You can a short video about this at www.youtube.com
I’ve talked about wood siding on earthbag houses before. In that previous blog post, I talked about using slab wood and other low cost offcuts from sawmills, and cutting your own wood. Another option is buying factory made siding. There are lots of styles and options available, from rustic to refined, to match most any budget. One interesting option is siding that looks like logs. Log siding could be used on quite a few different types of natural homes, not just earthbags. It’s appealing to those who aren’t skilled at plastering, and it’s a good way to finish the exterior quickly when it’s too cold to plaster. You don’t have to side the whole house. You could just do the gable ends, for instance, where siding is much faster and easier than plastering.
“Log siding is a great way to get an authentic Log Home look without the Log Home price. Reason being: full logs are expensive to buy, harder to install, and require more maintenance over time. Log Siding on the other hand is very easy to install, produces less wasted materials, and provides a better insulating quality when installed on a conventional built wall—saving you money in the long run as well.”
Source: Rustic Rails
Image source: TJ’s Wood Products
Image source: Heritage Lumber
Image source: Northern Log Supply
How would you fix the siding to the exterior earthbags? And are the earthbags considered a vapor barrier to prevent sweating ect?
Probably the best way to attach the siding to an earthbag exterior would be to first install vertical strips of wood approximately every 18″ to 24″ and use these to attach the siding to. This is perhaps easiest done during construction of the earthbag wall by placing wire or twine either across the wall (if there is something similar on the inside to secure to the wall), or simply wrapping it around the bags and back out the course above. Doing this will allow the space between the bags and the siding to breathe like a rainscreen. Earthbag do not provide a vapor barrier and it is best for them to be able to breath as well.
How would the log siding be attached?
There are different siding systems and fastening systems. It varies from brand to brand. The video shows one brand being toe nailed.