This photo shows the near impossible to make perfect fit between stones that indicates they may have been cast in place with geopolymer. One source said iron tools were not available at that time, only copper. Ever tried chiseling and cutting hard stone? I have and I can tell you it’s ridiculously slow even with … Read more
Here’s the latest from Patti. “People building with trash have relied on bottles filled with sand or adobe or film plastics to provide strength in infill walls. They have needed either cement mortar or chicken wire to hold the walls together. Some good info on previous projects is at: http://inspirationgreen.com/plastic-bottle-schools.html#jfafa3e6aa Because of the strength of … Read more
Cato from Chiapas, Mexico has sent us details about how they built an earthbag health clinic. This is a beautiful example of how people, without much money or training, can manifest a dream. Most of their inspiration and advise was accessed from the internet. The links below are to PDF files assembled from an original … Read more
This is the technique used by Cato on the health clinic in Chiapas, Mexico, and can be visualized more accurately be referring to this PDF file. “Here is an idea that may help other builders to stay on level while laying the bags. At first, after laying and tamping every row, we checked if we … Read more
Patti Stouter just tested her hyper-wattle wall system that’s she’s building at her home in New York. She’s published the results on her Hyper-wattle proposal at the $300 House design competition. She’s been in the top three consistently and there’s a very good chance she’ll win first place. I believe her project is the best … Read more
There’s a wide variety of fill material that can go in earthbags – road base, subsoil, gravel, crusher fines, etc. Use what’s low cost and locally available. But also consider durability and climate. Do you live in a very cold climate? Then consider using insulating materials in the bags. Do you live where flooding is … Read more