Here’s a simple way to help prevent metal roofing from being blown away. Roofs are typically quite vulnerable to uplift in windy areas. There are commercially available roof hold-downs that bolt trusses and rafters to walls, but I’ve never seen the system described here. It was inspired by hearing all the stories about metal roofing    Read More →

I’m gradually converting my basic hand-drawn plans to AutoCAD and SketchUp, starting with the most popular designs at Earthbag House Plans. I think you’ll agree there is much improvement. And it isn’t just visual effects. Plans are being tweaked based on reader input. The Enviro Dome, for instance, now has a small (optional) pool in    Read More →

How do you keep a high vertical earthbag wall that is straight from toppling over? This is always a concern when designing and building standard rectilinear buildings with earthbags. The conventional solution generally relies on periodic buttresses and/or heavy-duty reinforced concrete bond beams at the top of the wall. I have come up with a    Read More →

The most common size bag for earthbag (sand bag) building measures about 18”x30” measured when empty. This is often called a 50 pound bag, since these bags are used to store 50 lb. of grain and feed. When filled, this size creates walls about 15”-16” wide. This is a good size for earthbag building because    Read More →

A hybrid earthbag and pallet building would provide excellent protection from the weather and would be virtually free to build with debris and discarded shipping pallets. The addition of rain water collection, humanure composting, and simple solar oven(s) would provide fresh water and help keep human waste safely out of the way. Any additional materials    Read More →

This emergency shelter was deemed a failure and rejected for use in relief efforts. Those involved with the design and evaluation of the shelter all failed to realize one simple point. Pure sand in sandbags (earthbags) will slump and shift as shown. But tamped soil consisting of an appropriate sandy soil/clay mix will compact into    Read More →