Hi everyone!
Welcome to the RDC Fine Homes Rammed earth Blog!
My name is Rob, and I’m in charge of building the first rammed earth house in the Sea to Sky corridor.
The Cedar Grove Rammed Earth House is being built in Whistler, B.C., and when finished, it will be one of the most environmentally-friendly homes in the country.
We’ve chosen to build with rammed earth for a few reasons:
- fewer trees will be harmed during the building of this project— the first floor exterior walls will be made out of locally sourced sands and gravel; reinforced with cement and steel
- we will use 66% LESS cement than comparable concrete walls; resulting in significantly lower greenhouse gas emissions.
- indoor air quality will be exceptionally good —earth friendly materials and finishes will be used throughout
- our 18 inch thick walls will have R-20 recycled insulation imbedded in the center, resulting in plenty of thermal massing to help lower energy costs.
- our rammed earth walls will have custom colour layering in order to fully highlight the beauty of the soils being used
- we believe that your home shouldn’t require constant maintenance— our rammed earth walls are both beautiful and extrememely durable; maintenance is practically zero!
- your home should be a place of privacy and tranquility— rammed earth walls are extrememly soundproof
Overall, we feel that homes should be built to last…..and be attractive and functional at the same time.
Energy efficiency and a healthy environment should be part of a home’s design from the very start of the project.
We feel that rammed earth achieves these ideals.
Please feel free to follow along as we go through the building process……
Rob LeBlanc
…the foundation for the crawlspace
….footings for the rest of the house
[...] fact, that they are building “the first rammed earth house in the Sea to Sky corridor.” Follow RDC’s progress and be sure to keep this long tested evolutionary material in mind for your next [...]
cool concept, can’t wait to see the finished product