Earthbag Construction (houses, buying, organic)

[LordBalfor]

Anyone on this board ever do any earthbag construction?

My wife and I would really like to create a Sante Fe style courtyard wall using this technique (whenever the time comes that we actually move down to Arizona).

It looks really simple, very cheap, and very very cool.

Earthbag Building: A Patio Wall

A lot of stuff about earthbags – Finishes (http://www.okokok.org/eb-finishes-7-7.php - broken link)

Ken

[kdog]

I'll tell ya, I though you lost a few marbles when I looked at those walls made from piled up bags of dirt. Ugly. Then I saw the finished walls, and wow.

Now I'm thinking about where I might be able to fit a couple in my yard. Hmmm....

It does look like a lot of work though. Thanks for the pointers.

[motormaker]

Pretty darn neat. Thinking about a project now.

[LordBalfor]

Yeah it's pretty cool isn't it? Was watching The Outdoor Room on HGTV last night and first saw this (the episode about young couple's house overlooking highway 101 in LA (the structure built was in this case a small cabana-like building but the process for building a courtyard wall is the same)). Was so excited by the idea that I had problems sleeping and instead got up and browsed the web from midnight 'till 3 AM for some ideas. We really like the Santa Fe look and had toyed with the idea of building similar walls - but I had always assumed we'd build them out of concrete blocks and then cover them with stucco. This idea is soooo much cheaper though and by it's very nature gives that soft rounded organic kind of look to the finished product. It's EXACTLY the look we want.

Ken

[crazyme4878]

okay, so i have tried to post two times and it keeps erasing my messages! i have the info you need. and sorry--my shift key is not working, so i have given up.

there is a lot of alternative building around cochise county. there is an email network for straw bale building that i will send you. there is also a woman in bisbee who is quite passionate about earthbags and has done a lot of work with them. she is a great woman and you should try to contact her. look at this page, it seems to have a contact for her: Earthbag Building: Ransom Ranch Dome she has been part of the straw bale network in the past.

i love, love, love all earth buildings and hope that i can build a straw bale house in the future. for now, i too am hoping to build an earthbag wall this summer. i think it is great that it is getting some mainstream media attention. did they embed objects or do a raised relief on the HGTV show. that is when it really gets cool! also, check out earth ovens--another proposed project this summer for us. from all accounts, they are easy and cheap to build!

[KarmaPhx]

Seems interesting, but where do you get the bags from? Seems like a cinderblock wall might be cheaper, and more sturdy.

[LordBalfor]

Originally Posted by crazyme4878

okay, so i have tried to post two times and it keeps erasing my messages! i have the info you need. and sorry--my shift key is not working, so i have given up.

there is a lot of alternative building around cochise county. there is an email network for straw bale building that i will send you. there is also a woman in bisbee who is quite passionate about earthbags and has done a lot of work with them. she is a great woman and you should try to contact her. look at this page, it seems to have a contact for her: Earthbag Building: Ransom Ranch Dome she has been part of the straw bale network in the past.

i love, love, love all earth buildings and hope that i can build a straw bale house in the future. for now, i too am hoping to build an earthbag wall this summer. i think it is great that it is getting some mainstream media attention. did they embed objects or do a raised relief on the HGTV show. that is when it really gets cool! also, check out earth ovens--another proposed project this summer for us. from all accounts, they are easy and cheap to build!

THANK YOU for the link and e-mail address!

On The Outdoor Room show they created a small round structure - similar in size to the one shown in your link except that it was a since round room instead of two. The one on the show also lacked a proper roof (the show is all about OUTDOOR spaces) but instead had a simple roof-like covering of poles that allowed light and air in but provided some degree of shade. They were using the long bags such as those used in your link and then they covered it with a cement-based stucco. It was pretty basic and had none of the embedded objects, windows or raise relief you mention. Still it was just a pretty cool idea - simple and cheap to built (and in our case we'd just use our local soil - which we have LOTS of) and struck me a great idea for building the front courtyard wall we've been thinking about.

As I said, we're not planning on building our house that way - just th courtyard wall to begin with - with a stucco-faced manufactured home. However, my wife is clay sculptor and we're planning on an outbuilding to hold and electric kiln and studio workspace and MAY consider such construction for that building. That though will depend on how well the wall construction goes. Neither of us is young and we're not in great shape so we'd probably build whatever we build at a "measured" pace.

Ken

[LordBalfor]

Originally Posted by KarmaPhx

Seems interesting, but where do you get the bags from? Seems like a cinderblock wall might be cheaper, and more sturdy.

There are places around that sell the bags pretty cheap - especially if you get Mis-printed ones. It should be way cheaper than cinderblock constuction - especially in our case where we'll use our own soil. The biggest cost would probably be the stucco material - which we'd want even if we had built a cinderblock wall. Literally these constructions seem to be "dirt" cheap.

From what I've read, these constructions are more stable than cinderblock walls.

Earthbag Building Materials and Prices

Ken

[crazyme4878]

Don't worry, I don't think I could commit to a earthbag house either. However, it is the housebuilding parties where you will find the first-hand info and experience. None of it seems that hard, though, and a wall is pretty low-key structure (aka--you don't have to worry as much about screwing it up).

If you wife likes to play with clay, look at cobb structures too. There are cobb buildings (with people still using them as residences) in England that are hundreds of years old. It takes a little more time to build, but may be a fun project somewhere on your property for her (and you). Again, you can do walls, outbuildings or houses in cobb. In straw bale building, you use your own soil for the plaster as well. You have to get it mixed in the right amounts for each layer (you start with less clay and add in straw, ending with the last layer being a thin, high-clay concentrated slip).

I get so excited talking about earth building! I really urge you to take a look at the other earth building info, if only to get different ideas for your wall. I'm hoping to put built-in benches and nooks in my wall. I haven't looked too closely at earthbags yet, so I don't know if it is feasible (I wanted to do straw bale, but it won't work. I then wanted--and still do--to do cobb, but my husband is trying to convince me it would take too long). I need to start reading up so I can do it soon. I am planning on a little courtyard in the backyard, with a fire pit on one end, and a ramada and outdoor kitchen (with an earth oven)on the other end. If I do get it done this summer, I will try to remember to send pictures and share dos and don'ts that I learn along the way.

[KarmaPhx]

Originally Posted by LordBalfor

There are places around that sell the bags pretty cheap - especially if you get Mis-printed ones. It should be way cheaper than cinderblock constuction - especially in our case where we'll use our own soil. The biggest cost would probably be the stucco material - which we'd want even if we had built a cinderblock wall. Literally these constructions seem to be "dirt" cheap.

From what I've read, these constructions are more stable than cinderblock walls.

Earthbag Building Materials and Prices

Ken

Ahh I see, I thought you were buying prefilled bags of soil, so do you plan to use soil from your property? That means a big hole somewhere, maybe buy a tree and use the dirt from the hole?