Today’s post is from Luke and Edwina in Australia.
“Being in Australia, and keen to explore Earthbagging, I started scouting for suppliers of the bags. There seem to be any number of Chinese companies happy to send to me, but very few local manufacturers. What I found were just two, both with national presences…
Colquhouns: www.colquhouns.com.au
Freecall: 1800 249 963
Phone: +61 2 8785 6666 sales@colquhouns.com.au
I spoke with their Southern Australian sales Manager Michael Parlington, (08 8347 1550) very helpful but only a vague awareness of earthbagging. An incredible number of options of bags they sell. The have warehouses in South Australia and Sydney. Sell PPE and Onion bags. May be able to import tubing – Sydney office still to get back to me on that. They stock double-thickness bags 40x22inch @80c each. Standard 30×18 $.48 each by the thousand. They do have misprints, but misprints come with no size options – so no ability to specify 16-20 inch widths for instance.
Pope http://www.popepackaging.com.au
Phone: (03) 9322 1444 Fax: (03) 9328 4100
They don’t sell tubing (but used to) Standard 18×30 bags $.29 by the thousand (plus GST – 10% sales tax)
Do sell Onion bags – by a tube 200mm wide (no details on price) and also what they call their 20kg bag – 780x400mm. $.26c by the thousand plus GST. Onion bags have a drawstring. Pope have very little misprints, and aren’t really interested in them either.
Given my own uncertainty about what you are using/recommending for hyperadobe I’m not sure the onion bags are the thing, but others can explore that on their own. [Owen: I don’t recommend weak vegetable bags for earthbag building.]
Alternatively – for very small structures, my local garden supply depo had both the fill material and also the bags to use for it. For a very small structure (under a hundred bags) that may be more economical to explore – even with paying $1 a bag for tiny bags 650mm x 390 (25×15).”
Hi, I’m interested in using the hyperadope method for earthbag building and retaining walls in NSW. Just wondering if anyone knows of new suppliers in Australia that have the HDPE tube style Raschel bags. I have emailed a bunch of international sellers but the cost for shipping is high and minimum order quantity is too big. In Australia I cant seem to find any local suppliers that stock the hyperadope style tubing. Would be excellent if someone could point me in the right direction
Hi. My name is Bob Frei and I am Product Manager for Volm Companies, Inc. We are a US Raschel Knit Manufacturing plant in Wisconsin, United States. We started manufacturing Hyper Adobe Tube Netting material 2 years ago to service the US market and have delivered over 1.0 million linear feet of tubing. Standard roll size is 1,640 feet (500 Meters) and weighs approximately 40 – 60 lbs depending on tube size. We stock 4 different sizes with a minimum order of 1 Roll. We have the capability to ship internationally.
Please contact me at bob.frei@volmcompanies.com for additional information.
Hi guys.
On a separate note,has anyone built raised ponds or aquaponic grow beds using earth bags and liners? Can’t think of why they wouldn’t work but i mighy have missed the obvious
Cheers all
Earthbags have been used to make cisterns, both above and below ground, so this should certainly be possible.
I’m in the upper hunter valley NSW and have a couple of bales of horse feed bags if anyone wants some.
Hi to yiu all im from Melbourne and i am intrested in building a earth home just wondering if anyone has done one around here so i can see it and ask some questions
There are a few earthbag houses in Australia. Google earthbag house Australia and other similar search terms.
Hi
I am planning on building in SE Qld and would be interested in hearing from anyone who has built in this area.
Hi Chantille, Alecia, and Ian.
I am looking into building an Earthbag house in SE QLD and am interested to know if you completed any buildings and how they went?
As it does not need council approval, in a few months I will be trying out the small storehouse that Dr Owen made an instructable for at http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Build-an-Earthbag-Dome/
I will let you know how that goes over the next 12 months ;)
I see that Bundy Bag Co now have polypropylene tubing for earthbaggers;
http://www.bundybag.com/products-earth-building-materials.html
Anyone tried this?
Just an update on Popes Packaging. http://www.popepackaging.com.au
I bought some woven polypropylene bags from their Auburn (Sydney) office.
They now have 760mm x 455mm bags which you can buy at 22c a bag in batches of 100. The minimum order $100.00.
I bought 500 for $110.
thankyou Owen, for your email.
Silly me, my husband knows about you being a designer, but we were unsure if you were able to design an earthbag house that would comply to Australian (QLD) standards. It can get VERY wet & hot here, but we have an elevated block and we also have been purchasing materials over the years, as well as having our own timber mill. We have some ideas based on the weather, the materials we have already got, and also how the sun and breeze affects the block and also bushfire resistance. Perhaps we can talk?
Thankyou Again,
Alecia & Jason
It would be up to you to point out special conditions in your area and to make sure earthbag building meets local codes.
Click on the About Us link at the top of the page for my email address.
Hi Alecia,
we too are building in SE Queensland.
Our property is located in Kin Kin.
Perhaps we can share some ideas?
I attended a workshop in Thailand with Phanganearthworks.
My email is ianccc444 AT hotmail.com
Hi Ian, I live in Dalby in Queensland and am considering an earthbag home. Just wondering if you have started/finished building and how you went? Also, do you know what kind of building codes are expected to build this kind of a structure in queensland? looking forward to a simpler life.
We got our earthbags from Bundy Bag Co, in Bundaberg, QLD, we paid $325 i think for 500 bags and they are gusseted for a cleaner edge. that amount included about $35- for freight to our place in south east qld. we dont know anone to help us design though :) still looking!
Maybe you don’t know, but I design earthbag houses: http://earthbagplans.wordpress.com/
Find something you like and I can customize it to meet your needs. You can order through Dream Green Homes:
http://www.dreamgreenhomes.com/materials/earth/earthbags.htm
Hi Alecia, I live in Dalby in Queensland and am considering an earthbag home also with bags supplied by Bundy Bag co. Just wondering if you have started/finished building and how you went? Also, do you know what kind of building codes are expected to build this kind of a structure in queensland? looking forward to a simpler life