How to make a Rammed Earth Wall

In this new series titled Sustainable Home, we will take you through a series of videos on how to build a sustainable home. At Aanandaa, we are building an innovative and creative home, which is as sustainable as possible. We have explored several construction technologies and designs to ensure we have the most natural, resilient and energy efficient home.
Sustainable architecture at Aanandaa is directed by Ar. Jitesh Malik from Studio Aureole. The integral design practice at their studio combines a commitment to environmental sensitivity with a contemporary design language and a pedagogical process. At Aananda, Jitesh creatively contextualised a diverse range of sustainable practices to collaboratively work towards an aesthetically enriching experience.
Studio Aureole team: Prabhjot, Richa, Mandav, Harshita and Tanvi
Collaborators/Experts: Lallan, Ashumi, Malvika (Mlime), Narayanji (Rohtak domes)
To know more about Studio Aureole see www.studioaureole.com or email [e-mail]
In this episode, we take you through Rammed Earth Construction. Our entire home is made of Rammed Earth, and in this episode, Manisha and JItesh will explain the step by step process of making a rammed earth wall.
Subscribe to our channel to stay tuned into more videos around sustainable home.

[@alapparikh2952]

I am an Architecture student and would like to thank you so very much for explaining the practical aspects of the rammed earth walls thoroughly.

[@farmaanandaa]

You're welcome!

[@archbharat]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/nJraZoqNormbl9E

[@jamesmatheson5115]

Rammed Earth houses were popular here in Australia 20 years ago, not sure about now, as costs were high.

[@00007chirag]

Where are you from sir?

[@bec5250]

Another amazing Indian woman bringing valuable knowledge to the world. Love it. I'm going to try this.

[@farmaanandaa]

Thank you!

[@fbsfarm9910]

Thank you for this valuable information. My grandparents from both sides lived in houses made from earth here in Cyprus 100 years ago and the walls are still standing!

[@farmaanandaa]

So assuring to hear that!

[@fbsfarm9910]

@@farmaanandaa I will try and take some photos to show you.

[@thandimichelle]

Thank you for your clear breakdown and instructions. This is one of the best videos I've heard on the subject.

[@farmaanandaa]

Glad it was helpful!

[@ogathingo8885]

Good to rediscover ancient building resources and methods that are appreciate again…indeed ancient tribal knowledges have wisdom that we slowly are respecting…

[@farmaanandaa]

Well said!

[@pateljipatel4856]

The Best Solution for tropical areas houses on Westrn side for thermal Protection n in garden for for soft plants 🙏🇮🇳🙏💐

[@nikodimosbiruk2243]

Thank you very much, Miss. I am from Ethiopia this morning i was sick of many mud houses in Addis Ababa , was , disracted and excavated inorder to nake the city modern. Due to this 100s if thousands of people were evacuated from the center of the city. We all were sorry, some friends etc. Actually the govt. Replenished 50 percent of evacuees with condo houses but at last it was not enough to support all. So eventhough i am not engeener i was always design, study and choose dif. Low vost materials for the needs. Today i saw a nice madam lecturing what i need. Thank you.

[@farmaanandaa]

Glad to hear that

[@agrippanyagwaya2308]

Thank you for this beautiful unique technology I'm gonna venture into this project in Zimbabwe Africa

[@farmaanandaa]

Awesome! All the best!

[@alecsherman]

Thank you for the excellent practical details like "tamping until you hear a metallic sound". Your video was so informational I've taken notes and sending to my contractor. This year I'm planning on building a rammed earth construction home and will definitely use some of these tips! I'm subscribing to your channel now...

[@farmaanandaa]

Glad it was helpful! And thank you for subscribing!

[@katuciaatootong7654]

I really enjoyed your explanation 🎉

[@farmaanandaa]

Glad you liked it!

[@aniketpatel2589]

Nice to see jitesh malik, he took one class for us on insulation art.

[@the_seekerslife1027]

Thanks Manisha Ji 🙏🙏🙏 loving your efforts. So inspiring 🙏🙏🙏❤️

[@wreay2240]

This is a video of my thoughts the last couple days about rammed earth. Thank you

[@kamugishaarthur2765]

Good work but do you use concrete in foundation?

[@farmaanandaa]

The foundation is made with stone and lime. But there is a plinth beam which is made of steel & concrete, on which the shuttering is anchored and wall is built.

[@namelessanonymous5216]

Excellent 👍 superb. Future of environment friendly construction. I wish I cud visit the site & take a hands-on training course to DIY construct my own house. M in Lahore, Pakistan.

[@sumitakundu8052]

Thanks Manisha , you are actually showing us the way to follow our dreams, and hope will get to contact PPL who can help build our dreams.

[@raagamadhu]

Hello mam, Very inspiring to see the amount of changes you have adapted to lead a sustainable life. Only few can do this. As I am not as capable as you are, I am just supporting a campaign know as "Conscious plant" headed by Sadhguru to save soil. I couldn't imagine anyone except you who can understand this better.If people like you support this, the momentum that it gathers is huge. This is my small request to you to support this as much as you can 🙏🙏🙏

[@sajidrafique375]

That's lovely Info . I saw one video of pakistani villagers doing exactly the same thing .

[@Lukavichiano]

Wonderful video. Well explained and presented. Thank you.

[@irina.gamulina]

Thank you do much for this kind of detailed explanation 🙏🏼

[@farmaanandaa]

Glad it was helpful!

[@yalealy]

Thank you Manisha. The information you provide is very valuable.

[@Iam.com.c]

Wow thank you that is such a good teaching on how to build basic 😮

[@nayan4121]

Kindly make a video about ratio of material for various types soil ie sticky ,sandy.. And haw can established the wooden frame of door, window and ventilator ,

[@farmaanandaa]

We have covered the door fixing in this video itself, but will try to make a video in more detail.

[@johnmichaux616]

I love it !❤❤

[@arjun10able]

Hello i am from Nepal.🙏I remember my grandparents house built from mud, Bamboo n bricks which was more comfortable in summer n winter. In future i am planning to build new house with rammed earth wall. Mud house is comfy n cosy effective

[@farmaanandaa]

Thanks for sharing!

[@ThoneJones]

I really love the idea of this type of construction. It’s so much better than the typical 2X4 construction. Of course getting it approved by the building inspector in the USA would be a big challenge.

[@jiteshmalik3606]

You could still try non-load bearing walls, i assume....I understand, getting permissions within the urban areas in India, specially for Load bearing Walls is next to impossible....the Building Codes need to be updated with research and documentation; A group of us architects in Chandigarh area are pursuing with the administration...with our experiments at Aanandaa, we are a step closer! There is Sirewall in Canada who are building Rammed earth walls, you might be able to get specifications etc. from them for the approval process in the US.

[@Batmicheal]

That’s an issue here, getting approved for non conventional construction. Can do anything for non residential construction like sheds, barns, cellars, etc but commercial building are typically steel and concrete and residential dwellings are typically stick framed but have known of cement block construction approved for residential construction, and some areas have a method of approving log homes. There are areas that have no building codes and no code enforcement for building but I don’t live in one.

[@jamesmatheson5115]

They passed construction requirements here in Australia so America should be easy.

[@atulbhagwat8043]

Very good information. Thanks for that. Are your rammed earth wall acting as panel walls? As i see RCC columns in between probably to take roof load

[@farmaanandaa]

The walls are load bearing. The pillars are just connectors between the plinth beam and ring beam and staple the entire structure together

[@ulkapawar952]

Huge work you are doing by spreading on site knowledge! i=could you throw more light on what is the foundation used here and also, the costing of these walls. thanks a lot!

[@farmaanandaa]

Thank you! Will do!

[@kimgboy1]

Excellent i love your techniques i look forward to Learning more

[@farmaanandaa]

Awesome, thank you!

[@haiderimran1]

Lovely piece of work. Respect from lahore and now I’m looking for artisans who can do this for my house ❤

[@farmaanandaa]

Thank you. Am sure you will find some local artisans

[@muhammadmubeenislam]

Hey nice work. What kind of lime did you use? Is it slacked lime or any other form?

[@farmaanandaa]

Slaked lime

[@HarshSuryawanshi]

That’s the best video someone ever made on rammed earth. Great

[@farmaanandaa]

Wow thats great to hear!

[@HarshSuryawanshi]

@@farmaanandaa it will good if you can put detailed information on how to fix corner and end panels of shuttering, electric and plumbing working, fixing doors and windows and closing top of rammed earth wall. Basically if you have proper documentation of construction then by watching all these videos one shall easily able to understand the process and start planning his/her rammed earth adobe. Thanks

[@varshau88]

Do we need to moisten the soil gravel and lime mixture before use?

[@farmaanandaa]

Yes the mixture is moistened with water.

[@farmaanandaa]

Yes the mixture is moistened with water.

[@anjalikohroo7428]

Very good series for earth lovers..nice mam ...thank you for this... 🙏

[@farmaanandaa]

You're welcome. Happy to share!

[@rogercarroll1663]

Great presentation, thank you very much.

[@farmaanandaa]

Glad it was helpful!

[@saladin333]

Great video with full of information. Thank you! A question wil remain: how to protect the wall from rain?

[@farmaanandaa]

The wall doesn't really need any protection from rain. It will hold its own. However you can coat it with a silicon waterproofing solution to prevent it from dusting off

[@rajeevrawat6863]

Thank you so much for the derailed explanation 🙏

[@farmaanandaa]

Glad it was helpful!

[@hometube788]

really helpful video. thankyou for sharing

[@johnhoward2337]

Can you place a metal pipe in the walls for electrical lines. Ram the soil. Then pull the metal pipe out? Perhaps coat the pipe with oil or powder to retrieve easy? So that no plastic pipe is needed for electrical cables?

[@farmaanandaa]

That would be risky.

[@ajayayyappan2522]

Excellent video! Thank you for sharing. I have enjoyed it.

[@farmaanandaa]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@maelneri5495]

Thank you so much for this great presentation. Almost all of my question are answered.

[@farmaanandaa]

Glad!

[@thakkardevansh]

Thank you so much for sharing your content, it's been very helpful and informative! Can you please demonstrate adding natural pigments in earth as you escalate 12 cms at a time and ramming it, I'm sure the effect will be be worth the extra efforts as I assume these walls will be exposed in and out later in use!

[@radhagupta3939]

Super informative, with supporting videos as well!

[@farmaanandaa]

Glad you liked it!

[@leilatiu9721]

This what I am looking for. Thank you so much ❤

[@farmaanandaa]

Glad!

[@vinaymk2002]

Please make more videos we are glad to watch and i started to do your things in my farm

[@farmaanandaa]

Awesome!

[@anilbaraik3684]

Great Idea of constructing a Sustainable House. I would like to know when the water is added or completly no water is used to raise the Wall.

[@farmaanandaa]

Very little water is added. More like a sprinkle

[@anilbaraik3684]

When can I join you for trainings. Please send address. Atleast how much time is needed for Basic training? Thanks ANIL Ranchi Jharkhand

[@durbinito]

Watched two videos. Seems great. Excited to see the finish of the house.

[@namelessanonymous5216]

Works well even without rcc columns. 6'x2'x3 i.e. (length breadth height) block at a time. One layer/level of huge blocks is laid n left to dry for 24hrs & then another row is made over it. That's how ppl are building farm boundary walls in rural Punjab.

[@farmaanandaa]

Yes sure it can be done. We wanted to be 100% earthquake proof as these walls are carrying the weight of the roofs too

[@patelneeraj]

Wonderful !! Thank you Didi for sharing this with us!

[@Appu219]

Hello sir Thanks a lot for the informative video. Have there been any examples of rammed earth wall constructions in coastal regions that are susceptible to torrential rains and high winds? Can these walls sustain such weathers easily?

[@farmaanandaa]

They can provided you make a large overhanging roof so that the rainwater does not hit against the walls.

[@Wild1Banana]

India is probably the worlds best resource for Rammed earth natural home construction with modern plumbing wiring etc and my biggest questions about rammed earth is not the walls but the engineering of wall to roof structures and materials for a well insulated natural material roof and the roof water proofing without synthetic materials etc .

[@a.s.562]

Thanks for good explanation video. Is column is necessary for this technique, will earth compress and more compact with time and wont crack will appear between different material (concrete column). May you make video review of very old houses, with/withiut columns. Namaste

[@farmaanandaa]

The walls are load bearing so columns are not really needed. But we have added some columns to connect the plinth beam and ring beam and staple the structure together. This is because we are in an Earthquake prone zone.

[@a.s.562]

@@farmaanandaa thanks for quick ans useful reply, I'm also from earthquake risk place. Namaste

[@HCEndgame]

You're doing God's work 🙏

[@farmaanandaa]

Thank you so much 🙏

[@greeshmaanand7635]

Do the walls require 'curing' and if yes, for how long?

[@farmaanandaa]

No, the walls do not require any curing. The shuttering is removed after a day, and the walls are ready!

[@keefskibiro]

Thanks for this great content. How do you ensure cracks don't appear on the walls?

[@farmaanandaa]

The soil composition should have the right mix of clay, silt and sand. Also, ramming should be consistent. Shuttering should be tight. If any pillars are inserted within the wall, there should be enough space around it to ram the earth. 👍

[@VishalSingh-ng4cl]

Thankyou very much ma'am for such a precious knowledge!

[@keithc8108]

Amazing architecture! How does it handle the rainy season? Please explain.

[@farmaanandaa]

Nothing happens in the rains as long as the top of the wall is protected. The sides are well rammed and water resistant

[@pathikshah9055]

Hi, Love what your are doing and have been following you since a long time. Need your little help here. We are planing to build a farm house and are very keen on using natural materials to build our farm house. We are from Mumbai and our farm land is near PAWNA damn. This region as you know comes under heavy monsoon belt. My question here is that can Rammed Earth wall sustain in such a harsh monsoon conditions. Your insights would be really appreciated. We are contemplating either mud blocks or Rammed Earth. Thx.

[@mintsanesta]

Thank you for your video, I would love to build my house using, I found some lime slurry , it has paint consistency can I use it as stabilizer? I can't wait to read you

[@farmaanandaa]

I believe you should strain it and add the thicker lime left in the strainer

[@mintsanesta]

Thank you , please would you guide us?what is the mix ratio earth/lime?

[@farmaanandaa]

Watch the other video on this playlist where Ashumi explains the details of the mix

[@mintsanesta]

@@farmaanandaa I can't find it

[@exoticfruitcauldron4422]

Amazing , great work , you have made it look so easy explained very well, please make more videos in detail related to rammed earth

[@farmaanandaa]

Stay tuned

[@exoticfruitcauldron4422]

@@farmaanandaa Thanks , can you please tell why these cement pilar for, its good idea, how many ?where they should be ?start and end of rammed earth wall ?

[@dinadayalan9037]

You are brilliant bhen

[@farmaanandaa]

Thats very kind of you to say

[@ಕಾವಲು]

thank you mam, i need learn more about this rammed earth wall, your conducting any class?

[@farmaanandaa]

No classes, sorry!

[@davidfernandez2652]

Thank you for answering my questions from your previous video!

[@farmaanandaa]

Keep your queries comin!

[@king000775]

Great work, here i have a question, the rammed earth walls are having great load bearing capabilities then why you using concrete columns?

[@farmaanandaa]

To hold the entire frame together and make it erthquake proof.

[@king000775]

@@farmaanandaa great

[@abubakarmohd6064]

Can we build commercial building like apartments

[@farmaanandaa]

A few stories for sure. Not sure about high rises.

[@jatinjalia8676]

This is simply beautiful

[@Visualizingmathandphysics]

Beautifully explained nice and simple.

[@surekadevistudios7217]

Have you built with solar power in mind? Thank You for your video. I will be exploring your channel.

[@farmaanandaa]

Yes I have. Just need to install the plant now. Wondering whether to keep batteries or not. Any thoughts?

[@nikbivation]

amazing job, keep it up!

[@geraldhorst1]

thank you very much. Please can anyone tell me how you can fix anything to this wall? Like wall cabinets, shelfs, paintings? And what about the little boxes for the electric switches Thank you very much for your answer.

[@farmaanandaa]

Drill a hole. Insert a plastic or wooden plug and tighten a screw in place. The little boxes for electricals are inserted by chiselling out the wall. However electrical pipes are inserted before ramming

[@DittoK18]

Wow very informative.

[@farmaanandaa]

Glad you think so!

[@jagirjosan4521]

Nice, thanks for knowledge

[@farmaanandaa]

Thanks for liking

[@imayank9]

thanks manisha for nice video

[@sirmsjira8114]

How does one learn about this construction tecnique? I'm from kenya and I'd like to have this knowledge and teach more people.

[@farmaanandaa]

Just be reading and researching!

[@krishnaagrawal9984]

Hi. Is it possible to construct a rammed earth wall in an outward inclination of about 2 mtrs. for a height of about 18-20 mtrs. ?

[@farmaanandaa]

What do you mean by outward inclination? As long as you can erect a form work which does not collapse under the weight of the ramming, you should be able to build.

[@krishnaagrawal9984]

I mean a wall not erected straight upwards but is inclined at one side.. although the form can be erected with the help of temporary supporting structures. But will the final wall sustain without eaves in a climate type of central India?

[@shaileshlute8059]

Can one hammer nail or screws in these walls ?

[@farmaanandaa]

Yes you can

[@sajeesh.s4547]

Thanks a lot . It's was really good content . Where u took with lot of patience . continue this series in the same pace .. Would like know how the roof tops works for this rammed earth ? Will you concerte with mud . Or in your case it's just a metal sheet placing ? Thanks in advance for your reply . Keep up the good work ..

[@farmaanandaa]

We have tried a bunch of different roofs. Stay tuned!

[@sajeesh.s4547]

Thanks much for your reply :)

[@prabhuvn]

Self regulating the temperature is interesting...Can we live without air conditioner in hot climate regions?

[@farmaanandaa]

Absolutely. There is no provision for air conditioning in our house

[@prabhuvn]

@@farmaanandaa Awesome...please explain in detail in your future video.Shuting down AC will make us lot more healthier.

[@hexdef6423]

On the topic of binders what about aluminum zinc powders that later could be fired after compaction? On the topic of pipes doors and windows is there a reason aside from supplies that a corrundum bit or sets of bits shouldn't be used to cut the holes? Obviously the doors or windows you should plan but while labor intensive could be done with the above method.

[@farmaanandaa]

Your questions are too technical for me! I am just a home owner, not an architect or builder.

[@hexdef6423]

@@farmaanandaa and that's totally fair. The nice thing about the internet though is its ability to foster communication in the most unlikely of places. Maybe no one else will see this comment and reply or maybe I'll get a dozen architects telling me why this won't work. At the end of the day though, hopefully it sparks conversation and breathes new life into this ancient building method that has become abandoned in many parts of the world.

[@satyakithorat3545]

Wonderful, quite helpful video

[@farmaanandaa]

Glad it was helpful!

[@rockstar81812]

Can you please let us know , how do you waterproof you walls

[@farmaanandaa]

Rammed earth walls don't really need waterproofing. But to prevent dust from falling off continuously, you can put a thin coat of silicone which can be sprayed or brushed into the wall

[@lurin971]

Fantastic!

[@walaaali9711]

Will the piping need to be replaced? Will they need any care or will they be protected completely?

[@farmaanandaa]

If you're talking about the pipes within the walls, they will be protected completely

[@arpitsharma5247]

Had you also explored compressed CsEB bricks vis a vis other natural building techniques? What were the advantages of using Rammed earth in place of CSEB bricks?

[@farmaanandaa]

I think the finish is better with rammed earth. You can leave the wall unplastered

[@arpitsharma5247]

@@farmaanandaa ok. But as far as durability and strength of the wall as well as the labour required and hence the time and cost of construction would be same ?

[@farmaanandaa]

On all counts rammed earth is better. It's faster to make. Does not need the sun. Save huge amount of cost in plastering and finishing. And has a longer life.

[@rks3488]

Love you guys 💕💕💕

[@kiransingh9756]

Superb explanation

[@farmaanandaa]

Glad you liked it

[@Patrick-jj5nh]

what is the advantage of making bigger walls like this instead of individual rammed earth bricks? it would seem the latter could be more easily (at least partly) automated

[@farmaanandaa]

It gives a nicer finish which does not require any plaster or finishing.

[@reshmithampy]

wow! this is really cool..pun intended

[@stylesg7818]

Thank you so much for the valuable information. I have two questions: - Can we build a two storey building (Ground + First floor) - Can it be achieved with a 60cm width (with or without reinforcement)? It would be great to get some input. Thank you.

[@farmaanandaa]

Yes, you can. We are building a room on the FF and will document it soon. 60cm width should be fine

[@dv9239]

If you have resources just go for stone buildings

[@CEarthling]

I think you guys are Vegan....You adopted that stray cow.I appreciate it.

[@zh1959]

hi there, great new series! thanks a lot it's very inspiring and I would like to build a rammed earth house can you show us also a construction plan? that would be so great to see how you did the planing of your building! also how long did it take to ramm for instance 12cn by 1m? just to get an idea. most of the video on rammed earth you find don't show how to do the preperation and planing in advance.

[@farmaanandaa]

Difficult to share our house plan, as that is a private document. Its takes about 3 days to make a 10 x 9 foot wall of 13.5 inch thickness.

[@saisuren6488]

Hi akka I saw ur project house it's fantastic akka 🎉

[@RA-uz7px]

Very impressive. How much does it cost per square feet for such a house

[@riethacrafford7375]

what is the mixtures you use of EARTH< LIME etc. please. How wet should mixture be

[@phucnguyentv7541]

I like this menthod building houses with soil❤

[@shalzmv1]

Thanks for sharing. You have always been an inspiration. I have a question. What's the ratio of soil, concrete, and lime stone?

[@farmaanandaa]

Soil mixture has 6% aggregate and 12% lime

[@ravikarpunj608]

I am inspired and wonders if I could ever get a chance to build my own "Rammed Earth" or "Earth Block" house ? Even I don't have a piece of land. But definitely would love to associate with architect near me, to learn the art. Looking forward to get an opportunity to work with.

[@farmaanandaa]

All the best!

[@durga144]

Main pillar are done using cement and iron rods Can those be replaced as well?

[@farmaanandaa]

Maybe with bamboo and lime mortar. You can try.

[@vinaytalluri]

But.you have used the RCC pillars and plinth beams right?

[@farmaanandaa]

Yes. We are in an earthquake zone. Unlike auroville, where they build rammed earth walls straight on stone foundations.

[@ramilabhandarisaptaranjani7781]

Thank you for such important information