The Advantages Of Building In Rammed Earth

The famous story of “The Three Little Pigs” had influenced a lot of property builders. This story showed three different houses made out of different materials. The two houses made from straw and wood were easily destroyed and the other one made of bricks had made the wolf huffing and puffing in futility. This should also be the case in your own home. It should be protected from the big bad wolf, so you have to make sure that the materials used in the construction of your property are strong enough to withstand any destructive elements that may come such as earthquakes and fire. 

One of the most favorable material and technique used in construction nowadays is called rammed earth. This method involves building walls by compressing a damp mixture of earth that has components of sand, gravel and clay into a supported frame. Below are the valid reasons why you should consider rammed earth over the others.

1.   These walls contains thermal mass that gets cool during the daytime and warms up as it cools down outside. This is due to the thermal flywheel effect where the walls actually hold in warmth and eventually exude it about 12 hours later. Aside from this, the unique thickness of the walls also permits noise reduction. This is certainly ideal for properties situated along highways and loud areas. 
2.  Rammed earth houses are protected against termites and other pests. The walls have reduced amount of termite-tempting structural timber. Pests will not have any cavities to live in due to these load bearing walls. In addition to this, these kinds of walls require very minimal maintenance. Once they are built and sealed you don’t have to give further attention for about 10 to 20 years.
3. It is fire proof.  This kind of structure doesn’t burn. This ancient building construction that consists of earth, water and cement will not be destroyed by a devastating fire. Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization or CSIRO tests showed that a 250mm block wall has four-hour fire resistance while a 150mm block can actually give 3 hours and 41 minutes fire resistance.

    Many architects now are using this method of construction in both commercial and domestic buildings of many  styles and functions. This involves natural elements that blend beautifully with the environment and modern designs. It creates safer and people-friendly buildings that make it very comfortable to live in. Moreover, it can provide you with structural solidity and security that is hard to find with other types of construction.