Architecture, Art, Design, and Culture using of mud, clay, soil, dirt & dust.
We asked the pros what they use in the construction of rammed earth walls. The answer was the Jet-2T Sand Rammer Backfill Tamper. The rammer, traditionally used in foundries to compact sand for casting., is pneumatically powered and has a rubber butt, which is replaceable. The best deal we have found on the internet is at Southern Tool for $596.67.
Among the Things to do in Los Angeles are visit the 103 adobe sites where adobe buildings once stood, or visit the 76 extant historic adobe structures listed by region below:
Los Angles County (12)
Orange County (10)
San Diego (17)
Santa Barbara (20)
Ventura (13)
Inland Empire (4)
The Handbook for Building Homes of Earth, published by the Peace Corps Information and Collection Exchange, is available on-line with chapters discussing adobe, rammed earth, compressed earth and other relevant technologies and methods.
Earth Building Takes New Shapes, an article from the Home Energy Magazine Online May/June 1999, describes the current technologies and benefits of earth building.
www.terracruda.com has some interesting examples of modern earth architecture. The site is only in Italian, but you can translate at babelfish.
Quentin Wilson is the “The Adobe Building Resource of Northern New Mexico”.