Sam and Alex, who live in the U.K. have just built an earthbag seating area.
They say, “Your site has contributed to helping us do this. Thank you for such an informative site! We would like to share our project with you. Although small in comparison to the buildings we have seen, it is a very large seating area which we are very proud of. We just hope it withstands the U.K. winters! I’ve included a few pictures below.”
Update..
After 4 winters our seating area looks just as good as when we first built it.
We are still giving it an annual coat of paint but that’s all that’s been needed this last year or two.
I would love to show an updated picture but unsure how?
If you send me the updated picture, I will insert it into the blog post. kellyhart AT greenhomebuilding.com
Hi, you are in Sheffield?
I am in Sheffield?
I would LOVE to see this! I am building an earthbag greenhouse!
Amber
If you look at the first comment from Sam you will see that they are in Sheffield, and if you reply to that comment you might get a response from them.
Hi Amber,
So sorry for the late reply! Yes we are in Sheffield.
You would be very welcome to come and visit to see our seating area.
I hope your build has been a success? I’d love to see it. 😊
Hi Mary,
Thank you very much. We are in Sheffield so not too far from each other. :) You are very welcome to come and see ours if you’re ever in the area and feel just how solid it is.
We used our garden soil which has quite a lot of clay in it. I can’t comment how the bags are fairing underneath. We think it must be doing ok as it really is so solid.
We added a simple hidden drainage pipe underneath that runs from where our feet sit to out the back of the seating. I feel it helps a lot. If you are worried I would suggest giving it a gravel base before building.
Apart from a couple of hairline cracks and some flaky paint it’s doing very well after two winters. We are going to give it a quick sand and paint to refresh it in the best few weeks and it will be perfect again.
This next coming winter we are going to cover it in tarpaulin to avoid any further cracks or paint damage. It’s only where snow and rain water has been sat on it. But it really is minimal damage..
Hello, this is amazing. I have just come across this and I would love to do this as I have alot of earth to use and wanted to make a fire pit.im also I’m the uk. Did you need to mix the earth with anything before putting in the bags?
The best mix for filling earthbags is about 1/3 clay and 2/3 sandy soil, and this will compact into a very solid block.
Hi Coral,
We didn’t mix our soil with anything. Our soil has quite high clay content so I feel this did help. When it dries it forms quite a good solid block.
Hey! Just wondering how this has stood up over the winter? It looks awesome. We are just putting plans in place going up the garden and really want one of these.
Hi Helen,
The seating has been great for us so far. After last winter we found two hairline cracks which wasn’t an issue. We just filled with a tiny amount of cement and repainted it all again.
We repaint every year now to freshen it up.
I haven’t seen if there’s any damage from this winter as yet as it’s covered in leaves and a few water puddles. But no bad damage as I would have noticed.
Roll on spring! Can’t wait to start using it again.
Good luck with your seating area. I’m sure you will love it as much as we do. :)
Hello. Please can you tell me how it looks like after freezing winter? Are there any cracks or some demage of top layer?
Thank you ?
I am going to build the similar seating and sauna made from earthbags.
I have not been able to find out about this.
Hi,
After last winter the seating still looked great apart from two hairline cracks. We filled the cracks with a tiny amount of cement, sanded that area and repainted the whole seating again.
We repaint every year to freshen it up. Just takes about half an hour with a big roller.
I can’t see if there’s any further damage as yet from this winter and it has water and leaves on it at the moment. If there’s any cracks we will just refill and paint again.
You will love the seating.. and a sauna sounds amazing! Would love to see it when it’s all done. Good luck with your exciting projects! :)
Thank you all for the lovely comments. :-)
I think it’s difficult to see the amount of legroom there actually is. Legs can be stretched out but with the seat area being extra deep it’s very spacious.
We had relaxing in mind for this area. Hot summers and cold winters.. we aim to use it all year round. I’ve got the blankets ready! Lol!
I too particularly like to sit with my legs curled to the side.
Only today we have used it to lay on and sunbathe. 30 degrees today! It was bliss!
Our next project will be using straw bale for a large shed. Although very hard work we have enjoyed building the seating area and spending the time together doing it. Isn’t it a great feeling of achievement?!
We really hope this will withstand the frosts here in the U.K. Watch this space.. :-)
Hi Sam!
Is the outside just finished with Portland Cement?
Great work btw!
Thank you Michael. :-)
Yes we used normal blue circle branded cement. In the second and final coat we used plasterers sand and plasticiser to give it a smoother finish and give it more workability and durability as well as frost protection.
Hi your seat looks beautiful, wondering how it’s weathered?
We’re thinking of trying similar into sloped site in Derbyshire.
Not sure if our earthbags will sag over time under concrete as wet cold climate, hence hoping your seat is holding up well.Did you fill the bags with your garden soil? Best wishes Mary and Pete
Hello. Please can you tell me how it looks like after freezing winter? Are there any cracks or some damage of top layer?
Thank you ?
I am going to build the similar seating and sauna made from earthbags.
It looks great I’m sure you’ll get lots of use from it. I also hope it inspires you to go onto to bigger projects in the future. Earthbag building has so much potential. I’m sure you are hooked!
very cozy. i like the width of the seating part, as i enjoy pulling my legs up and this build looks like you can bring them up and stretch legs out or curl them around. THANK you Sam and Alex and Kelly for sharing this build. INSPIRATIONAL!
Nice, very nice! :) … I feel like I’d need a bit more legroom, but even so … very nice! :D