The specifications for reinforced earthbag walls in seismic regions from Structure1.com describe how to attach shear walls to earthbag walls. Properly built shear walls add a great deal of strength to earthbag structures, but are seldom discussed. I thought a detailed drawing of this feature would be helpful. The drawing below illustrates the key concepts. … Read more
A few BIG issues in everyone’s lives today are rising fuel costs (which is connected to peak oil and gas production), wars to secure limited resources, and global warming – all a consequence of our overconsumption and dependence on non-renewable energy. These problems are not going away any time soon. The seriousness and scope of … Read more
This is my second post about hempcrete in just a few days. Obviously I’m pretty excited about it. The last post listed quite a few advantages of hempcrete. This post with even more exciting advantages is based on an article in the most recent issue of The Owner Builder magazine called Growing Your Own House, … Read more
I am extremely happy to announce another major first for earthbag building. Precision Engineering has generously provided drawings and specifications for building earthbag structures in seismic areas to meet code. The documents have been combined into one 6-page PDF and are now available online. Reinforced Earthbag Specifications is a 6-page PDF describing in drawings and … Read more
Today’s post is from The House Made of Hemp article at Ecogizmo. You can read the full article for free on their site. I’m posting this because I see no reason why hempcrete couldn’t be used in earthbags. This would eliminate the form work and require less tamping than building with soil-filled bags. This would … Read more
It’s time to plaster!!! Isn’t it great! All the bags and roof are up. Now it’s just the finishing touch – plaster! Weather permitting, we will be plastering on Saturday December 4th. This is the easy part so come join us and have some fun! To learn more about the Barrels of Hope for Haiti … Read more