Here’s Patti Stouter’s entry for the $300 House design competition. Rubble bags on lower walls provide a solid, flood resistant wall. Hyper-wattle provides lightweight insulating upper walls made of mesh tubes. Thin walls conserve space and materials, and take less labor. Her design is one of only a few in this competition that could actually … Read more
We’ve been discussing the Eternally Solar earthbag building system at length. Engineering tests show their walls exceed building code requirements even when filled with sand. Their bags are also used to form lintels and bond beams. As exciting and practical as this is, there’s a wide range of other options. Their earthbags can be filled … Read more
Text below and image is from Eternally Solar / EarthBagBuild, who has a new, very impressive site with lots of great information and ideas. I haven’t had time to read their entire site, but this sounds like the largest earthbag project in the world. One intriguing aspect is their FAQ page explains how their system … Read more
Our next structure will probably be a roofed dome, so we need to decide what’s the easiest and best way to roof a conical or dome shaped roof. Top choices include durable wood or metal shingles. I like the look of wood the most, although metal would probably be easier to install, best at sealing … Read more
It’s a thrill to announce the completion of our earthbag cool pantry. As you can read in previous posts, this structure is designed to keep food cool without electricity. It’s a simple design that anyone can build on the side of their house. Cool Pantry Update Cool Pantries: Storing Food Without Using Power
This video is by David Easton, the well known owner of Rammed Earth Works in California and author of The Rammed Earth House, the best selling book on the subject. Here’s Wiki’s description: “Soil cement is a construction material, a mix of pulverized natural soil with small amount of Portland cement and water, usually processed … Read more