Here is a compilation of previous blog posts and videos on earthbag building tools for those who can’t afford my Earthbag Building Guide. All this is covered in my book, but $20 – the cost of the ebook – is a lot of money in some parts of the world. Plus, it takes a good bit of time to search through our websites with thousands of pages of information and find just what you need. You will see in the following documents that very few tools are needed for building with earthbags. Whenever possible, buy (or make) the best tools possible so they last a long time.
Earthbag Building Tools (somewhat outdated – use sturdy cement buckets)
My Favorite Slider
Jesse’s Earthbag Slider
My Favorite Tamper
Kelly’s Favorite Tamper
Tampers from Building Supply Centers
My Favorite Digging Tool
Buckets versus Cans
Bucket Chutes
Buy Quality Tools
Earthbag Supplies
Complete set of videos on all aspects of earthbag construction at my Earthbag Natural Building YouTube channel.
Greetings,
We live in Mexico, and getting supplies is a tough one…On this page, I don’t see the bags listed as a tool. I do see different sorts of bags listed elsewhere online, but I can’t really compare to any notes you have listed.
Can you please provide a link of a reliable product, or simply describe the bag materials?
Thank you so very much.
If you go to http://earthbagbuilding.com/resources.htm#supplies and scroll down there are many suppliers of earthbags listed.
You can post a message in our Bulletin Board. See link at top of page. I’ll delete this message after you post there.
Hi Owen,
This is great. I am hoping to collect a few things that I can ship, with other stuff, like you said from yard sales and other venues in the spring. I am hoping that I can get some help to work in constructing an earthbag home in Haiti this summer. I have another question. How do you feel about using Marblemix swimming pool aggregate (limestone) in construction of the earthbag house? Some in a recycle list I am on just offered 20 bags of it, and I accepted it. What do you think?
Thanks
I agree about shipping tools and certain supplies to Haiti. The quality will be much lower there. I’ve heard of shovels breaking in one day, etc. And the prices can be outrageous — more than the US — because everything has to be imported.
You’ll want to find local materials to fill the earthbags. 20 bags is nothing. You’ll need dump truck loads of fill material. The best is clayey subsoil, which can be difficult to find there. Trucking costs are very high there, so locating suitable fill material is a priority. Build where the materials are to keep costs low.
Soil Tests for Earthbag: http://www.earthbagbuilding.com/pdf/SoilTests.pdf
Hi Owen
Please advise your email ad.. I am building with a crew and its on the move quite nicely now. Hope to have the structure up within 10 weeks?
Have some photos to send
Regards
Mike
That’s good news. My address is at the top of the page under About Us.