My Little Homestead has a new video series that documents each step of construction of Shea’s new earthbag bedroom. At the beginning of this particular episode they explain their favorite soil cement floor method.
low cost floor
Lime-ash Floors
Lime-ash floors were an economical form of floor construction from the 15th century to the 19th century, for upper floors in parts of England where limestone or chalk were easily available. They were strong, flexible, and offered good heat and sound insulation.
Paper Bag Floors
“Those of you that are looking for an affordable, attractive, totally doable flooring solution have come to the right place! I wanted to do paper flooring, mostly because it was cheap and I thought it looked great. But mostly because it was cheap. My boys room is about 10 x 12 and I did the whole thing for about $80, but I have enough supplies left over that the next room will cost about $30. Most of you are probably wondering what the heck paper on a floor looks like and I don’t blame you, it’s kind of a weird idea. Here is what the finished product looks like…”
Adobe Block Floors
Readers often ask our advice about the most practical floors for do-it-yourselfers. If you’re building your own sustainable home, I suggest building floors on grade. This eliminates the need for posts, beams, floor joists, subflooring, toxic glues and other materials used to build typical wood framed floors.