The year-round greenhouse at Sandhill Farm is built with sustainable materials, including earthbags for lower walls and light straw/clay in upper walls. Greenhouse segment starts at 1:12. Maybe someone from Sandhill Farm can chime in here and leave some comments. More info: Sandhill Farm Dancing Rabbit TV
Let’s assume you want to add an extra box when you’re doing your electrical. The other boxes were installed in the right places during wall construction, but somehow you forgot one. (This would never happen to professionals, of course. [cough]) Don’t worry, there’s an easy fix. What I do… [cough] or would do if this … Read more
It’s very easy to install electrical boxes in earthbag walls. The process involves two basic steps: 1. Anchors: Add anchors in the wall where electrical boxes will go. Do this as the wall is being built. You could use 2x4s placed between earthbags as anchors. Another way is by placing 3” diameter poles about 7” … Read more
There’s growing interest in living roofs or green roofs. The difficulty is deciding on the waterproof membrane. Rubber pond liner (EPDM) is the most waterproof and durable material, and the most common choice due to proven performance, but it’s also very expensive and made from nasty petro chemicals. I think a number of less toxic, … Read more
We’ve been explaining how you can build a sustainable earthbag home for around $10/square foot. To build in this price range requires extra time and effort, but it is possible. Unfortunately, if you look on the Internet, you’ll find people making outrageous claims about various building systems and how you can build for much less … Read more
It seems many readers are hesitant to plunge in and start building an earthbag house. That’s understandable. Building any home is a major undertaking and it makes sense to plan accordingly. The best advice for those just getting started (after doing the prerequisite background research) is to build something small like a storage shed or … Read more