I finally had a chance to build with mesh bags. Previously I had made some test bags, but this week we included a whole course of mesh bags in our current Cool Pantry project. More photos coming soon. In this post I want to describe some of the differences in working properties between mesh and … Read more
What’s the most efficient, cost-effective way to build with earthbags? How can you enclose the most space with the least time, effort and money? Well, it depends in part on climate, individual skills and preferences as far as styles/building types. (Other factors will be covered in a future post.) In general, round shapes are the … Read more
Do earthbags really become hard as rock or is this exaggeration? I did a little experiment on the roundhouse we’re currently building to find out. The answer depends primarily on the choice of fill material and the degree of compaction. The moisture content and curing process also play a role. We used road base – … Read more
Almost every part of a new home can be obtained at lower cost through using recycled goods and bartering. The concept is very simple. Someone, somewhere likely has an excess of what you’re looking for and will gladly trade or sell those goods at below market cost. For instance, plumbers replace sinks and bathtubs routinely. … Read more
There’s great, untapped potential for superinsulated earthbag buildings in cold climates. Here’s a way to combine the best features of earthbags and yurts. The basic idea is to combine earthbag walls filled with lightweight insulation such as scoria (lava rock), with a traditional yurt roof frame that’s insulated with perlite or vermiculite. Yurts (ghers) have … Read more
One possible use of earthbags I haven’t seen so far is using bags of vermiculite, perlite, scoria or pumice for insulating yurts, tents and other dwellings. Kelly Hart used scoria-filled bags on his domes, and we’ve discussed ceiling insulation previously, but I’m talking about stacking (free standing) bags inside of a structure for wall insulation. … Read more