Friday, October 7, 2011

What is Earthbag Building?


The military has used earthbags to build structures for quite some time. The properties of earthbags are very attractive for building very sturdy, self-insulating, and cost efficient structures. The purpose of this site is to provide information on using earthbags to build homes.


To read more on the benefits of using earthbags to build a house please click here; this article will focus more on the general history of using earthbags to build houses, and a brief rundown of the technique and materials used.


Using earthbags to build houses has proven successful in almost all climates. Since earthbags may be filled with endless types of materials a builder using earthbags can choose a filling material that would work well in their climate in particular.


To read more about tested materials used in earthbags and their properties please click here.




Earthbags (polypropylene bags), commonly referred to as sandbags, are used to store feed, grain, grass seed, fertilizer, sugar, beans, rice, gravel and coal in the construction, chemical, agriculture, mining and building materials.

Earthbags must be woven polypropylene bags.




File:Masonry horizontal spacing.jpg


Many builders using earthbags will cut a length of barbed wire and run it between the rows; this creates more friction and increases the stability of the structure. This process is repeated tamping the bags down after each row is laid.


The finished product looks just like an adobe home.





Homes built with earthbags can be any style. You will see a lot of dome style houses on the internet since this is an easier style in which to build in this manner, however, building a traditional style house is simply a matter of using a couple of extra techniques.


So…


Building homes with earthbags is very inexpensive (you could build a house for a four person family with $4000)!!


Earthbag construction is easy to learn; (for step by step instructions and list of materials needed click here).





Homes built with earthbags are virtually fireproof, earthquake and flood resistant, and are self insulating. Not to mention great for the environment. Earthbag building is quickly becoming a popular chice for building a green home. 


I encourage you to read on; the advances in this technique and all of the trial and error have already been done for you! You don’t have to be a construction worker to build one, and you don’t have to be a hippy to live in one (I think the domes are cool, but you can have a ranch style house just as well).


Press Ctrl + D to bookmark this page. Please check out my other articles including building materials, earthbag resources, pics, and all things building with earthbags. Like anything else, the first step is to do some research and get started. I hope I can help!


Please click on any link below to read the in-depth article. 


What is Earthbag Building?
Materials and Tools List