Subterranean Earthbag Survival Shelter
Specifications: 20’ DIA (314 sq. ft. interior plus pantry), Footprint: 23′ x 31′
Description: This round earthbag shelter for up to 4-5 individuals is designed for survival through war, plague, etc. It is low cost, durable and practical.
Note: this plan has been upgraded to computer renderings. This old post will remain for a while due to the comments section. https://earthbagplans.wordpress.com/2010/09/20/earthbag-survival-shelter/
Earthbag House Plans 
Could you upload larger pictures? Maybe double or triple the current size?
Great design btw
Glad you like it. As far as the size goes, I don’t offer larger sizes so people won’t copy them. That’s also why most of the technical details have been deleted in Photoshop. I may choose to sell them in the future or put in an e-book.
And if your eyes are getting weak like mine are (ha ha), you can zoom using the browser. I use Firefox. I can zoom in by: 1. holding down the Ctrl button and turning the dial on my mouse, 2. click zoom from the menu (this is slower).
my reworked design of you design is at 24.ft round on the main section and a 14.ft longer section of the pantry section with a small bult in mech room for water stowage and air puf system and other items as need
useing.12 volt typle led lighting with 12.volt rig and other items needed for basic liveing with the rear wall where brench seat is reworked in a book case with a bult in one side bed unit
along with a multi diff reworked design of the basic liveing section
A reader suggested making a larger shelter for storage of water, etc. If you need more space, I suggest connecting two or more units together. Larger units would be more difficult to build.
Water could be piped in from a well, lake, spring, etc. and filtered.
Poly water tanks (cisterns) can be buried next to the shelter so they don’t take up valuable interior space.
http://www.watertanks.com/category/115/
Here’s a link for NBC air filtration systems: http://survivalcenter.com/UG.html (scroll down)
Where can I get complete plans, parts list, instructions, etc for the Subterranean Earthbag Survival Shelter.
Thanks.
I’m really bogged now with building projects, magazine articles and design work. I have to do pro bono work a little here and there. Let me know how interested you are and your goals.
Can you explain the roof layers? It appears to be 6 mil poly and some sort of wood framing or do you have something else that I am missing?
The roof consists of 2″ lumber on top of wood poles that are space every 24″. This is covered with at least two layers of 6 mil poly. One layer goes down the sides. The other layer extends out at about 45 degrees to help divert water. (Lay this plastic after some backfill is in place.)
For higher value structures, or if you are building in a wet environment, bithuthene membrane is recommended.
Have you ever actually made or heard of someone making one of these, and if so, do you have photos? thanks. estimated cost? thanks
No, but enough is known about building with earthbags that there are no ‘question marks’ concerning the design. I consider it a safe, relatively easy project that’s suitable for beginners. Protect against cave-in by partially excavating into the earth and partially adding earth on top. In comparison, building straight down into the earth completely below grade is very dangerous.
Hi Owen
I am considering building an earthbag farm building like the one you have featured on the web site. ie dome covered in green roof.
I plan to use it for a farm storage building. however, i was thinking of making it first for a big landscape show we do each march. it is indoors and 5 days long. 3 days set up time.
The show typically produces a lot of waste and if I am to get involved with it again I want to reuse everything I can.
can you give me your thoughts on how to go about this. ie. i wont want to use barb wire for the first construction so that the bags will not get ruined.
is there going to be enough time to construct it?
this is a high end show and i need to be sure it is finnished for opening. plaster and cover etc. i can fake some stuff.
also i can’t seem to visualize how we will cover the interior walls since they are domed.
We are located north or toronto canada. so i was thinking that perolite would be best.
I realy like the domed structure but perhaps it is too wet here. average rain fall per month is 3″. but we also get a lot of snow. sometimes as much as 3′ accumulates. and very very cold. feb normally -25C.
Hi Anna. Three days is not enough time to build the dome with tamped earth. But you could do it with scoria (lava rock). Scoria is lightweight and easy to work with, and yet has enough weight and texture to remain stable. Perlite may not be stable enough without tying down each course (but should work if that’s all that’s available). I suggest one strand of barbed wire between courses to hold things together. You can carefully pull off the bags and they’ll be okay. You could pre-fill many of the bags to speed things up. Also note, you need some way to anchor the first course. Ex: use rebar to pin it into the ground. You might want to use long tubes over the door to save time.
My dome has lots of soil banked around the edges. Not sure how you can recreate something like this or even if you need to for an exhibit. But this gradual slope is needed in an actual installation so water doesn’t run off too fast.
Don’t worry about too much rain! I get way more than you and there have been no leaks or any type of moisture problem. The Mother Earth News online article explains how to drape it in plastic to avoid leaks.
You can rent a drywall texture gun to spray on earth plaster. I would leave some bags exposed to show how it was built.
If you do this, please send pictures to share with others. Thanks.
[…] with optional Survival Shelter and concealed […]
I was wondering whether anyone has any experience with using B19 or 311’s (crushed limestone) in the bags, instead of Road base made of gravel and clay? I spoke with the head of the maintenance crews here in my village regarding the best place to purchase “Road base” and he responded with the above materials. He had never heard of a gravel/clay road base mix.
Thanks!
Frank
Crushed limestone would work great. I haven’t used it because it’s not available where I live. I’ve heard it’s the preferred material for building roads in Australia and likely other countries as well. Do a sample bag and see if it holds together when dry.
I’ve worked in concrete construction for years, and here, we always use it as a road base. We don’t have a product with clay in it. So, I agree, it should work. What I wasn’t sure of is whether the clay added some magical properties to the mix, or whether perhaps that was just the standard material that you have available to you.
Clay acts as a binder that holds the sandy soil together. Read this blog post to see what can happen without adequate clay: http://earthbagbuilding.wordpress.com/2010/02/07/using-sand-versus-tamped-soil/
“The roof consists of 2″ lumber on top of wood poles that are space every 24″.”
A post every 2 feet in every direction seems like it would be a hard place to live in. How does the bed exist? It would seem that posts would have to go right through any object with a surface larger than 4 square feet.
There’s only one post in the center. The roof poles are horizontal and do not interfere with the living space.
I’m strongly considering this as my solution to being homeless. It would obviously need a re-purposed layout.
The only land I might ever afford is in the desert, so anything above ground is probably impossible (on my budget), since it will have no Heat or A/C system.
Zero Energy is awesome, but way too big and way too expensive. Peace Dome and Enviro Dome might fit the bill, but I have concerns about warding off 100+ degree heat. Maybe I’m just too brainwashed by conventional building, but I just can’t believe they would be temperate inside when it’s 100+ outside.
It would be fairly easy to rearrange the inside for permanent shelter.
One option is to build it so the top portion rises above grade. Add some small windows for daylighting and the living space will be greatly improved. Built above grade with less earth on top would enable you to use small roof poles. This would save time, labor and wood.
Your earthbag home can be extremely comfortable if built correctly. Here’s one example in the desert: http://www.earthbagbuilding.com/projects/earthdomehouse.htm
Okay, this thought came to me as I read the above comment stating that there is only one pole in the center of the shelter. What if you first constructed a masonry heater, like the Russians use, in the center of the shelter/house. There might even be a bag made from material suitable for high temperatures, and the whole structure could be quickly made from earth bags as well. The masonry heater would be the center pole, but would be capable of holding up much greater roof loads than ANY pole. So you should be able to build a much larger diameter dome that way, and higher it could even be two story, by running floor joists from the edges to the center, masonry heater structure. This would allow one to heat your shelter/house very inexpensively, while also enabling one to construct a much more spacious building.
Any thoughts?
Frank
That’s what I did on the Native Spirit design: https://earthbagplans.wordpress.com/2009/03/24/native-spirit/
But this is a subterranean survival shelter, not a house. It’s for surviving a relatively short-term disaster, not for living.
You could enlarge the design for permanent living as you suggest, sure.
For the masonry heater, I would use recycled brick or stone and firebrick.
I would also like to know if I could get some plans. I am building a place out of lava rock and would like to know if you have any recommendations.
Plans are available through Dream Green Homes: http://www.dreamgreenhomes.com/materials/earth/earthbags.htm
This plan is finished and ready to send.
Use 1/2″ crushed lava rock that’s been screened of fines for optimum energy efficiency. This is how Kelly Hart built his house with great success: http://www.earthbagbuilding.com/projects/hart.htm