Prices for bags keep going up. What isn’t? Here’s one more possibility for readers who can’t find affordable or recycled bags in their area. Paula, one of our readers, sent us word of what they’re doing to cut costs in Brazil. “People are getting together to buy a big quantity of rolls for hyperadobe and … Read more
I think it would be a great idea to start a list of suppliers who sell misprinted bags. Suppliers sometimes sell otherwise perfectly good bags at a discount when the printing quality is not acceptable. Most people use 18”x30” bags, so that would be the best size to locate. Please leave a comment below with … Read more
There’s a wide range of earthbag building systems and some are obviously better than others. Let’s summarize the leading V.G.E.W. contenders. Links are included to make it easier to research the details. – Eternally Solar’s earthbag walls filled with sand. Engineering tests show they exceed building code requirements – Eternally Solar’s earthbags can be filled … Read more
Patti Stouter sent me this news about raschel mesh from a supplier in Canada that works perfectly for the narrow rubble walls in her Totally Tubular design. She builds hyper-wattle — tubes of lightweight insulation — on top of the narrow rubble walls. “The 18″ wide raschel got here last night and I tried it … Read more
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