# Earthbag homes



## Flight1630 (Jan 4, 2017)

Found This, I think it's cool.

http://www.goodshomedesign.com/earthbag-homes-cheap-and-easy-to-build/


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## tmttactical (Nov 23, 2015)

Flight1630 said:


> Found This, I think it's cool.
> 
> http://www.goodshomedesign.com/earthbag-homes-cheap-and-easy-to-build/


So many ways to build from the past to the future. Research and more research. Fun to learn, what was , what is available today and what might be available tomorrow. Thanks for the link. For an Abominable Snowman, your OKAY.


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## Flight1630 (Jan 4, 2017)

tmttactical said:


> So many ways to build from the past to the future. Research and more research. Fun to learn, what was , what is available today and what might be available tomorrow. Thanks for the link. For an Abominable Snowman, your OKAY.


Well well well thanks, and I think your ok to lizard.


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## marlas1too (Feb 28, 2010)

love it--- its like the homes built on mother earth mag.


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## CrackbottomLouis (May 20, 2012)

I think I would worry about mold and fungus in high humidity areas like the southeast. Im not a construction expert by any means, is that a legitimate concern? Could it be limited by a fungicide spray and a coating on the outside? Ive never seen concrete not crack as it settles over time which would let in moisture I think the filling in the bags would soak up like a sponge. Maybe very thick stucco outside coating? You would have to reapply over time. Moisture is a house killer. 

One of the coolest building materials Ive been reading about this year is hempcrete. Very breathable with an amazing r value and incredibly strong. Homes overseas built with it have lasted 100's of years. Wish it was more widely used here.


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## RedBeard (May 8, 2017)

Pretty cool. Have you seen the earth ship homes? Made from tires. Pretty cool too.


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## Pessimistic2 (Jan 26, 2017)

RedBeard said:


> Pretty cool. Have you seen the earth ship homes? Made from tires. Pretty cool too.


If I can ever find the darn things again, there is a guy that built a home out of huge styrofoam blocks, and another that built a 32' houseboat out of them.


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## weedygarden (Apr 27, 2011)

Since we don't know what the future will bring, it is good to know about the possibilities of making shelters for ourselves. 

I recently saw something about sod homes, which my ancestors lived in when they first arrived in South Dakota and Nebraska. There are some actual soddies still out there.

Yes, I like my modern home and wouldn't want to be on the streets, but, knowing some options is good.


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## tmttactical (Nov 23, 2015)

Okay, here is my challenge. The "Tin Hat House" has what I call the mushroom farm, for building permit reasons. It is a 100 yard underground tunnel with a tee branch at the far end. One end has a bench (the beggining) and the other end has an 18 inch piece of paper hanging. I think you get the idea. After watching the video on Earthbag homes, I wondered if this construction could be used to build the walls of the tunnel? plastic could be used to wrap the outside of the bags to prevent moisture wicking in and a supported metal roof to cover the tunnel. 2 feet of dirt would be used to cover the metal roof. 

The tunnel would be a minimum of 6 feet wide and a minimum of 7 feet deep. The original concept was to use concrete but I would like to reduce the construction cost and figured that a lot of dirt would be available to fill the bags after the excavation was done.

So any idea's or suggestion? All comment are welcome. 

I also hope this is not considered going off topic. If it is, I would welcome the mods to move it or tell me how to proceed.


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## Pessimistic2 (Jan 26, 2017)

*Found it...Styrofoam construction...*

Isn't this stuff the same as in that other thread that had the concrete house video?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/09/24/styrofoam-homes-are-a-thing-now_n_5870356.html

Excerpt: "Environmentalists have long opposed the use of Styrofoam in the food service sector, going as far as banning it in cities like New York. But the virtually-indestructible material may be cropping up in a much bigger way in the coming years. And, as contradictory as it sounds, Styrofoam's resurgence may actually be a good thing for the environment.

According to Leigh Overland Architects, a design concept called insulated concrete form (ICF) employs a Styrofoam-like material (similar to the one used to make coolers) as a building block for homes. The blocks are stacked on top of one another and then held together with concrete to create houses that, according to Overland, seal out the elements and cut utility bills in half."
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http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2715627/Texas-teachers-build-styrofoam-home-100-000.html

Excerpt: "The Cockrells said the fact that *SmartBlocks is owned by disabled American veterans is another reason they sourced from them.*

The Cockrells may be on to something, too. The Styrofoam is becoming an ever-more popular building material, Mike Trolle, a member of the Connecticut Green Building Council, told The Stamford Advocate earlier this year. Insulated concrete foam -- ICF -- has been around for decades, but it's still a phenomenon in the residential space, he said."
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Can't find the houseboat one, but if I remember it correctly the guy used an aluminum frame, styrofoam blocks "gorilla glued" together, and sealed with some kind of polyurethane and painted. Didn't look bad, but I sure can't find it again!


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## weedygarden (Apr 27, 2011)

They have another video that I think will help you build something underground. Be warned that this video is 2 hours long +.


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## tmttactical (Nov 23, 2015)

weedygarden said:


> They have another video that I think will help you build something underground. Be warned that this video is 2 hours long +.


Thanks, Weedygarden. I have saved the video and will watch it a bit later. I have to make sure the house is absolutely clean and ready for when the wife and granddaughter get home tonight. As with most males, I put off the cleaning up until the last moment. I really look forward to watching it. Anything that can reduce the cost and still maintain the effectiveness of my project is certainly appreciated.


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## hashbrown (Sep 2, 2013)

CrackbottomLouis said:


> I think I would worry about mold and fungus in high humidity areas like the southeast. Im not a construction expert by any means, is that a legitimate concern? Could it be limited by a fungicide spray and a coating on the outside? Ive never seen concrete not crack as it settles over time which would let in moisture I think the filling in the bags would soak up like a sponge. Maybe very thick stucco outside coating? You would have to reapply over time. Moisture is a house killer.
> 
> One of the coolest building materials Ive been reading about this year is hempcrete. Very breathable with an amazing r value and incredibly strong. Homes overseas built with it have lasted 100's of years. Wish it was more widely used here.


I've made my living building homes for 35 years, one thing I do know is a house has to breathe.


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## Flight1630 (Jan 4, 2017)

tmttactical said:


> Okay, here is my challenge. The "Tin Hat House" has what I call the mushroom farm, for building permit reasons. It is a 100 yard underground tunnel with a tee branch at the far end. One end has a bench (the beggining) and the other end has an 18 inch piece of paper hanging. I think you get the idea. After watching the video on Earthbag homes, I wondered if this construction could be used to build the walls of the tunnel? plastic could be used to wrap the outside of the bags to prevent moisture wicking in and a supported metal roof to cover the tunnel. 2 feet of dirt would be used to cover the metal roof.
> 
> The tunnel would be a minimum of 6 feet wide and a minimum of 7 feet deep. The original concept was to use concrete but I would like to reduce the construction cost and figured that a lot of dirt would be available to fill the bags after the excavation was done.
> 
> ...


I don't think it's off topic at all. If one goid topic leads into another good topic that's a good thing.

I don't know anything about tunnels but I'm sure what your thinking is very viable( yes I know a fairly big word for me lol ) one thing you might have to watch out for us how high your water table is in your location. Also you better find a good suplier for bags (eBay?) Because you will probably need a gazillion of them lol


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## tmttactical (Nov 23, 2015)

Flight1630 said:


> I don't think it's off topic at all. If one goid topic leads into another good topic that's a good thing.
> 
> I don't know anything about tunnels but I'm sure what your thinking is very viable( yes I know a fairly big word for me lol ) one thing you might have to watch out for us how high your water table is in your location. Also you better find a good suplier for bags (eBay?) Because you will probably need a gazillion of them lol


Flight thanks for understanding about the shift in directions. Your link brought out the potential for a lower cost construction method and Weedygarden's video proved this type of construction is viable. So thanks again for starting this thread.


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## tmttactical (Nov 23, 2015)

weedygarden said:


> They have another video that I think will help you build something underground. Be warned that this video is 2 hours long +.


Weedygarden, Thank you very much for your video post. The video proved the viability for using Earthbags for the "Mushroom Farm" tunnel construction. It was also very informative in how to actually construct the tunnel using Earthbags. This is going to save a ton of money. The techniques used and how to apply them will save a bunch of time too. I can't thank you and Flight (aka Snowman) enough. Like every project scope and budget are major concerns. I had not seen anybody use Earthbags below ground, so I had not considered their use. I have neve ben accused of being a great out of the thinker and your posted video turned on the light for me. So thanks again.

It is the wonderful members on this forum that allows people like me to progress.


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## CrackbottomLouis (May 20, 2012)

hashbrown said:


> I've made my living building homes for 35 years, one thing I do know is a house has to breathe.


After being in real estate for the past couple years I have seen a lot of poor construction and the results of it 5-10 years down the road. Water and time plays hell on homes. Even with plastic sandbags Im not sure how livable an earthbag home would be after that amount of time. The mold would be a killer. I think you would probably have to reapply the ouside coating every year to help avoid issues. I certainly wouldnt be using them underground. Maybe there is a way to avoid the issues that would arise but Id be nervous.


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## Flight1630 (Jan 4, 2017)

CrackbottomLouis said:


> After being in real estate for the past couple years I have seen a lot of poor construction and the results of it 5-10 years down the road. Water and time plays hell on homes. Even with plastic sandbags Im not sure how livable an earthbag home would be after that amount of time. The mold would be a killer. I think you would probably have to reapply the ouside coating every year to help avoid issues. I certainly wouldnt be using them underground. Maybe there is a way to avoid the issues that would arise but Id be nervous.


Would having a fan constantly blowing through tunnel work?


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## Tirediron (Jul 12, 2010)

Earth bag construction has been around for a while, if you do some research on the net you should be able to find out most of the problems related to it, the concept is not that far from cob which has been used with great success for centuries. cement based stucco will not breath and is not a good cover material for this type of construction.
Keep in mind while researching building methods that the "modern conventional" balloon frame method has only been used since the invention of mechanized saw mills. while other methods have withstood centuries


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## weedygarden (Apr 27, 2011)

tmttactical said:


> Weedygarden, Thank you very much for your video post. The video proved the viability for using Earthbags for the "Mushroom Farm" tunnel construction. It was also very informative in how to actually construct the tunnel using Earthbags. This is going to save a ton of money. The techniques used and how to apply them will save a bunch of time too. I can't thank you and Flight (aka Snowman) enough. Like every project scope and budget are major concerns. I had not seen anybody use Earthbags below ground, so I had not considered their use. I have neve ben accused of being a great out of the thinker and your posted video turned on the light for me. So thanks again.
> 
> It is the wonderful members on this forum that allows people like me to progress.


We live in great times as far as housing is concerned, although we are losing ground in quality in modern building.

Our lives could be changed by war, bombs, massive fires, and many other possibilities. While I do not want to be in a tunnel, or to live in a tunnel, they have served people for centuries. They could protect people from many not good scenarios. I think of the tunnels in Vietnam as one example.

Earth bag building is something I have looked at and considered. The family that made the video had quite a crew helping them. They have done several buildings that way. Dirt is heavy and there is lots of work to build like that. It offsets more expensive building.

This family has quite a few videos, breaking down different aspects of earth bag building.

Mold and moisture? Definitely bigger problems in some areas than others.


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## readytogo (Apr 6, 2013)

Adobe is among the earliest building materials, and is used throughout the world even today ,no damage to the environment ,easy to heat and cool and relative cheap to build. Some of the old Spanish missions are still standing today .


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## CrackbottomLouis (May 20, 2012)

Im looking forward to 3d printing of homes combined with a material like hempcrete. Decide on your floorplan, do the preliminary prep of the homesite, have the equipment brought out, feed the plans into the computer and a day or 2 later your house is done. With hempcrete it would take a while to cure I think. Put a large plastic tent over it and run heaters and fans for a bit and your done. Underground structures in my area would have to be done differently. Very wet in the southeast US. I cant handle mold and mustiness. Drives my sinuses and eyes crazy. As far as earthbag construction I cant help but think of WW1 trenches. Probably very feasible in drier ares.


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## terri9630 (Jun 2, 2016)

CrackbottomLouis said:


> After being in real estate for the past couple years I have seen a lot of poor construction and the results of it 5-10 years down the road. Water and time plays hell on homes. Even with plastic sandbags Im not sure how livable an earthbag home would be after that amount of time. The mold would be a killer. I think you would probably have to reapply the ouside coating every year to help avoid issues. I certainly wouldnt be using them underground. Maybe there is a way to avoid the issues that would arise but Id be nervous.


There isn't much of a mold problem out here in the desert. The water level in my corner of the desert is more than 50 ft so the ground is good and dry.

We looked at dozens of houses and the only places we've seen mold is where water is actively dripping. I'd guess if your growing mushrooms you'd have to have water so there is a chance for mold.


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## Pessimistic2 (Jan 26, 2017)

CrackbottomLouis said:


> Underground structures in my area would have to be done differently. Very wet in the southeast US. I cant handle mold and mustiness. Drives my sinuses and eyes crazy. As far as earthbag construction I cant help but think of WW1 trenches. Probably very feasible in drier ares.


I am getting the distinct impression that "earth bag construction" would not work well here in the South, with the high humidity, mucho rainfall, problems with mold, etc. Dry climate, yes....wet climate, not so good?


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## terri9630 (Jun 2, 2016)

Pessimistic2 said:


> I am getting the distinct impression that "earth bag construction" would not work well here in the South, with the high humidity, mucho rainfall, problems with mold, etc. Dry climate, yes....wet climate, not so good?


You'd have 'mud bags'. If the Lizard used native soil it would be sand or cliche. Sand dries quickly, cliche is a type of clay and would eventually become like a brick. Kinda like adobe.


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## Tirediron (Jul 12, 2010)

readytogo said:


> Adobe is among the earliest building materials, and is used throughout the world even today ,no damage to the environment ,easy to heat and cool and relative cheap to build. Some of the old Spanish missions are still standing today .


Yeah but you wouldn't want to use a material and method that is proven and doesn't wreck the planet. what would the neighbors think :scratch


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