It is best to start laying bags starting at the corners and doorways and work toward the center of the wall. And when you get to the center, you’ll probably have these small spaces left. I call these custom bags. I’m going to demonstrate how to fill this gap with a small bag or custom … Read more
My Step-by-Step Earthbag Building article at EarthbagBuilding.com has been updated. I built a demonstration wall and photographed each step. YouTube videos have been embedded to further demonstrate the process. All the latest tools and techniques are shown, including use of stronger sheetmetal sliders, 2-gallon cement buckets, bucket chutes, bags turned inside out, and filling bags … Read more
There’s growing interest in lightweight bag fill materials as alternatives to more labor intensive soil-filled earthbags. While lightweight materials such as scoria, perlite, etc. are not as stable as tamped earth, their higher insulation value and labor saving advantages offer tantalizing possibilities for certain designs, locales and site conditions. We’re currently investigating vetiver grass as … Read more
In a previous YouTube video available at my Earthbag YouTube site, I explained how you can pin the corners of bags so the corners don’t stick out. Here’s another option — you can just turn the bags inside out. The last image in the video shows what the final result looks like.
I winced when I watched this video titled “Trimming the Fat” about how the folks at Konbit Shelter were using a machete to cut off the poly bag material and some of the stabilized fill to smooth out the interior wall of a dome they have been building in Haiti before plastering. I suppose I … Read more
Grub hoes and grape hoes are my favorite digging tools. Shovels work fine with loose material such as gravel and sand, but it’s rather difficult digging clayey soil such as road base with shovels. One of these hoes, however, can cut right into the soil and readily pull the material into buckets without lifting. Think … Read more