How to prepare for a rammed earth wall

How to prepare for a rammed earth wall, the following images and description should assist with the preparation of this bespoke rammed earth project.

Day 10:

My garden build schedule is going to plan.....now the time has come for the rammed earth water feature to be built, in normal circumstances the rammed earth, RE, build would take less than a day, however, I totally refuse to construct any landscaping with cement works when the temperatures are 3 degrees and dropping......so for now....if you'll understand my and the professions current predicaments, I'll guide you through the rammed earth procedure as the weather permits.

The shutters, form-work, moulds must be completely clean from any existing rammed earth works as the shutter is the finish face of the rammed earth, RE.

The best ply to use is 11mm marine ply, or paper face.....should you scar the face of the ply then wood filler should be applied and sanded with a belt sander......as I said earlier the face of the shutter is the finish....any marks will be seen on the finished result....excatly the same as concrete. You'll note that 3 x 100mm ribs run the entire length of the shutter, this is to keep the shutters plumb, firm and upright when the 4x2 strong-backs are bolted in place.

Shutter cleaning:

Shutter oiling:

All RE shutters must be oiled, this ensures an easy release when the times comes to free the moulds and expose the compressed works within....excatly the same as concrete.....

To continue with the recycling scenario you could seek your oil from your local chinese or chip shop at a small cost.....but for speed I've taken Lizzy's, my wife, stir fry crisp and dry from the kitchen cupboard!

Rammed earth stop ends:

It is imperative to install stop ends to all rammed earth shutters, these shutters are either screwed or clamped into place....but you must make sure the stop ends are plumb, should the design and structure allow. Any angled stop end could be applied in accordance with the finished result.

For this water feature the width will be 200mm, as you can see I've used 200mm timber joists cut to the same height as the shutter....the thickness of rammed earth will vary dependant on the design and the height....for thicker structures you simply create the stop ends required to suit your needs....you'll also note that I've installed and screwed 2x45 degree ply fillets to the stop ends .....this is purely for aesthetic reasons, with a little creativity and imagination all manner of shaped stop ends can be implemented.

Positioning of the shutters:

Knowing that the base for the rammed earth water feature has been built at 1200mm wide and 200mm thick and my stop ends have been set up for this measurement the shutters are lifted into position, should you wish you can seal the bottom with translucent mastic, if the block work is level and to the millimetre then I don't see the need as the mastic will be seen when the shutters are released, making a small indentation.....very poor in my eyes.

The two steel bars inserted into the cavity and concreted are cut to the height of the concrete plinth, in this case 250mm, the centre tube is the pump hose which will travel up inside the rammed earth to an opening where it will cascade back to the water sump and pump below, the sump when the weather allows will have a scratch coat, render coat and 2 applications of Vandex BB75.

Front panel, oiled copper spacers, strong backs, M12 threaded bars, washers and nut applications:

With the front panel in place and lined up with the boltholes I can now install a nut to the end of a M12 threaded bar, next a M12 washer is threaded to the nut and threaded through a pre drilled strong back....this is then pushed through the pre drilled panel and an oiled copper tube cut at 200mm, the same length as the thickness of the shutter, is positioned so the bar goes through the tube and the rear pre drilled shutter, place the other pre drilled strong backs in place and push the bar through the hole, apply another washer and a nut to secure, make sure the nut is flush with the threaded bar as space could be limited........... I'm going to apply this procedure 4 times ...for larger panels the need for threaded bar will increase...the last thing you want is for the shutters to blow or warp!

You'll note the water hose is at the centre of the structure.... you'll see why this is important later.

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