Description

This Standard provides for the structural and durability design of unfired earthen wall buildings. 

Scope

The scope of this Standard is limited to unfired earthen wall building materials defined herein as adobe, pressed brick, poured earth or rammed earth and which contain clay and silt and which rely on the clay and silt particles present to achieve satisfactory performance with or without chemical stabilization.

Earth building materials to which this Standard applies shall comply with NZS 4298 Materials and workmanship for earth buildings. Earth construction in accordance with this Standard shall not exceed 6.5 m in height from the top of the footing to the top of the earth wall.

This Standard applies to earth wall items including house and building walls, boundary fences, outbuildings, garden walls, furniture, footings, fireplaces and such like. This Standard also covers components of any of the foregoing including bricks, pieces and such like.

This Standard applies to New Zealand and its offshore islands.

The revised standard continues to be a core resource and reflect advances in earth building practice, research, changes in referenced standards, and changes in building legislation: the Building Act 2004 and the New Zealand Building Code.