Here’s a low cost, 100% all natural wall building method. Homes built with this traditional Guatemalan building method can last up to 500 years and endure earthquakes.
Structural aspects
Post and Beam Knee Braces
Perhaps the simplest to build post and beam frame, and the one easiest to get code approval for, is the one described in a previous blog post about Post and Beam Hardware. The standardized hardware used in this method takes all the guesswork out of the process and ensures a strong structure. However, that system is not suitable for every situation. Some people prefer the beauty of traditional post and beam where the frame is exposed. Traditional post and beam construction is much slower and requires much more skill and tools than joining the frame with standard hardware, but the results can be worth it.
Miscellaneous Earthbag News
Patti Stouter’s New Earthbag Building Slide Series
“A how-to slide show series. A picture is worth a thousand words. And many natural builders have limited access to the internet. These slide shows will speed information transfer into many languages because they are mostly visual and come in small and large formats. Slide sets are also available in French.”
Practical Action
“Practical Action works alongside communities to find practical solutions to the poverty they face. We see technology as a vital contributor to people’s livelihoods. Our definition of technology includes physical infrastructure, machinery and equipment, knowledge and skills and the capacity to organise and use all of these.
New Earthbag Videos
Earthbag Building / Superadobe / Rammed Earth
A Cautionary Tale
Sometimes people send us emails asking specific questions about their personal projects, and we usually try to help them as best we can. Not long ago we got the following email with several photos attached:
I came up with the idea of building my own dome here in south Morocco where I live. I got some refurbished polypropylene bags and decided to do a 5m diameter dome to provide a shelter for horse food and equipment.
I decided to use the soil from our garden which is very close to sea sand. Since this was an unstabilized soil, I decided to tie the bags very firmly at the top to prevent any sand from slipping out, and also damped the sand so it could be tamped better. I dug a trench down to half a meter that I leveled with double bags filled up with small rocks, and then started the courses of bags, with two barbed wire between each course. We went up to half a meter straight, and then started to corbel the bags inwards. We have been working for two weeks now in a team of four, and it’s getting quite high. I wasn’t planning on doing a loft, since there would be no use of it for me. I’m getting a bit worried as we are working at higher levels that the whole thing might collapse, so I thought I should give it a try asking your advice. It feels quite strong while working on it, but when tamping, you can really feel the strikes wherever you are placed up on the wall.