EARTH-WALL CONSTRUCTION - Bulletin 5 - CSIRO-2 National Building Technology Centre

 
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CSIRO—2

                                                                National Building Technology Centre

                                                                Bulletin 5

                                                                EARTH-WALL CONSTRUCTION

                                                                FOURTH EDITION
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                                                                NATIONAL BUILDING TECHNOLOGY CENTRE
                                                                P.O. BOX 30 CHATSWOOD 2057
                                                                FAX: 888 9335
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                                                                PHONE: 888 8888
CSIRO—2

                                                                National Building Technology Centre

                                                                Bulletin 5

                                                                Earth-Wall Construction

                                                                FOURTH EDITION
                                                                G.F. Middleton
                                                                Revised by L.M. Schneider
                                                                1987
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                                                                       I
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                                                                First published        1952
                                                                Second edition         1976
                                                                Reprinted              1980
                                                                Third edition          1981
                                                                Republished            1982
                                                                Republished            1983
                                                                Fourth edition         1987

                                                                ISBN 0 642 12289 X

                                                                 Commonwealth of Australia
                                                                Department of Industry, Technology and Commerce

                                                                                  II
CONTENTS

                                                                Introduction

                                                                Section 1 — Scope and General                      Section 4 — Rammed-Earth (Pise) Construction
                                                                1.1     Scope
                                                                1.2     Site selection                             4.1     Preparation of soil
                                                                1.3     Orientation for solar design               4.2     Formwork
                                                                1.4     Footings                                   4.3     Compaction
                                                                1.5     Damp-proof course                          4.4     General considerations
                                                                1.6     Lintels                                    4.5     Holding-down bolts
                                                                1.7     Holding-down bolts and top plate
                                                                1.8     Chimneys and fireplaces                    Section 5 — Mud Brick (Adobe) Construction
                                                                1.9     Fixing of doors and windows
                                                                1.10    Wet areas                                  5.1     Preparation of soil
                                                                1.11    Fixing to walls                            5.2     Moulding blocks
                                                                1.12    Coatings                                   5.3     Laying blocks
                                                                1.13    Installation of services                   5.4     Holding-down bolts
                                                                1.14    Garden walls and boundary fences
                                                                1.15    Reinforcement                              Section 6 — Pressed Soil Block Construction
                                                                1.16    Cyclone-resistant construction
                                                                1.17    Earthquake-resistant construction          6.1     Cinva-ram construction
                                                                1.18    Frame construction                         6.1.1   Preparation of soil
                                                                1.19    Protected walls                            6.1.2   Moulding of blocks
                                                                                                                   6.1.3   Mortar
                                                                Section 2 — Selection of Soil                      6.1.4   Wall construction
                                                                                                                   6.2     Mechanically pressed-soil block
                                                                2.1       The nature of soil                               construction
                                                                2.2       Artificial soils                         6.2.1   Block-making machines
                                                                2.3       Soil stabilisation                       6.2.2   Preparation of the soil
                                                                2.3.1     General                                  6.2.3   Moulding of blocks
                                                                2.3.2     Clay stabilisation                       6.2.4   Mortar
                                                                2.3.3     Cement stabilisation                     6.2.5   Wall construction
                                                                2.3.4     Bituminous stabilisation                 6.2.6   Holding-down bolts
                                                                2.3.5     Lime stabilisation
                                                                2.3.6     Chemical stabilisation                   Appendix
                                                                2.4       Assessment of soils
                                                                2.4.1     General                                  A— Method of determining the necessary depth of
                                                                2.4.2     Soils for mud brick (adobe)                 embedment at holding-down bolts
                                                                2.4.3     Soils for rammed-earth (pise)
                                                                2.4.4     Soils for machine made blocks            B— The composition and method of application of
                                                                2.4.4.1   Cement-stabilised pressed blocks            cement-render coats to earth-wall construction
                                                                2.4.4.2   Unstabilised pressed blocks
                                                                2.5       Dimensional consistency                  C— Bituminous stabilisation of soils

                                                                Section 3 — Design Criteria                        D— Accelerated erosion test

                                                                3.1       General                                  E— Method for determination of compressive
                                                                                                                      strength
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                                                                3.2       Durability
                                                                3.3       Structural properties
                                                                3.3.1     Structural values                        F— Metricated summary of Table 10 from report
                                                                3.3.2     Distance between openings                   BMS 78 ‘Structural, heat transfer and water
                                                                3.3.3     Design for wind loading                     permeability properties of five earth-wall
                                                                3.4       Fire resistance                             constructions’, National Bureau of Standards,
                                                                3.4.1     Fire rating                                 U.S. Department of Commerce, 1941.
                                                                3.4.2     Combustibility
                                                                3.5       Air-borne sound transmission             G— Determination of density of rammed earth
                                                                3.6       Thermal properties
                                                                3.6.1     Insulation
                                                                3.6.2     Thermal mass

                                                                                                             III
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                                                                Cover Photo: Holiday units on Kangaroo Island        Courtesy of Terrastone Pty. Ltd.

                                                                                                                IV
Introduction

                                                                This publication first appeared as the                         • while earth-wall construction is generally
                                                                Commonwealth Experimental Building Station’s                     accepted by all levels of government in
                                                                Bulletin 5, Earth-wall Construction by G.F.                      Australia some councils still have reservations
                                                                Middleton (1952).                                                about its durability and structural adequacy and
                                                                                                                                 insist on excessively wide eaves or verandahs
                                                                With metrication of the building industry in                     and post and beam construction. Sections 3.2
                                                                Australia in the 70s a second metricated edition was             and 3.3 should dispel any such doubts.
                                                                produced in 1976. This second edition contained
                                                                some minor editorial changes but no change to the              • as stated above, when the third edition was
                                                                technical content other than metrication.                        published in 1981 the Cinva-ram was the only
                                                                                                                                 pressed-block machine in common use. A
                                                                The revival of interest in earth-wall construction that          variety of machines are available now and
                                                                resulted from the energy crisis of the 70s, the                  pressed blocks are bei ng produced
                                                                growing environmental consciousness and the high                 commercially in quite significant numbers.
                                                                cost of borrowing money highlighted the inadequacy               Section 6 has been expanded to describe the
                                                                of the information in this 2nd edition and the                   types of machines available and appropriate
                                                                decision was taken to revise it.                                 quality requirements are specified in Section 2.

                                                                The third edition which was published in May 1981              • where other more complete information is
                                                                set out evaluation procedures for the mud-brick                  available and should be used that information is
                                                                (adobe) rammed-earth (pise) and Cinva-ram methods                referred to and the inadequate information in
                                                                of construction and these procedures were generally              the third edition has been deleted from this
                                                                accepted by Local Government for approval of the                 edition. For example footings for houses should
                                                                construction methods.                                            be designed in accordance with AS 2870 using
                                                                                                                                 the equivalencies given in Table 1.1. Similarly
                                                                The Cinva-ram was the only pressed-block machine                 no attempt has been made to cover solar,
                                                                mentioned in the third edition as it was the only                earthquake or cyclone design.
                                                                machine in common use at the time. Mechanical
                                                                presses had been used in the 60s, notably by the              The provisions of this Bulletin are of necessity
                                                                Northern Territory Housing Commission, but their              generalised and possibly conservative. They should
                                                                use had been discontinued. The Cinva-ram was                  not therefore preclude the use of more specific
                                                                developed in Bogota, Columbia, in the early 50s.              information or more refined design by appropriately
                                                                However, it was not until the mid 70s that the first          qualified and experienced persons. Nor are they
                                                                machines, made under licence in New Zealand, were             intended to inhibit the development of new methods
                                                                imported into Australia.                                      of construction.

                                                                Very significant developments have taken place in             Finally the assistance of Professor Alan Rodger,
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                                                                earth-wall construction since the third edition was           University of Melbourne, Messrs David Baggs, Ian
                                                                published and this fourth edition attempts to take            Factor, David Oliver, Brian Woodward and Peter
                                                                cognisance of these developments and to provide               Yttrup who reviewed the manuscript and offered
                                                                guidance for the industry in the future. The most             many constructive comments, and the many
                                                                important of these developments and the                       earth-wall builders who have provided information
                                                                corresponding guidelines are as follows:                      (often without knowing it) is gratefully
                                                                                                                              acknowledged.

                                                                                                                          1
SECTION 1

                                                                SCOPE    AND GENERAL
                                                                1.1       Scope
                                                                1.2       Site selection
                                                                1.3       Orientation for solar design
                                                                1.4       Footings
                                                                1.5       Damp-proof course
                                                                1.6       Lintels
                                                                1.7       Holding-down bolts and top plate
                                                                1.8       Chimneys and fireplaces
                                                                1.9       Fixing of doors and windows
                                                                1.10      Wet areas
                                                                1.11      Fixing to walls
                                                                1.12      Coatings
                                                                1.13      Installation of services
                                                                1.14      Garden walls and boundary fences
                                                                1.15      Reinforcement
                                                                1.16      Cyclone-resistant construction
                                                                1.17      Earthquake-resistant construction
                                                                1.18      Frame construction
                                                                1.19      Protected walls

                                                                1.1 Scope

                                                                This Bulletin sets out the requirements and
                                                                capabilities of the pise (rammed earth), adobe (mud
                                                                brick) and pressed-soil block methods of earth-wall
                                                                construction for specifically Australian conditions.

                                                                Subject to compliance with these requirements and
                                                                capabilities the methods of construction can be used
                                                                for any of the classes of building defined in Part A3
                                                                of the Building Code of Australia (1986 Draft).

                                                                1.2   Site selection

                                                                Because of its vulnerability to prolonged contact
                                                                with water, earth-wall construction should not be
                                                                used on a site that is subject to flooding. If there is
                                                                any possibility of this, the soil should be
                                                                cement-stabilised as a precaution. General site
                                                                considerations are shown in Fig. 1.1.
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                                                                1.3   Orientation for passive solar heating

                                                                Earth-wall being a high mass type of construction,
                                                                has the capacity to be utilised to provide both
                                                                warmth and coolness.

                                                                To do this the building must be correctly designed,
                                                                built and managed.

                                                                For passive solar heating, orientation of glass areas
                                                                to the north is essential, the ideal orientation being
                                                                within 10 degrees of true north.

                                                                Solar design is a complex subject and is outside the          Fig. 1.1-Typical site conditions
                                                                scope of this Bulletin.

                                                                                                                          2
CSIRO 5 Earth-wall construction
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