Much as been written about the technical aspects of building with earthbags and how they can be used to build safe, durable, beautiful, low-cost structures. But many readers are unfamiliar with this building method and are wondering what earthbag buildings look like. This inspired me to create a virtual tour of some of the best … Read more
Many earthbag builders are fond of curved houses. That’s great because earthbags readily lend themselves to curved shapes. But what about the roof? Thatch roofing is one good solution, depending on your climate and local codes. Here are a few links to get you started. Exotic East, Bali huts and thatch Installation instructions This is … Read more
Jerry Collette of www.recycledrice.org is planning to use prepackaged rice hulls that come in 50 lb. polypropylene bags to build an earthbag tipi at the Pine Ridge Reservation. (See www.earthbagbuilding.com/bulletin) He says that they cost about $6 US each, so it is not exactly dirt cheap, but there are definite advantages. Rice Hulls make excellent … Read more
I was a guest on an internet radio talk show Wednesday, April 15, 2009 in the afternoon, discussing topics related to green home building. Quite a bit of the discussion was about earthbag building. See http://truthbrigade.com/ If you missed the live show, it will be archived at http://recordings.talkshoe.com/TC-11887/TS-212923.mp3 I don’t actually make my appearance on … Read more
I just read this article about the toxic effects of new houses that used drywall material shipped from China to the US in the last few years. Many people are getting quite sick and can no longer live in these contaminated homes. Nobody quite understands exactly what the cause is, except that the suspect drywall … Read more
The folks at The Year of Mud: Building a Cob House have put together a great site, including very informative articles on creating mosaics in earth plaster and building a reciprocal roof (we’ll save this for a future topic). Dirt cheap techniques like mosaics can really enhance the appearance your home. In addition to mosaics, … Read more