Patti Stouter, winner of the $300 House contest, is at it again. Her latest project combines 1. gravel-filled poly bags (earthbag foundation), 2. hyper-adobe (compacted soil in mesh bags), with 3. hyper-wattle (straw filled mesh bags or tubes soaked in clay). The structure is then plastered with earth and lime.
Patti: “I am so pleased with how firm the straw wattle walls on my bench have become. I’m glad I chose a layout that will be an asset to my yard, because the wall is there to stay.
We discussed flattening earthbag walls in a previous blog post: Flattening Walls to Save Plaster
In that blog post (and the following Comments afterwards) I described some of the basics of this technique: tamp the sides of walls after several courses are complete; don’t wait too long or the soil will dry and be difficult to tamp; use enough clay in the mix so the earthbags are malleable; focus on eliminating awkward bulges; don’t tamp the walls completely flat – leave recesses between courses of bags so the plaster has something to grab onto.
“Let’s create the Regenerative Home. With this proposal, we are raising funds to showcase technologies for homes that are ecological, affordable, and appropriate for these times. We will build the second prototype this summer in Colorado (earlier version shown in the intro video). Throughout the construction we will document in film and photography. The building plans will be available this year online for $10. Plus, in a subsequent fundraising effort next year, we will assemble an online documentary film about the process so others can learn from and recreate these ideas.
A blog post entitled “Earthbag, Superadobe, Hiperdobe, Why Not Hiperpapercrete?” caught my eye. The author makes a very good case for filling mesh tubing with damp papercrete. Here is how he explains it: “I have recently been reading up about earthbag/superadobe construction. One of the new techniques that some earthbaggers are very excited about utilizes … Read more
As reported in a previous blog post just recently, low cost raschel mesh tube material is now available. (Thanks again to Patti Stouter for tracking this down.) Affordable mesh tubing means hyperadobe is now a more realistic option for many earthbaggers. A growing number of people think hyperadobe is the fastest, easiest earthbag method currently … Read more
Here’s a bit of good news from Patti Stouter. I just heard from Maurice Wilson that the raschel mesh tubing for Hyperadobe earth building has come in. He has a limited supply, but the manufacturer has sent longer rolls. These rolls up to 1400 meters long will still be offered at the price for 1000 … Read more