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Rammed earth with stone

 
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I'm curious if anyone has tried doing rammed earth but with larger stones in the 5-50 lb range. This would be similar to slipforming but with tamping earth into the stones and forming a wall. My main question is the durability of such a wall, it seems that the earth would work as a good mortar when compacted. I can't seem to find much information on this, thanks in advance for any info.
 
pollinator
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I have a lot of experience with this subject.
I have never seen what you describe.
- Rammed earth replies on adhesion between all particles and rocks dont have enough surface area.
- water may wash soil away, since it is handled very differently.
Have you considered more conventional Rammed Earth?
Where are you located, it helps to understand soil and rainfall in your area?
 
Mark Mc
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John C Daley wrote:I have a lot of experience with this subject.
I have never seen what you describe.
- Rammed earth replies on adhesion between all particles and rocks dont have enough surface area.
- water may wash soil away, since it is handled very differently.
Have you considered more conventional Rammed Earth?
Where are you located, it helps to understand soil and rainfall in your area?



Hi John thanks for responding. I'm in eastern TN my property is mountainous and I have a fair amount of stone on the property. I could just use soil but I thought I would utilize some of my stone since it would probably be a bit less labor intensive. Maybe I will just use rammed earth I'm not too sure just yet. I have seen a picture of an outside rammed earth wall where they used some smaller stone which seemed to hold good but maybe it isn't such a great idea for a home. I have anywhere from 0-3 foot of soil until I hit rock in different spots on my plot.

I've considered just buying mortar again but getting it to the build site is a pain. I've just been scratching my head lately on the right path to take.
 
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This house in France was built of rammed earth with brick quoins in the corners. It also has brickwork around the windows. It's clear that they mortared the bricks in place.
RammedEarthQuoins.jpg
[Thumbnail for RammedEarthQuoins.jpg]
 
John C Daley
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Dont forget lime mortar is better to use than portland cement mortar which traps moisture.
 
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