The other day I posted about the Hobbit House Shed that sent droves of readers to our site. We haven’t talk much about cordwood, so I thought you’d be interested in The Little Cordwood Barn – a cordwood/earthbag structure at A Homestead Daughter Blog. “Hey Everybody! Popping in with some pictures to share of the … Read more
The compression ring I designed and had built by a local machine shop for our earthbag roundhouse worked perfectly. It costs me just $20 or so and used very few materials. The roof bolted together in one hour and, as reported previously, it was rock solid even with 4-5 workers climbing on it. Also note, … Read more
Imagine having a toasty place to sit or sleep in the dead of winter. It’s fairly easy to make heated earthbag benches and beds. All you do is run PEX or copper tubing between courses of bags. The bench or bed could be heated from a water jacket on a wood stove or you could … Read more
Even though the Earthbuilder’s Encyclopedia CD covers adobe and rammed earth construction, earthbag builders will find lots of useful information. Lintels, bond beams, plasters, mixing, site preparation, attaching things to walls, design issues, etc. are all relevant since there’s so much in common. The CD is a compilation of years of Adobe Builder Magazine articles, … Read more
After months of delays due to technical glitches, my new Basic Earthbag Building video will soon be available through Amazon. Special thanks to Kelly Hart, co-developer of this blog and EarthbagBuilding.com, for making the cover and steering the project through the final difficult stage. The first part of Basic Earthbag Building provides clear, simple explanations … Read more
An airlock entryway (vestibule) has two airtight doors that reduce the amount of air infiltration and heat loss when the exterior door is opened. They create a buffer area to block the wind and improve energy efficiency. Double door airlock entries are common features in energy-efficient homes in cold climates, but they also reduce air … Read more