Standard construction vs Rammed Earth!

I keep flip flopping as to what building type I'm going to do. There are pros and cons of each. Rammed earth may be more cost effective, but since I have never done it, the learning curve will be steep which may lead to higher costs. The pros are that I will have done a rammed earth building, which I do want to learn about. One of the big factors is that I am working full time, and will still need to do alot of research. The pros of a standard building are the materials are easy to aquire, I am familiar with the actual construction, I have all the tools I'll need, and it will go up so much faster. Plus it will be easy to look up the codes in the BCBC. I would probably have the building done by the end of June this way. Lots to think about still. Perhaps I will do a material takeoff of a standard building. If my materials will be less than $2500 I will go that route.

Rammed earth test sample!

I am still leaning towards a rammed earth cabin. The labour and process will be ridiculous, but I find it interesting. I mixed a small batch of the soil from the site with some cement and sand and made a sample in order to test the compressive strength of the earth at the site. I pounded it into a 2" PVC tube and am letting it cure. After seeing a cabin being built on my father in laws property, I am wondering if I should just buy the lumber and build a traditional cabin. It is going up so fast! My night shifts start this week so maybe once I get going I'll have more time to work on it. I may do another design with stick framing.

brought the earth tubes to the site and began the installation process.

I decided to go with 4" corrugated, non-perforated, tubes for my earth tube system. I have been wanting to test a smaller diameter system but the cost was a bit much. I ended up going with one run of 150 feet, but there will be alot of length remaining. This run will be the deepest one at 5-6 feet deep. The second run will be 100 feet and will be at about four feet of depth. I will connect them before they enter the building. Each run will then be tested independently. I will also test the system with both pipes connected. I am still looking for a fan to force the air through and to prevent condensation. I need to find a small fan that runs on solar power since I am off the grid. I may have to rig something up, maybe a turbine vent would work. still looking into my options. Any suggestions would be great.

The trenches for my earth tubes are now dug!

Well, today I finally got the trenches dug. We are looking at a depth of five to six feet, with a run of close to 80 feet. The plan is to lay 100ft of tubes next weekend. I'm not sure if the length will be enough. That is one of the limitations of the system. However, for the purpose of the research, it should be sufficient. I will read up on setting up the data loggers this week and with some luck, the system should be up and running by next week. Here are some photos of the process of getting the trenches dug. Thanks to my father in law, Bill, for providing the backhoe. It probably would have taken forever to dig them by hand. The plan now is to build a small cabin, I am looking into a rammed earth design, but may need to build a small box to get some research done right away.

Dug some pits to check the soil at the site!

I dug some holes to see the types of soils and wether or not I can use them for a rammed earth building.  I took some soil samples and put them in masonry jars and then added some water, and gave them a really good shake. This will give a good indication of the sand and clay ratios. Here are some photos of the samples, and the samples with water added. I will add the photos of the jars once the samples have completelly settled. I have also measured out my runs for the earth tube systems. I may only use one trench as they need to be six to eight feet deep. I will post the layout once I have done the drawings on REVIT.

I think I have made my choice as to the building type.

Well I think I have decided to go with a rammed earth building, using logs as my roof joists. If there is anyone out there who is wanting to do some work, to learn about the rammed earth building system, I am open to volunteers. First I have to find an old truck since the van died on Sunday. Then I will be getting to work. I hope everyone is enjoying their summer so far.

Peace

Chris

Here is the site where the cabin will be built!

I went up to pick a site for the cabin and earth tube system, found a beautiful secluded spot overlooking the lake. Now I need to figure out how to build. Rammed earth, log, or traditional construction. With a limited budget and limited time due to my job, I have to weigh costs versus my labor. I will figure it out this week so I can get to it next weekend. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Most people probably aren't following the blogs in the summer though.

getting to work on research project!

After a short time for some rest following final exams, I am now onto working on my research. I ordered 3 data loggers today. They are a low cost data logger which can measure and store up to 4,080 temperature readings. I could have saved a few bucks by ordering from a US company but decided to spend a little more buying from a Canadian business. They should be in in the next two weeks and then comes the task of figuring out how they work.