Much as been written about the technical aspects of building with earthbags and how they can be used to build safe, durable, beautiful, low-cost structures. But many readers are unfamiliar with this building method and are wondering what earthbag buildings look like. This inspired me to create a virtual tour of some of the best … Read more
Many earthbag builders are fond of curved houses. That’s great because earthbags readily lend themselves to curved shapes. But what about the roof? Thatch roofing is one good solution, depending on your climate and local codes. Here are a few links to get you started. Exotic East, Bali huts and thatch Installation instructions This is … Read more
The folks at The Year of Mud: Building a Cob House have put together a great site, including very informative articles on creating mosaics in earth plaster and building a reciprocal roof (we’ll save this for a future topic). Dirt cheap techniques like mosaics can really enhance the appearance your home. In addition to mosaics, … Read more
Tim Merritt, earthbag enthusiast and reader of our blog, sent us this roof idea from GardenDome.com. Tim is considering using these domes on top of earthbag walls to create more interesting shapes and save labor on the roof. The GardenDome.com website showcases over 60 domes of all different sizes and shapes. You can order their … Read more
I invite you all to visit my new website Earthbag House Plans. At this point I have 77 earthbag plans in the preliminary design stage. Most are houses, but there are some cabins, shelters, sheds and shops. All are small and made with sustainable materials — earthbags, straw bales, earth floors, earth plaster, sustainably harvested … Read more
Several new earthbag planter projects have been added to our Projects webpage at EarthbagBuilding.com (our companion website). This seems like a popular option that has lots of potential. An Earthbag Raised Bed Garden from www.thefarm.org, Ecovillage Training Center, Summertown, TN provides their recipe, building techniques and photos for building planters/raised garden beds. Beth’s Earthbag Construction … Read more