My focus has always been on low cost, low tech housing solutions. But people are starting to plan large earthbag projects, and it’s only natural to look for ways to reduce costs and labor. One option is to modify the pneumatic tampers used for rammed earth by adding a wider base. It would take some … Read more
Today’s post is about another low cost housing project in Haiti. Lower walls are ‘earth logs’ made with soil-filled filter fabric. Fabric is placed inside wood forms, filled with local soil and pinned closed. Earthbags are stacked on top. “The Foundation of St. Peter has started building houses out of the rubble in Haiti. We … Read more
This may not be the most exciting post, but the information is important. We’re seeing photos of earthbag projects under construction that show barbed wire not being installed correctly. The best way is to use long pieces of barbed wire, preferably pieces that continue around the entire structure. Overlap the ends of the wire about … Read more
From time to time we answer reader’s questions. Paul: In the EcoOcha video I noticed they tamped the sides to reduce the ‘log cabin’ look and to reduce the amount of plaster required. This smoother surface would be much easier to plaster. Owen: Yes, more and more builders are flattening the walls like this to … Read more
I recommend Precision Structural Engineering at Structure1.com for anyone needing engineering on their earthbag home or other buildings. Engineering is available for seismic and non-seismic areas. Precision Structural Engineering is a leader in the green building movement. They developed the first code approved earthbag building system that’s suitable for most any design.
Continuing with Owen’s assessment of the Hyperadobe method of building earthbag walls, I have had some further thoughts. This innovation comes to us from Fernando Pacheco, a Brazilian engineer, and it has been used there for at least two years. I have prepared a detailed page at www.earthbagbuilding.com that is a step-by step guide to … Read more