Rafters
going up...
~~
~ built with local material &
labor
~ owner builder cost effective
~ stabilised interior humidity
~ virtually maintenance free
~ beautiful
natural aesthetic
~
planet earth friendly
~ timeless
beauty
~ load bearing
~ fire proof
~ termite proof
~ seismic safety
~ in-situ construction.
~ low carbon footprint
~ 100%
organic material
~ highly cyclone resistant
~ healthy living environment
~
energy efficient high thermal mass

My home
construction.
Construction of the two
storey, 45 cm. thick walls
took place part time over a
leisurely 18 month period.
The walls were hand rammed
within light-weight and easy to
handle
wooden forms made of 19mm or
3/4in flooring ply and pine
studs.
Comprising a corner form and a
coffin form.
Hand ramming has given the walls
a high
grade of compaction.
Disappointingly some
commercial builders of R.E. with
financial,
time & bank pressures are
not achieving good grades of
earth compaction.
Often adding much more than the
correct standard benchmark of
100mm (4 inches) of loose earth
layers to forms before each
compaction.
This errant sub-standard
practice is devaluing Rammed
Earths reputation!
Railway
sleepers were used for door
and window jambs/ lintels.
The rail sleepers were
incorporated into the earth
forms and
mechanically attached to the
earth wall sections.
Sleepers also assisted the
follow-on upward forms to be
set.
The
earth I used is a low grade
bricklayers loam
light yellow in colour & was
trucked to my site.
Light
coloured Earth was intentionally
chosen to keep
a light reflective ambience inside
the house.
Deformed reinforcing rod is
incorporated vertically through
the structure.
The steel rio-rod is anchored to
the cement slab foundation.
This gives good earthquake
resistance & structural
cohesion.
The
rio-rod is then tied off at the
roof plate making the walls
and roof of the house highly
cyclone resistant.
Stable second hand massive
hardwood beams were
used for the roof plates and
internal spans.
Passive Solar Design:
Consideration of
passive solar design in
building is
important in the climate of
global warming.
We are all individually
responsible for minimalist
energy consumption, where
better to begin but in our
homes where the majority of
our time is spent.
It is also to our longer term
financial advantage to lessen
energy costs.
Orientation AWARENESS of your
building block is essential to
your plans.
The North and solar
facing front of this
building is fitted
with hi-tech solar guard
glass. This eliminates 85%
ingress of solar heat
during the day but retains
warmth at night.
Ground Floor photo
above shows the south facing
windows when opened,
allow cooling south winds to
flow through to the upper
floor,
where they exit via north
facing french doors during
summer,
In Australia & southern
hemisphere sunlight &
warmth come from
the north, this needs to be
the first consideration when
planning
and orientating your intended
home.
Air and light well
An
internal air and light well
ensures warming of the whole
house
in winter and permits a cooling
airflow in summer.
As
well the 45cm thick walls keep
an even temperature moderation
inside the home compared
to the rise and fall of the
exterior climate.
This conscious passive
solar design makes the building
energy efficient.
Further...
Cantilevered verandahs
are incorporated around the
second floor.
To allow verandah joists through
the rammed earth walls
corbelled brick work was used.
Over
80% of the building work was
completed by myself.
I had help to lay the concrete
slab and to raise the roof.
The challenge of lifting large
beams into place was basically
performed
by Tirfor Winch, bamboo tripod
& brain cells.
Standing
the two five metre 22cm x 45cm
hardwood beams
at the north glassed face was
memorable.
My
home is situated on an exposed
ridge top, western Byron Shire
Northern NSW with a view of the
Border Ranges and Queensland.
Here the wind and horizontal
rain, can reach extreme levels.
June 2005, over 20 inches (500
millimetres) of rain recorded
here in three days.
Mature hardwood forest
around the house's perimeter
presents an extra hazard.
A tropical low pressure cell in
1984 felled a tree top
on a temporary dwelling,
admittedly this particular
tree had previously been hit by
lightning.
Thus the over engineering of the
structure, especially the rammed
walls,
provide a protective comfort zone
of tranquility
and safety in both serene and
extreme weather.
This
building has now been
withstanding the elements for
over thirty years!
As maintenance goes, little has
been done.
Some repainting to the exterior
woodwork.
The
earth walls are showing no
weathering and I can only conclude
that this
structure will be here long after
I shuffle off.
The
promotion of sustainable, low cost
& energy efficient housing is
a most important cause in the use
of finite natural resources
on over populated planet EARTH.
I am available to
consult with any
owner builder intending
to create a rammed earth
home.
Please
contact me at the email address
below for
assistance in your Rammed Earth
project.
~ It
takes hands to build a
House. But only hearts
can build a Home ~
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owner builders around
Planet EARTH for 30
years.
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THANKS SO !!.
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