Shelter in the Rammed Earth

article image
Photo by Lyd Foote
The Ruhtenberg rammed earth home.

Of the three types of soil-home construction commonly used today (adobe, pressed block, and rammed earth), I prefer the rammed (or tamped) earth method. I suppose the reason for this is that after five years of living in a home built that way, I’m 100% pleased with my sand-and-clay castle.

Rammed earth structures are generally made from soil that’s dug up from the building site, shoveled into frames, and packed down to make walls. They can be built in half the time it’d take to construct an adobe house of similar size and are (I think) more attractive. In addition, they’re dry, durable, economical, soundproof, and unaffected by fire and rot … and because of the heat-harboring potential of their massive walls (usually more than a foot thick), tamped houses lend themselves well to solar applications. (In fact, they’re naturally warm in winter and cool in summer.)

Backwards in Time

One of the earliest records of rammed earth construction can be found in the writings of the Roman historian Pliny, who described the turf towers built by Hannibal that stood for 250 years. The Romans, it’s said, introduced this form of soil molding to France, where it’s referred to as pisé de terre and is still widely used.

In the United States, the construction method reached the height of popularity in the 1940’s when conventional building materials were being allocated to the war effort. But as soon as the struggle was over and the economy had recovered, making the more conventional materials once again plentiful and affordable, folks pretty much forgot about pisé.

  • Published on Jan 1, 1983
Online Store Logo
Need Help? Call 1-800-234-3368