It’s good to know a variety of building ideas to draw from as you design your dream home. Box beams are hollow, nonstructural members made from ¾” plywood or solid wood. They add a beautiful look that can dress up an otherwise boring ceiling without too much time, cost and labor. You could build box … Read more
Timbrel vaults offer another low cost, sustainable roof building method. This method is suitable for do-it-yourself owner builders if you do the research. Suggestions include: use a simple design with a reinforced concrete bond beam and modest spans. Look into using low-fired, lightweight brick like the type used in Mexico and SE Asia. “The ‘Sustainable … Read more
La Casa Vergara was designed by José Andrés Vallejo and built in Bogotá, Colombia in just 5 months, early in 2011. I am delighted to see that professional architects are beginning to accept earthbag technology as a viable approach to building. La Casa Vergara is a fine example of an upscale home that is built … Read more
The Nubian vault is an African technique for the construction of timberless vaulted roofs. The AVN (Association la Voute Nubienne), through its Program ’Earth roofs in the Sahel’, helps provide families in sub-Saharan Africa with comfortable, sustainable, affordable, homes. In a recent Newsletter from this organization, I was impressed by the statistics they provided regarding … Read more
The compression ring I designed and had built by a local machine shop for our earthbag roundhouse worked perfectly. It costs me just $20 or so and used very few materials. The roof bolted together in one hour and, as reported previously, it was rock solid even with 4-5 workers climbing on it. Also note, … Read more
“Such nice people … I am super happy! Machimbrado finished the roof membrane. It was a labor intense 7 days, praying that the rains do not bend the wood, covered with plastic at night what we were roofing. The only thing missing is a wing, perhaps made of reeds. We made a modification in the … Read more