From time to time we answer reader’s questions. “Can you discuss how to transform a buttress into a later addition to the home?” The drawing above shows one possible solution for connecting buttresses and additions. (This is one of our proposed house designs for Haiti.) The buttresses are located where future walls will go. Put … Read more
Part 1 discussed the most efficient, cost-effective ways to build with earthbags. This post discusses a few related items. Building site: Follow these steps and you’ll save lots of time preparing the site and reduce the risk of problems in the future. Choose a building site that’s clear of obstacles and naturally higher than the … Read more
Patti Stouter has published another earthbag technical report. It is a summary of the state of testing to date, and also covers some of the codes related to earthbag. The following information is quoted from this report. According to the new international earthen building standards, if earthbag walls with some reinforcing have shear strength equal … Read more
I just posted the recent news about gaining engineering approval for earthbag construction through PSE, Nabil Taha’s engineering firm in Oregon. He is licensed in 27 states and has developed an earthbag building system to meet international building codes. This is a major step forward for gaining widespread acceptance of earthbag building and we are … Read more
We’re very happy to announce what is perhaps the greatest news ever for earthbag building. Nabil Taha, Ph.D., P.E., has developed an earthbag building design to meet building codes. This is a huge step forward for earthbag building and we feel very honored to have Nabil’s support. Nabil Taha is the President of Precision Structural … Read more
We spend a lot of time here explaining how to build strong, safe houses. Let’s look at conventional code-approved building materials and see how they compare to earthbag building. Because building codes were written by big industries to favor themselves, including the timber industry, the end result is farcical, although deadly serious when you consider … Read more