My Earthbag Building Guide covers all the basics of building with bags. In addition to the basic techniques, here are a few more small suggestions that didn’t make it into the book. I say small, but little improvements like these can save a lot of work over the course of building a home. – Cover … Read more
I’ve tried quite a few corner pinning methods to prevent corners of bags from sticking out in the plaster. We keep getting faster and faster, and using fewer, less expensive materials. This latest method uses just one stitch of galvanized wire and is the fastest, easiest, least expensive method I know of. Cut pointed ends … Read more
Working in teams of three to build earthbag structures is often the most efficient. You could use fewer or more workers per team, but three seems like the most efficient in most cases. Worker #1: Filling buckets, moistening and mixing soil Worker #2: Carrying buckets of soil from worker #1 to worker #3 Worker #3: … Read more
It is best to start laying bags starting at the corners and doorways and work toward the center of the wall. And when you get to the center, you’ll probably have these small spaces left. I call these custom bags. I’m going to demonstrate how to fill this gap with a small bag or custom … Read more
I’ve seen some photos lately of structures with ‘thin bags’ where the earthbags were not filled all the way. My recommendation is to tamp the contents lightly as the bag is being filled. This just takes seconds and ensures the bag is filled to capacity so you need fewer bags. Here’s the process: 1. Fill … Read more