Barbed Wire Provides Tensile Strength

Some people are using sharp rocks, thorny vines, etc. to prevent slippage between bags. These things may help a little, but barbed wire does a lot more than prevent slippage –– it adds tensile strength to your structure. This point is often overlooked. Tensile strength restrains courses of domes from moving horizontally (expanding outwards from … Read more

Barbed Wire Anchors for Seismic Regions

Patti Stouter has devised a new way of reinforcing earthbag walls in seismic regions. Cement mortar is inserted in some joints between bags to lock the barbed wire in place and increase tensile strength. Mortar isn’t needed between every bag, and most likely every course doesn’t need this extra reinforcement. Designers/engineers could strategically place the … Read more