Thread: a green alternative to build in BALI rammedearth

Lack of punctuation aside, the idea of rammed earth as a construction material for Bali deserves more than a second look.

Rammed earth houses are renowned for being durable, cool to live in for tropical climates and earthquake resistant because of their solid mass. The article SamD introduced explains much of this in some depth. This is in contrast with the concrete post and beam with batako infill construction commonly used throughout Indonesia which is not known for any of these characteristcs.

As for the secret formula, Komangbali is probably referring to the tests that his friend would have done to get the cement/limestone mix right. Hardly a secret... it's done before starting almost all stabilised rammed earth dwellings... there are some photos of this on his facebook blog and even mentions that it is an 8/92% cement/limestone ratio. This is a fairly common mix for stabilised earth houses thesedays, other additives not mentioned such as water repellants and dust suppressants are also not secrets and commmonly used.

Given that one of the main reasons the use of stabilised rammed earth is often limited to luxury homes in Western countries is the high cost of labour, the use of it in Bali where labour is much cheaper would justify a bit more consideration.

Hello... I am new in this forum, but I have some experience in the construction industry as an architect.

As far as I know, solid mass isn't suitable for building in tropical climate where temperature level difference between day and night is very low. Which means that the building will release heat very slowly during night time. You should try to shade the walls that are facing east and west and I hope that the building has been damp proofed properly.

Lightweight construction is the best way to build in tropical climate. Although I have to admit that the pictures look really cool.

I agree 100%. The insulation properties of the walls are of no interest in the tropics. The design features that do help are those which influence ventilation and shading. Also a high roof helps to reduce the impact of direct sun.

I am not so sure there is any 'real' secret. If you make contact with any of the specialist rammed earth builders (or their 'hands on' employees) in the south/west of Western Australia (especially the "Margaret River" area), they can give you a good idea of basic 'why's and wherefores'..., these builders can help you and because many of them holiday up here every year..., I would say with prior contact and negotiation...., well who knows what is possible.

The process and various mixes (and especially sealers and stabilizers) for rammed earth/rammed limestone (especially suitable for Wet Tropical areas), are 'no big secret' and there is no doubt, they are very beautiful houses in both look and feel, with great thermal mass insulation qualities..., so long as some other things are in place...., e.g. good air circulation, cross flow ventilation, ceiling insulation and minimum windows in direct sun light.

Originally Posted by chrisco

Lack of punctuation aside, the idea of rammed earth as a construction material for Bali deserves more than a second look.

Given that one of the main reasons the use of stabilised rammed earth is often limited to luxury homes in Western countries is the high cost of labour, the use of it in Bali where labour is much cheaper would justify a bit more consideration.

When reading this,i wonder if a cement-limestonemix would be suitable as wallfinishing on batako or light-weight beton blocks.
it might give a more natural look than cement(acian) alone.
Anyway,for the rammed-earth walls do you have to pulverize the limestone first?
If so,how is it done generally?

Any way you cut the cake the truth is that rammed earth offers far less of a satisfactory solution to building in Indonesia when compared to reinforced concrete. So unless it's a fraction of the price (which seems unlikely) it's a terrible application on the island of Bali, or anywhere in the tropics for that matter.

Best of luck!

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