2-story Earthbag Roundhouse, first floor
2-story Earthbag Roundhouse, loft
Specifications: 452 sq. ft. interior plus 226 sq. ft. loft, 1 bedroom, 1 bath, Footprint: 27′ diameter
Description: This charming roundhouse has everything you need within easy reach on the main floor, and a comfortable bedroom loft above with large closet and seating area next to the balcony railing.
2-story Earthbag Roundhouse South Elevation
Earthbag House Plans 
I really like this. Less subjectively: I think this smaller diameter is better choice for our snow loads. Now that I have seen this plan I am not so sure we are decided.
aside from what I am assuming would be minor changes to the floor plan, my big question would be height–will the entire loft be walking around space? how deeply can it be burmed? cold the loft be a little bigger without seeming cramped and dark–or would that depend on the pitch of roof selected?
Yes, the smaller roof (in comparison to the other roundhouse you’re comparing it to) will do better in heavy snow loads. The loft can be any size. This looks good to me. There’s ample room in the loft and the first floor will feel nice and light. Interior colors will have an impact too. I like light colors on walls to create a spacious feeling. Add warm colors on floors, furniture, etc. for contrast and coziness.
I recommend berming up to 6″ below window height, maybe less in your case since you get lots of snow. You don’t want snow building up against your windows.
[…] the exterior elevation view. But it’s easy to imagine since the design is similar to my other 2-story Roundhouse and Enviro […]
I wold like to know if there are bigger round houses that have been built out of the sand bags that would be avaliable to look at. We are in NC and would like to build a round house of some kind in the next year or two on our property in Alabama. I love the idea of the sand bag but on a lot larger scale!!!
The biggest one I’ve seen is in Doni and Kaki’s Earthbag Building book. Keep in mind that building houses with earthbags is relatively new and so far most homes have been fairly small. But you can certainly build large roundhouses with proper buttressing. If you order a custom plan, I will calculate how many buttresses are needed and where best to put them. The first step is to send me a sketch of what you want and then I’ll give you a free quote. My email is strawhouses [@] yahoo.com.
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Hello, my name is Venera, I live in Russia in Moscow (Latitude: 55 ° 4’N Longitude: 38 ° 50’E). We have a difficult climate, the winters can be very cold to -35 -40C, and 9-Th months of the year a little sun. Is it possible in such circumstances to build on your technology, this 2-storey house? Is it possible to make it a passive energy?
I’ve written several articles on insulated earthbag houses. Here’s one article: http://www.earthbagbuilding.com/articles/insulated.htm
There are several ways you can insulate earthbag houses so they can handle extremely cold weather. Read the articles and then write back and we can discuss this in more detail.
You need to find a very good insulator, such as perlite, vermiculite, scoria (lava rock), etc. You will need a lot of it, so it must be affordable.
Hi Owen,
I have had the pleasure of corresponding with Robert Chappelle, the gentleman in Doni and Kaki’s Earthbag Building book who built the dome with foam; it occurs to me that maybe the cheapest way to go as far as insulating an earthbag home would be to build both an “inner shell” and then an “outer shell” with smaller diameter bags, leaving an airspace for insulation between the two layers like Bob did. I know that is basically twice the work, but I think it’d work and it would certainly be more affordable! What do you think…is this a workable idea?
This is very similar to what I’ve described in several articles and posts on insulated earthbag houses. Here’s one article: http://ezinearticles.com/?Insulated-Earthbag-Houses&id=1935442
I don’t think the air space is necessary. Attach the narrow insulated bags directly to the main earthbag shell for added stability and ease of construction.
hey im looking into moveing. and i found this kind of house. but i was wondering if its posible to build onto the houses after you plaster them or if once thats done is it done and stuck forever. its just that i plan to build my house and then 7-8 more in a wagon wheel shape and connect them all but leave the center open for a play place for kids. unfortunatly i wouldnt be able to do it all at the same time.
You can add on later. It helps a lot though if you have a plan for future changes so the work goes more smoothly. For instance, you can frame a window so it’s easy to turn into a door later. And you can embed blocking where you want future things to attach.