The plan for the next month or so will be to do some experimental testing of building a rammed earth wall. Some small sample test bricks will be made using a wooden form and mallet and local soil will be tested and used in this process. The experimentation will be done to find the best method of soil composition testing that will be later used on site and to get some practical experience testing soil. The basic jar test method will be used for this stage of the research and the use of professional help will be determined from this testing. Bellow is a sample of what the testing will determine.
http://www.funsci.com/fun3_en/exper1/exper1.htm
Hey Brandon,
ReplyDeleteI read your blog and was curious how soil testing worked for rammed earth walls. I found this link that explain it a little, but was wondering if you had another method you were planning to explore.
http://terrashouse.rammedearthworks.com/2009/07/soil-testing.html
Nice work on the project and congrats on the UREAP!
Thanks for the great link. The testing outlined in the above post will be to determine the soil ratio of the site soil and to help better understand what materials will be needed to obtain the optimum ratio. This test is done by taking a sample of the soil, below the topsoil, and filling a jar half full with the soil and the rest with water. Then the sample is shaken vigorously to break the soil into its individual components. The jar is then left to rest to allow the soil to settle into its natural layers. The layers will then tell me what the ratio of the soil is based on the depth of the layer. All aggregate and gavel will settle at the bottom first, then course sand, fine sand, silt/clay, then organic matter will float at the top as shown in the picture above. Thanks for your comment, if you have any further comments dont hesitate to reply
ReplyDeleteTesting the soil around the Thompson Cariboo region is a great idea. I confess I dont actually know what soil is best for making rammed earth walls.
ReplyDeleteAre you going to be finding areas around Kamloops to take samples from? For example, out in westsyde, I think we have pretty bad soil for that. Its all sand and big chunks of rocky ground, sucks for digging in or making anything with it.
The ideal mixture is about 70 percent sand and 30 percent clay, the clay is important because it acts as a binding agent for the sand, fine aggregate is allowable but large rocks arent the best for compaction. The goal is to do some testing to get comfotable with testing soil and determining ratios. I will most likey just take some soil from the valley view area. Thanks for the comment.
DeleteThat's interesting. I don't know anything about rammed earth homes but I'm just curious, Do rammed earth homes have a shorter life span than wood frame construction? Is this type of construction more common in areas with higher climates? & do we have any rammed earth homes in the Kamloops area?
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