation for the last quarter century!
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