Rammed Earth House

[Chris Stewart]

Rammed Earth House
Westlake Hills
5,000 sq. ft.

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Lou Kimball, AIA




Rammed Earth House
5-star energy rated 5,000 sq. ft. rammed earth house. Westlake Hills, TX.
Featured on the 2004 Green Building Tour, this rammed earth house received a 5-star energy rating from the City of Austin Green Building Program and was the 2004 AIA Homes Tour Premiere House. The house consists of two massive rammed earth volumes linked by a glass walled great room that acts as a breezeway or “dog trot.” This volume has a metal roof with deep overhangs to the south and a ventilating cupola at the ridge that acts as a heat chimney to encourage passive cooling when the breezes don’t blow. The two foot thick rammed earth walls are a very efficient thermal mass, and minimize the need for air conditioning. The house also has a hot water radiant heating system, photovoltaics for power, and constructed wetlands for septic. Other sustainable features include low VOC finishes, recycled content materials, Hebel air entrained concrete block wall construction (where not rammed earth) and high efficiency glazing.
Photography by Austin Energy

[Chris Stewart]

Barnett Residence



Rammed earth villa with passive solar design walls = U-45, thermal chimney effect in design. Features include:

• • Compact size: 1800 square feet
  • Solar hot water system
  • Gallvalume roof - high solar reflectance and enables rainwater collection
  • Steel framing for roof with thermal breaks
  • Double pane aluminum clad wood windows with low-e coating (high efficiency)
  • Designed for good indoor air quality (IAQ):
    No VOC paint, finishes, caulk, sealants
    Stained concrete floor
    No CCA/ACQ wood products - reduces pollution and poisoning
    No need for termite prevention treatment
  • Recycled materials - Window bucks, stove, stairs, bathtub, carpentry/cabinet surfaces
  • Rainwater harvesting for landscape irrigation
  • Wildscape and organic garden

[Chris Stewart]

Welcome to Terra Firma Builders Ltd.

PORTFOLIO • WHY RAMMED EARTH • CREDENTIALS • SERVICES

2006 courses • faq • meror's soapbox • home

Our Mission: "Using environmentally friendly building materials and methods, Terra Firma Builders is dedicated to the creation of a healthy sustainable future."


What is Rammed Earth?

The rammed earth method uses wooden forms that are placed and secured, and then damp earth is loaded into them and tamped to total compaction. When the forms are removed, the wall is complete. For thousands of years, humans have been building with rammed earth. Recently, the technology has experienced a revival in California and Australia. And now in Canada!
How is the Terra Firma SIREwall™ different from traditional rammed earth?

To the best of our knowledge, Terra Firma Builders is the first company worldwide to develop an insulated rammed earth wall.

Since 1993, Terra Firma Builders Ltd. has experimented with rammed earth construction, achieving award-winning design innovations for our northerly Canadian climate.

Our two-foot thick earth walls have an integral core of foam insulation. We also worked closely with our engineers to create a stabilized earth wall that would withstand a major earthquake. The result is a rammed earth wall with the extra strength of steel reinforcing and a small amount of cement. This extra stabilization creates a wall that is virtually indestructible. Thus, we have coined the term SIREWall™ (Stabilized and Insulated Rammed Earth.)
Discover the benefits of rammed earth. Read what homeowners have to say.
Visit more earth homes in our portfolio.
Find answers to your questions in our FAQs.
Learn about the sacrifices you make by living in a stick-frame home.
Compare rammed earth with other building technologies.
Check out our credentials.
Begin today. Find out what Terra Firma can do for you.
Contact us with your building ideas.

[Chris Stewart]