Adjusting the Clay/Aggregate Ratio of Road Base

All of our earthbag projects have been built using the same road base material. It has worked exceedingly well. After tamping, the earthbags are solid and turn into very hard earthen blocks. Here I am testing the hardness of bags on our roundhouse. But from time to time I would see areas with less than … Read more

Terrazyme Soil Stabilizer

I’ve been reading about TerraZyme® for a number of years, but Scott Howard of Earthen Hand prompted me to comment on this soil stabilizer. It seems to be an enzyme fermented from fruit, so here’s another safe, low tech way to stabilize earthbags. Text below is from their website. TerraZyme® soil stabilizer is a safe, … Read more

Our Earthbag House – How to Build a Fortress on the Cheap

Earthbag construction is a durable and affordable technique for building houses. The system was developed specifically with the goal of making them earthquake resistant, and they are in fact very effective at stopping most common bullet calibers. See all the best earthbag videos at EarthbagBuilding.com Videos

Triple Roundhouse Cluster

This 785 sq. ft. interior design connects three sloped roof roundhouses and adjoining closets to create a unique roundhouse cluster design that is earth-sheltered on three sides — east, west and north — with a sunny courtyard on the south. The 16′ bedroom roundhouses on either side can be used as bedrooms, home offices, studios, … Read more

PolyPavement Natural Soil Pavement

Scott Howard of Earthen Hand tipped me off to this soil stabilizing product that could be useful for some projects. Text below is from the PolyPavement website. PolyPavement solidifies earth to make Natural Soil Pavement. It is a liquid soil solidifier that converts the earth itself into a solid pavement. PolyPavement converts the earth itself … Read more

Bamboo Wattle and Daub

This is a demonstration of wattle and daub made with bamboo. Wattle and daub is the world’s oldest known building method used all over the world many thousands of years. Here we’re using bamboo. You could use small saplings and branches woven together in the same way. We peeled the bamboo on the surface – … Read more