This is just a short summary of my experience teaching an earthbag workshop in Koh Phangan this weekend. We’ll be posting more later because Julien and Hubert, the hosts of the workshop and the driving force behind the project, are doing such outstanding work. They have a number of interesting, photogenic structures on their yoga … Read more
From time to time we’ll post answers to readers’ questions. Q: How do earthbag structures compare to military sand bag bunkers? A: We know sand bags have been in use by the military for a very long time, possibly as long as 250 years. See Earthbag History Footnote. We also know sand bags (earthbags) are … Read more
Our earthbag design team is busy creating home and shelter designs, as well as innovative building ideas for the reconstruction effort in Haiti. (See Kelly Hart’s Alternative Bond Beam and Lintel system, for one example.) As you’re probably aware, conventional bond beams and foundations are made with reinforced concrete, but these are costly, labor intensive … Read more
Here’s a great shelter design by Delani that was posted at Core 77 as part of a recent shelter competition. Sometimes the best ideas are the simplest, and this design is exquisite because of its simplicity. That means it’s inexpensive and easy to build. And no doubt about it, it will work structurally. (However, it … Read more
Here’s a simple way to help prevent metal roofing from being blown away. Roofs are typically quite vulnerable to uplift in windy areas. There are commercially available roof hold-downs that bolt trusses and rafters to walls, but I’ve never seen the system described here. It was inspired by hearing all the stories about metal roofing … Read more
The most common size bag for earthbag (sand bag) building measures about 18”x30” measured when empty. This is often called a 50 pound bag, since these bags are used to store 50 lb. of grain and feed. When filled, this size creates walls about 15”-16” wide. This is a good size for earthbag building because … Read more