What is a Rammed Earth Home?
Rammed earth homes (or other buildings) are edifices with walls that are built from a mixture of sand and clay. A mixture of sand and clay is poured into “forms” (molds) to build the walls. They are typically constructed on-site, using locally available sand, earth, water, clay, and a little cement. The walls allow for a range of versatility in design of the homes, require only minimum amounts of energy to sustain warmth in the cold season or to keep a home cool in the summer. Often, these homes are built to utilize solar energy. Prospective owners seeking a comfortable home that can save on energy demands and expenditure in the long run, and offering an environmentally sustainable solution to home ownership, will likely find the concept of rammed earth homes to be very attractive and viable. The Process of Building These Homes The walls of such homes are a minimum of 12 inches thick and formed with a process of packing a mixture oaround 15% clay, 50% sand, and 35% silt into the forms
