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.

[@bec5250]

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

[@farmaanandaa]

Thank you!

[@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?

[@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!

[@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!

[@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.

[@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

[@pateljipatel4856]

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

[@wreay2240]

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

[@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!

[@irina.gamulina]

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

[@farmaanandaa]

Glad it was helpful!

[@aniketpatel2589]

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

[@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 🙏🙏🙏

[@johnmichaux616]

I love it !❤❤

[@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

[@the_seekerslife1027]

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

[@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!

[@Iam.com.c]

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

[@yalealy]

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

[@Lukavichiano]

Wonderful video. Well explained and presented. Thank you.

[@dinadayalan9037]

You are brilliant bhen

[@farmaanandaa]

Thats very kind of you to say

[@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.

[@rajeevrawat6863]

Thank you so much for the derailed explanation 🙏

[@farmaanandaa]

Glad it was helpful!

[@katuciaatootong7654]

I really enjoyed your explanation 🎉

[@farmaanandaa]

Glad you liked it!

[@DittoK18]

Wow very informative.

[@farmaanandaa]

Glad you think so!

[@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.

[@hometube788]

really helpful video. thankyou for sharing

[@anjalikohroo7428]

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

[@farmaanandaa]

You're welcome. Happy to share!

[@leilatiu9721]

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

[@farmaanandaa]

Glad!

[@kimgboy1]

Excellent i love your techniques i look forward to Learning more

[@farmaanandaa]

Awesome, 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.

[@lurin971]

Fantastic!

[@kiransingh9756]

Superb explanation

[@farmaanandaa]

Glad you liked it

[@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

[@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.

[@imayank9]

thanks manisha for nice video

[@rogercarroll1663]

Great presentation, thank you very much.

[@farmaanandaa]

Glad it was helpful!

[@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

[@rks3488]

Love you guys 💕💕💕

[@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!

[@jatinjalia8676]

This is simply beautiful

[@radhagupta3939]

Super informative, with supporting videos as well!

[@farmaanandaa]

Glad you liked it!

[@patelneeraj]

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

[@VishalSingh-ng4cl]

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

[@ajayayyappan2522]

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

[@farmaanandaa]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@reshmithampy]

wow! this is really cool..pun intended

[@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

[@davidfernandez2652]

Thank you for answering my questions from your previous video!

[@farmaanandaa]

Keep your queries comin!

[@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 .

[@muhammadmubeenislam]

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

[@farmaanandaa]

Slaked lime

[@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.

[@satyakithorat3545]

Wonderful, quite helpful video

[@farmaanandaa]

Glad it was helpful!

[@suriyadunya9994]

Awesome video

[@farmaanandaa]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@maelneri5495]

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

[@farmaanandaa]

Glad!

[@HCEndgame]

You're doing God's work 🙏

[@farmaanandaa]

Thank you so much 🙏

[@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.

[@bhanuchaudhary3436]

Wow Very Interesting 😊

[@soltanakouider5922]

thks very informative

[@farmaanandaa]

Glad it was helpful!

[@phucnguyentv7541]

I like this menthod building houses with soil❤

[@durbinito]

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

[@Visualizingmathandphysics]

Beautifully explained nice and simple.

[@asifsharoon9773]

Very nice mam

[@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

[@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!

[@abubakarmohd6064]

Can we build commercial building like apartments

[@farmaanandaa]

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

[@jagirjosan4521]

Nice, thanks for knowledge

[@farmaanandaa]

Thanks for liking

[@vinaymk2002]

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

[@farmaanandaa]

Awesome!

[@dhanrajbhure6406]

How to make rammed earth wall? Some stabilisers and aggrigaters in this so that it sets quickly. We've added lime and normal gravel or bajri(बजरी in Hindi) as a aggrigate. The soil is excavated from the site itself. We've dug water tanks for rain water harvesting and the soil excavated is used to make the walls.! We create a shuttering with two sheets of ply and some tools to hold the two sheets of ply together. Those tools are pipes which goes through the rammed earth wall and a threaded rod is put into the pipe and on both sides of the wall this is tightened and a square pipe of 1 1/2 inch by 3 inch pipe is fixed on either side. When this structure is ready, we mix the mixture of earth, aggrigate, lime etc and pour it into this framework 12 cm at a time. When it's 12 cms, we start ramming it by tampers or durmud(Hindi). Keep pounding it till you hear a solid metallic sound.! The 12 cms of mixture gets compressed to about 9 cms And then it's time to put next layer of mixture and start ramming it again. The next day itself, we de-shutter the wall and take out all the magnesium screws, loosen the plywood and remove it. With a little bit of knocking the metal pipes will come out leaving behind these holes. These can be easily be fixed using the same mixture and taking a hammer and tapping in. In rammed earth construction we've to plan first and execute later. In a rammed earth wall, you can't undo what's already put up.! Like in brick 🧱 and mortar structure you can break some bricks put a window 🪟 but in rammed earth wall,You need to plan before and execute. One must know where the electrical pipes, plumbing pipes are going to be, well in advance.! Wooden piece is placed into the edge of the wall 2 1/2 inch by 2 1/2 inch wooden piece. Wood has to be of good quality so that it won't be prone to termites. It has to be dry. Once the shuttering is removed, we've a piece of wood into it where We screw in window 🪟 and a door 🚪 frame. You can do it in any shapes or forms by just altering shape of the shuttering. All you're doing is putting in loose material and tightening it. So the walls , the junctions don't need to be perpendicular to each other. It self regulates the temperature.!

[@nikbivation]

amazing job, keep it up!

[@ramilabhandarisaptaranjani7781]

Thank you for such important information

[@starofthesea1943]

Thankyou! Fantastic video!

[@farmaanandaa]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@chepindichepindi3328]

Thank you very much.will build one like this.

[@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

[@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!

[@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.

[@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.

[@HayatPermacultureFarms]

Thank you man for this knowledge..

[@apurbadash6831]

What about windows opening?

[@CEarthling]

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

[@biswanathpradhan7549]

In Odisha, mud houses were in huge numbers. Sadly, those are rare now. Mortar is made of mud & sand, first by mixing with a spade and then adding water and using feet to make a good mixture. This mortar is laid on a foundation of stones layer by layer till reaching the desired height. I have seen mud houses of more than 50 years without much maintenance.

[@farmaanandaa]

Thanks for sharing

[@Ab_035]

Do you know mud house can be build in any location or only in dry area? What can be the cost to make for minimum of 400 sqft home?

[@GowthamV07]

Nice.

[@Baelon903]

Thank you for instruction break down

[@farmaanandaa]

Welcome!

[@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

[@pranitrangole449]

lovely

[@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.

[@danielmurzellotheunknownma7481]

Hello👋🙋‍♂️ and Namaskar🙏.. Amazing and very interesting video🎥... Super like👌👌👌 Great information very helpful👌 Do keep posting👍 Warm regards and best👍💯 wishes The UnknownManCub 👍😎👨‍🏭

[@farmaanandaa]

Thank you

[@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.

[@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

[@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 ?

[@SuerteDelMolinoFarm]

Greetings from the LooseNatural farm in Andalusia Spain

[@farmaanandaa]

Hello! and thanks for following us!

[@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?

[@KrishN-bx2fy]

U r simply beautiful

[@best1onearth]

If your serious about building a rammed earth house. Get David Easton's book on rammed earth. Follow his formwork, plans etc. Buy a skid steer, get a mixing bucket from Ritchie auctions. I use a Stanley ta 55 tamper, it is a hydraulic tamper so runs off the ports on the skid steer. Start small, build a small wall or sitting area first. And please be safe, don't rammed in sandals, use a hard hat, gloves, safety glasses also.

[@farmaanandaa]

Thanks - none of those things are available in India!

[@johnmichaels4330]

​@farmaanandaa the book, skid steer, mixer and hydraulic tamper are available in India. All the safety equipment is available in India. Literally all of it is available in India from indian manufacturers.

[@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

[@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

[@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

[@ಕಾವಲು]

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

[@farmaanandaa]

No classes, sorry!

[@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

[@gmtomazio]

Obrigado!!!!! 🇧🇷 Thanks!!!

[@VyacheslavZinger]

Thanks !!!!

[@shaileshlute8059]

Can one hammer nail or screws in these walls ?

[@farmaanandaa]

Yes you can