Our ever alert researcher into all things earthen, Patti Stouter, has found that testing has confirmed that earthbags can provide excellent base isolation to lessen the impact of earthquakes and severe winds on buildings. The Advanced Materials Research group has published a paper titled Cyclic Simple Shear Tests on Base Isolation Using Soilbags. “Soilbags have … Read more
One good method to raise a structure high enough to prevent moisture damage is to build on high ground and/or raise the building site (building pad). This is what I’ve done on our earthbag structures so far. We spread out truckloads of road base where the building would go, drove a truck back and forth … Read more
Let’s take a brief respite from castle plans, shall we? Our website traffic has hit another major spike and so I’ll take this opportunity to summarize some key facts about earthbag building. A few quick facts: – Successful completion of an earthbag/strawbale shake table test in Nevada applied forces that surpassed that of the Northridge … Read more
Make sure you get the basics right so your earthbag home is safe, sound and durable. As obvious as this seems, the most fundamental earthbag building principles sometimes get lost in the forest of information. That was one reason for writing the Earthbag Building Guide – to focus on the most important steps and demonstrate … Read more
This is a 15 minute film on earth-bag construction at ‘Green Resource Center’ in Karamoja, Northern Uganda, as a part of IOM’s Karamoja Food Security and Community Stabilization Programme. As I watched this very informative and entertaining video, it actually brought tears to my eyes. I realized how wonderfully empowering earthbag construction can be, and … Read more
You can use a sifter on the jobsite for removing large rocks, sticks and roots from soil. (I buy road base to obtain an optimal mix and minimize labor.) The following submission was sent to us by Red Fern. After looking around the web for a few design ideas, Tiegan set out on the mission … Read more