Earth Bag House – An Eco Friendly Sustainable Home That Won’t Break the Bank PT 2
These homes can be built with dirt on your land and are suitable for all climates and weather types including earth quakes, blizzards and huricanes.
Please see my previous post about Cob Houses here. I will repeat a few key points that have relevance. Earth bag homes are a great alternative to cob houses if your land doesn’t have an ample supply of clay.
https://steemit.com/sustainable/@solarguy/cob-house-an-eco-friendly-sustainable-home-that-won-t-break-the-bank-series-pt-1
These homes are quite simple to build with the right help and enough muscle. The materials are easy to gather and with a creative mind the designs are unlimited.
This one was built in Hati after the devastating earthquake
All you need for materials
Sand or earth
Earth Bags, cheap r another comparable product.
Barbwire (some design methods use chicken coop fencing find out which is best for you)
Timber for framing
Cement for a solid foundation
Plus all the standard tools you would expect to need when building a house; no need to for power tools but that would make it easier.
Desert of Arizona
If you’re planning on building in the wilderness as I am you will want a waterfront or access to a fresh water spring on site. That’s not required for the house construction but it just always nice to have your own supply of water. You wouldn’t need to connect it to the municipal supply or truck it in and store it.
(North Carolina)
I mentioned in my last post about building on “unorganized land” which is land that you do not need permission or permits to do pretty much anything you want. Places of true freedom still exist and I am aiming for nice piece in Canada some day.
Make sure you check with your local laws before you build but generally speaking most sand bag homes are small enough to not require a permit.
Moon Cocoon design by Cal Earth
Cal Earth are pro's check them out here https://www.calearth.org/superadobe-structures-calearth
You will save tons of money by doing as much of the work yourself as you can. It does not take “rocket surgery” to fill bags with sand but will take time and strength and lots of beer to entice your friends to help out.
Earth Bag homes have withstood hurricane force winds and earthquakes. The interlocking pattern of the bags placement allows for the structure to shift without risk of the concrete cracking and falling on your head leaving a rubble clear out and rebuild.
Some of the Best Reasons to Live in an Earth Bag Home
Earthquake proof.
Flood and Fire Proof.
Bullet Proof, seriously.
Energy efficient, cool in summer and warm in winter.
Easy to build with minimum materials.
Getting free designs online will ensure your earth bag home will pass the test.
https://earthbagplans.wordpress.com/introduction/
Simple enough right?
Check out this website for more specific details and photos on how to build the earth bag home in the screen grab below. I am not an expert so it’s best you get it direct from them. But please check out these photos of a house that cost about $5000 and hasn’t got running water or electricity. That’s easy to solve with your design, location and some solar panels. I plan to have satellite internet.
http://www.themudhome.com/earthbag-building.html
Let's have a look at a bunch of cool Earth Bag Homes
(http://scottsuperadobe.blogspot.com/2016/03/cal-earth-open-house.html)
They don't all have to be round but the circular shape does add stability for earthquakes.
Located in Belize. This is a truly a master piece of Architecture. Please check out their link for more photos of this house.
http://www.betterinbelize.com/galleries/belize-earth-bag-home/
Well, I hope this has inspired you. There are many ways to build using low tech, high quality sustainable materials found right at your feet. The world is your garden of Eden, we just forgot how to live in it. Everything you need is right there.
References and image credits in order of appearance unless otherwise stated.
http://webecoist.momtastic.com/2014/04/28/natural-affordable-homes-13-stunning-earthbag-structures/
http://www.motherearthnews.com/green-homes/10-reasons-to-build-an-earthbag-house-zbcz1512
http://www.earthbaghouse.com/EarthbagConstruction.html
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Resteemed
Nice post ;)
cool thanks man. will return that karma.
In The U.S. there is no such thing as too small to require a permit, unless it is literally a shed.
And you cannot live in the shed... if you want to it requires a permit. And then the thing you build has to be above the minimum size (usually huge, because they want to have higher property values)
ah so. I thought Alaska had this freedom in some places. I just get that from watching "Alaskan Bush People" and "Last of the Alaskans" among some other cool outdoor life type shows from the great north. Though I do not get my legal advice from there haha, just funky ideas. lol
Pretty cool, man. I have friends who built a straw bale house and a composting shitter. But these earth bag houses have a more enchanting look. Could be a good option for a "dirtbag" like me :-)
Straw bale houses and earth bag houses are pretty much the same.
Just a thick medium to support its shape, and then plastered inside and out.
The shape you come up with is up to your imagination. Bales are square, so they lend themselves to typical square houses.
I like cob and adobe better as building material.
Get a vibrating adobe brick compactor. You shovel in dirt on one side (with enough clay in it) and out comes ready to use, great big bricks. You use them in much the same way as you see above.
very true. compacted earth bricks lasts thousands of years, some still standing tall since before Marco Polo wandered off.
Yes, straw bale homes are very cool I also am keeping that in list of options when I build. It really depends on where I build because I would need decent road to bring them in and I plan to be quite remote. If I'm in a rural area with roads I would have near the top of my list.
Funny you mention a compost toilette; of all my plans, sketches and clay models to build an off grid house I have never included a toilette. I would just build a fancy outhouse probably with a compost toilette.
And if you want enchanting you should go with a cob house those things are like right out of Hobbitvile.
Writing a post about Straw Bale houses is on my list among a few others.
The sky is the limit for creative designs. They can last hundreds of years. I could go on forever about cob houses.
very true. compacted earth bricks lasts thousands of years, some still standing tall since before Marco Polo wandered off.
I once read you can use 3D printed to print the parts of a house.
you could probably make a lot cool things for your home with a 3D printer.
Yes, that should work too.
Yes, there is a group working with vibrationally compacted concrete and slip forms.
So, it basically spews out a layer of concrete, and you just run it around to form the walls in layers.
But, it does not do doors and windows, nor does it do corners.
Also, it is a hellava structure to transport and set up. Its got to be bigger than the house you want.
You could do a better job with tilt up concrete. Pour a slab, build the frame for the wall shape/size you want, pour it full of concrete, let it cure, stand it up, repeat. And this takes no special tools on your part. All you need is to get a crane to stand the walls up. (You could make a small crane for doing this)
Thanks for the info