Summer Breeze (click to enlarge)
Specifications: 1,335 sq. ft. interior, 4 bedroom, 1 bath, Footprint: 33′ x 48′
Description: This luxurious earthbag home is ideal for hot climates. The center section has extra windows on each end to allow breezes to flow through the house. Features include a large master bedroom with private bath access, laundry, breakfast bar, wood stove and built-in cabinets.
Summer Breeze (click to enlarge)
Earthbag House Plans 
Hi there, love the site, love the plans. I was just wondering what software you use to help draw these plans?
Regards,
Benji
All plans are AutoCAD with SketchUp perspectives.
Hi, just wondering where I could find the plans for this with directions. Are they available for purchase? I had considered an ICF house but not only is this more affordable it looks safer for tornado weather.
Both systems are very strong. Earthbag is more sustainable. All plans are available through Dream Green Homes: http://www.dreamgreenhomes.com/materials/earth/earthbags.htm
We love this plan. This is the first we hear of earth homes. Does it literally mean bags full of sand? We need more info.
Rolande Collins
Most earthbags are filled with moist subsoil or other types of soil (road base, etc.) that turn very hard after tamping. There is one type that uses primarily sand. Other people fill the bags with insulating material such as scoria. Lots of options. Our Earthbag Building Blog and EarthbagBuilding.com have all the details.
http://earthbagbuilding.wordpress.com/
Summer Breeze states Ideal for hot climates, I live in Michigan, is there something I can do to make this plan work up here?
It will work fine if you insulate the outside of the earthbags. This article explains several options: http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Build-an-Insulated-Earthbag-House/
I recently Homesteaded property in Beatrice Nebraska. I discovered that the property is located in a flood plain, and no basements allowed. I origionally wanted an EarthShip, but the cost s too high, and the area is not a good place to build one. I am now leaning towards a 900 sq foot 2 bedroom Earthbag home. In this climate and with the flood plain, is an Earhtbag home still an option?
I grew up in Lincoln and went to school there.
I suggest raising the building site to prevent moisture damage. Options include renting a tractor, digging a pond and using the excavated soil under and around your home (earth-sheltering), getting low cost ‘fill dirt’ from excavators (if their project is nearby, it may be cheaper to give it to you versus paying the cost of hauling). So, you can build however you want. Earthbags are one option. For cold climates, I would probably use post and beam and straw bales. Watch for my blog post coming out in two days or so on how to build low cost post and beam frames with standard connectors: http://earthbagbuilding.wordpress.com/
I am very interested in the Summer Breeze plans, I would need to build with a Footing/Stemwall & crawl space foundation, can this be done with the stock plans or will they need to be modified to build this way?
Thanks for your time Sir-
I make small modifications like this for free. But it’s up to you to find out the frost depth in your area and anything else regarding codes.
Thank you sir, after doing a plot plan, I realized at 33ft width the Summer breeze may be to big, my lot is 65’x195′, zoned R2. I want to put 2 houses here end to end on one side, so maybe the crafstman would be a better choice at 25′ width. I will contact the county to find my setbacks & other relevant info & will be in contact soon-
Thanks, Fred
Hello Owen Geiger,i just purchased a 94 x 136 foot lot 900 feet from the ocean in Stann Creek district (Placencia )Belize i was wondering it it would be possible to build the Summer Breeze plan two stories high in Earthbag.Im zoned for a duplex so the thought lower floor as a rental ,upper floor for myself with a view of the ocean.Is it possible ,if yes ,can i buy a reworked plan to do this from you .Jimmy BC Canada
I love this design! Do I need to make any modifications if building in Terlingua Texas?
Just curious – I thought straight walls more than 10 ft long needed buttresses? How do you get the stability with these walls? Also, in order to add insulation to the outside of the walls, do you just do a double-thick wall with scoria on the outside wall, or is there another preferable way to insulate?
Which design is that? Almost every design can be improved by tweaking it to your local climate.
Yes, you can build two-story. However, I suggest using lightweight building materials rather than earthbags for the 2nd story because moving heavy soil high in the air is very laborious. Sorry, I’m not doing custom plans at the moment.
There are various ways to reinforce walls: rebar pinning (very common and easy to do), interior shear walls, post and beam, etc. So yes, you need to reinforce long straight walls, but that’s not difficult to do.
The fastest, easiest way to insulate earthbag walls is with rigid foam board insulation, stucco mesh and stucco. This is the same way they insulate adobe houses.