LJN Blog Posts

Welcome to the rammed earth water feature blog of Jackson’s Landscape Design, JLD, this blog will show you the daily garden build which will also include a rammed earth water feature with images and descriptions.

 JLD, will provide sustainable environmentally friendly building materials, construct eco friendly structures that use locally sourced recycled and non toxic building materials.

Many of us recycle, JLD does more and goes one step further by designing and building garden structures using one of the oldest building materials known to man – earth.

JLD, has the facilities in sifting and separating all sub soil "waste",  testing rammed earth soil samples, onsite quality control and rammed earth garden construction for all shapes and sizes.

Multi regional and national award winning Jackson’s Landscape Design, based in Newton Abbot, Devon are the only rammed earth installers in the Southwest, UK, who offer an extremely bespoke high end service to all our clients.

Any construction using rammed earth involves a process of compressing the correct mixture of damp earth that has suitable proportions of sand, gravel, clay and a small amount of cement into an externally supported frame, shutters, mould or formwork.

The oiled shutters mould the shape of a structure section creating a solid block of earth, for large seamless structures the shutters must be fabricated to the desired shape and length, as the rammed earth layers increase so will the shutter until the correct height and size is obtained.

On a concrete footing the shutters are erected to create the desired shape and a concrete splash plinth is poured within the shutter, it is imperative that all UK rammed earth structures have this plinth and capping as the concrete will stop any rain splash back eroding the base.

Damp mixed earth material is poured in the shutter to a depth of 100-150mm and a hand or pneumatic rammer, dependant on the structure, is used to compact the earth to 50% of its original volume, further layers are included and the process is repeated until the structure has reached the required design height.

After the earth compression, the shutters can be immediately removed. The structure will require covering for a week after construction in the winter to dry and harden, 2 warm days are required to harden and dry in the summer. Over all the structure can take up to two years to fully cure, dependent on the thickness, the more rammed earth cures the stronger the structure becomes. When the curing process is complete, it is much like a manmade wall of solid rock but with earth!.

With a little imagination the options are endless when using Rammed Earth......my next project will consist of a South facing solid translucent Rammed Earth screen!!    

By planning and detailing we can ensure that the rammed earth is used to its maximum potential.

Should you have any quereies I’ll do my utmost to assist you.

Before Image:

Day 1:

Site preparation, clearance and excavation works.

Day 2:

Excavation works, concrete footings, reduce dig for circular paving.

Day 3:

Geotextile installation, 7N concrete blocks loaded out, block work quoins marked out, 100mm of sub base installed to circular paving, "waste" subsoil sifted for rammed earth water feature, continuation of shutter works and concrete footings to lower tier of garden.

Block work commenced to rammed earth water feature base, planters, pergola and water sump.

Day 4:

First stage of rammed earth sifting complete, 7N blocks loaded out, continuation of block work to raised planters, water sump and rammed earth water feature base, 40x4.8x150x22mm treated timber painted in graphite grey, pump hose installed.

Continue to view day 5-9 here