The Castle Tower House is largely the same plan as the 2-story Roundhouse Above Survival Shelter with a crenellated roof design. In the earthbag castle I’m currently designing it’s used as a corner ‘watch tower’. Its primary function in ‘peace time’ is a guesthouse or office. Compare this version to the original plan to see … Read more
This design evolved from email discussions with one of my repeat customers who is building earthbag homes in South America. He wanted a larger, grander design that included a larger master bedroom, pantry, mechanical room and sitting room. My recent blog post on Earthbag Fortresses and Castles was quite popular and so I decided to … Read more
Have you ever puzzled over why so many people choose to buy homes at outrageous prices that require 20-30 year mortgages even though they are often poorly built, made with materials that offgas hazardous substances and readily burn in house fires? In addition, these conventional houses are usually energy inefficient, require expensive ongoing maintenance, cause … Read more
My Hobbit House design was one of the top viewed earthbag plans last week, and one of the most common search terms, so I reworked the roof to incorporate wood shingles. The first version showed a living roof, but these take a lot of maintenance and require an expensive EPDM rubber membrane. A wood roof … Read more
Carolyn: I am interested in both straw bale and earth bag building. My priority is an eco-friendly home that is airy and natural, but while cost is important, we are building a home not an emergency shelter and want something that helps people to see that you don’t need to be a “hippie” to have … Read more
The biggest way to save money on your home is to not get a mortgage. This is possible if you use locally available, low cost materials such as earthbags, earth, stone, wood from a local forest and so on. You can also build in stages on a pay as you go basis. This is common … Read more