Question from a reader: “Owen, I have started an Earthbag storage area 19×17 as a test project for using earthbags, and I have finished the gravel section about two feet high and I have moved on to using road base, clay, and cinder. Cinder for insulation as your e-book recommends, but it is very time … Read more
Here’s Patti Stouter’s entry for the $300 House design competition. Rubble bags on lower walls provide a solid, flood resistant wall. Hyper-wattle provides lightweight insulating upper walls made of mesh tubes. Thin walls conserve space and materials, and take less labor. Her design is one of only a few in this competition that could actually … Read more
I’ve pulled together the recent posts on rubble bag houses, expanded and edited the info, and published a new blog post at Mother Earth News. It includes details on how to build and reinforce rubble walls. Concrete rubble from collapsed buildings is a huge problem in Haiti. It is blocking roads and hindering reconstruction. Instead … Read more
Like many other designers, architects and engineers who are working to help rebuild Haiti, we’re constantly trying to create new house designs and improve previous efforts. This new hybrid design for Haiti is based on our Transitional L Kay design. The Kay is the most common house style in their country. Both versions provide immediate … Read more
I’ve been scouring the Internet looking at photos and videos of concrete rubble in Haiti. As you probably know, much of the concrete there was reduced to rubble in the earthquake (largely due to poor quality construction). But what is less apparent is a great deal of the concrete was pulverized. There is a tremendous … Read more