The purpose of this non-commercial site is to network with those who are interested in earthbag building and spark a dialogue about earthbag house designs. This innovative building method is exploding in popularity and there is enormous potential to provide affordable homes for all of humanity, all without damaging our environment.
This site is about unique small house plans, small home plans, floor plans, custom plans, architecture, small house designs, building green eco-friendly homes, sustainable building, blueprints for affordable homes — all built with earthbags. All styles are included: country, cottage, bungalow, traditional, modern (contemporary), mountain, beach, cabins and other popular styles. Emergency shelter plans are free. For those not familiar with earthbag construction, please check out my companion sites EarthbagBuilding.com and Earthbag Building Blog.
So here is what I am thinking. House plans can often be improved with fresh perspectives, so instead of investing hundreds of hours in creating polished looking plans that may have weaknesses, I am posting these conceptual drawings to gather reader comments and then take the designs to the next level. Yes, it’s a somewhat unusual approach… but so is earthbag building. The ultimate goal is to develop finished plans of these small, affordable and sustainable houses and make them available in the near future.
Enviro Earthbag Dome
If you’d like to jump right in and start browsing house plans, click on Categories in the menu on the right.
Here’s a brief overview of my designs. A typical 300-800 sq.ft. house made of natural building materials could be built by a DIY builder for about $3,000-$10,000 (about $10/sq.ft.) and have the following features:
– gravel-filled bags on a rubble trench foundation (with insulating fill material such as perlite or scoria in cold climates)
– earthbag walls filled with soil or insulation, such as perlite, volcanic rock or rice hulls
– earth-berming for improved energy performance
– earth, stone or recycled brick floors
– earth or lime plaster
– affordable roof options such as domes, spiral (reciprocal) roofs, green roofs, poles, pallet trusses, metal roofing for collecting rainwater, thatch, etc.
– R-45 roof insulation (cellulose, wool, cotton, rice hulls…)
– small diameter, sustainably harvested wood
– non-toxic finishes and materials for cabinets, etc.
– wood stove
– energy-efficient windows, doors and appliances, such as solar or on-demand water heating, etc.
– passive solar design
– recycled materials throughout (sinks, tubs, hardware, tile, shelving, etc.)
Earthbag cottage
For readers who are new to the natural building movement, here are a few links to show what others have done using earthbags and other low-cost natural building methods:
– Simon Dale, Low Impact Woodland Home, Pembrokeshire, UK: Reminiscent of a Hobbit house, this incredibly beautiful home offers inspiration for those seeking a simpler, better way of living and building.
– EarthDome House at TerraSante Village, Tucson, Arizona: This small, 12′ dome is right at home in the desert. It is made of earthbags with a ferrocement roof insulated with recycled styrofoam.
– Tony Wrench and Jane Faith, That Roundhouse, West Wales: Author Tony Wrench and his partner have enjoyed the good life in their sod-covered roundhouse for many years. They have become internationally recognized champions for their efforts to create more equitable housing rights.
– Pedro and Christina, House Alive, cob house in Xipolite, Mexico: House Alive does great work through their workshops and seminars. This particular structure demonstrates the use of cob and thatch to make a beautiful, affordable home in Mexico.
– Simone Swan, adobe vault in Presidio, Texas: Trained under the renowned Egyptian architect Hassan Fathy, Simone Swan carries on the timeless tradition of building vaults and domes of earth. The vault shown on this web page could be built almost for free by an owner-builder (excluding mechanicals, permits, etc).
– Penny Livingston, straw bale vault, Permaculture Institute of Northern California: This vault utilizes straw bales for both the walls and roof. This minimizes materials and labor, and creates a superinsulated structure.
– Akio Inoue, earthbag domes, Tenri, Japan: One of the most experienced and knowledgeable earthbag builders, Professor Inoue has completed at least 23 earthbag buildings in 7 countries.
– Khimsar Sand Dunes Village, adobe guesthouses, Africa: These strikingly beautiful guesthouses are based on centuries-old indigenous building techniques that enable them to blend in to the environment seamlessly. See also this link.
– Loei Leela Wadee Resort, adobe vault and thatch roof in Loei, Thailand: Simple yet elegant, these guesthouses are designed to stay cool in the summer and comfortable in the winter.
Here’s a partial list of unique eco-friendly structures and features being developed:
First of all, earthbag houses can be made in any shape imaginable, and so I am including round and rectangular houses, earthbag domes, polygonal (hexgonal, octagonal, etc.) and organic shaped houses with curved walls.
There are earth-sheltered houses, starter houses, houses with lofts, houses for urban and rural areas, as well as homes for hot, mild, cold, dry and rainy climates.
Other plans are for backyard offices/studios below the size required for a building permit, resort rentals, guesthouses, modern offset gable (clerestory) designs, apartments, energy efficient designs such as zero energy houses, courtyard designs, greenhouses, outdoor kitchens, disaster-resistant houses, hidden rooms, and several cool pantries that require no electricity for cooling.
I’ve tried to cover all the most popular styles, such as cabins, bungalows, cottages, country houses, beach, craftsman style, mountain and other vacation homes, New England traditional style and Polynesian.
More specifically there is a spiral house, tower house, shophouse, bioshelter, zero energy house, three earthbag vaults, hexagonal earth lodge, octagonal house, earthbag shop, survival shelters, multipurpose earthbag dome shed/rootcellar/storm shelter, wilderness cabin, beach house, woodland house, barrel vaulted shop, oval shop, garage with 2nd floor apartment. I’ve also included a roundhouse with spiraled pole roof, 2-story roundhouse, duplex, arc house, pit house, solar ranch house, chalet, Habitat house, narrow lot house, farmhouse, cruck house, mold-free house, walled retreat, bunkhouse, self sufficient homestead house, hermitage, summer kitchen, solar refrigerator, ice house, emergency shelter plans and more.
These plans will be added gradually over the next few months as time permits, so please keep checking back. If you have a special request, please leave a comment.
To browse house plans, click on Categories in the menu on the right.
I look forward to reading your comments!
Earthbag House Plans 
I am very interested in the earthbag earth-sheltered dome. I would like more window space for passive-solar – depending on the size of the dome, a thermal-glass door (or possibly a sliding glass door) would do it.
I am thinking that 3 or four connecting domes facing south and retaining walls coming together as a point between the domes. The door overhangs would be connected as one unit and would shed water to the back (north) down a river valley.
Any information on this dome design would be greatly appreciated.
Here are some plans for a strawbale “coil house” I found at Balewatch.
http://www.balewatch.com/630.html
It would make a great earthbag house as well.
I recommend Balewatch.com for alternative house plans. Robert and I worked together on Habitat straw bale houses in Colorado. A lot of his plans, including the coil house, could be built with earthbags.
Hi Craig. Yes, you could join the domes in a number of arrangements. The plan I show is just one possibility. And extra windows are possible.
Maybe you could draw a simple sketch and email me your ideas. I’m not sure about the roof overhang part you describe.
http://www.ecohab.co.uk/index.html
I thought I would send this link to the U.K. company that builds the Eco-Hab dome house. They come in two sizes at present (13 and 19.50 feet – with upper bedroom floor) . Looking at the virtual tour and the B.B.C. video they look like I could actually live in one and would be happy with the space. They aren’t much different than the shape of an earthbag dome – the floor plan for the Eco-Hab could possibly work for an 18ft. earth-sheltered eathbag dome. ?
I would welcome anyones thoughts on this!
The Eco-Hab is a plastic dome — polyurethane. I wouldn’t want to live in something like this. Earthbag houses use maybe 1% polypropylene bags, the rest is all natural. You could build a similar shape and a similar floor plan using earthbags and have a far healthier, nicer home and save money.
Fantastic stuff, thank you for your effort and collaborative spirit! 🙂
Any chance that these types of structures can be permitted as permanent dwelling spaces for urban/city living? My partner and I own (‘own’ is a funny word; we are ‘paying on’) a lot in SE Portland. We’d like to build in an intelligent, sustainable, low impact, low tech and low cost manner while incorporating eye-pleasing, soul-pleasing, functional design.
Any resources/thoughts to share on how to begin such a project? Straight to the city’s building officials to start a dialogue? Many thanks in advance for any advice you might offer.
Some earthbag houses have received building permits, and there’s no reason why these designs could not (excluding a few shelters). There are loopholes in the code that allow for alternative building materials such as earth, straw bales, etc.
First, you want to be informed so you can answer questions posed by building officials. My companion sites at EarthbagBuilding.com and Earthbag Building Blog discuss every facet of building with earthbags, from testing, step-by-step articles, photo galleries, videos, etc. — all for free! (See links in the right column.)
Also keep in mind these plans can be modified to make permitting easier. Your building authorities may insist on a concrete foundation and factory built trusses, for instance.
It really helps to network with natural builders in your area. Check out the Resources list at The Last Straw journal (www.strawhomes.com) for guilds and associations, and the Human Resources List for experts who know all the ins and outs of each area and can guide you through the process.
From Erich: Your site looks fantastic! Very nice drawings. So clean.
Thank you sooo much for all this effort. I live in California and make very little money. I have been wondering why I pay rent all my life ….then I found Nadir Khalili’s work…I can’t wait to buy some land. Do you have drawings and details for the enviro earthbag dome ( so much info on this site my laptop is out of power)… it looks great…maybe 2 more dome in a circular shape to enclose a small patio area.
I will be emailing regularly. Are you doing all this yourself?
Ah, thank you very much. Good point. Why do people spend all their money on rent or mortgages? Silly humans.
The Enviro Dome is complete and available through Dream Green Homes.
Enclosing a courtyard area with domes is a great idea. This would help create a sheltered area for growing plants. Good way to create your own little oasis. Check out Oasis Design.net: http://oasisdesign.net/. Their little booklets show how to utilize greywater, rainwater and blackwater for plants around your home.
And yes, this is all my work — my site and my designs. I also collaborate with others like Kelly Hart on http://www.EarthbagBuilding.com and Earthbag Building Blog.
From Lee: I just also wish to thank you for designing these homes.
Its truly a wonderful thing Owen.
Thank you.
What materials would be suitable for making the bags, which would need to be durable, watertight, and inexpensive?
No need to make them. You can use standard polypropylene sandbags or feed bags. All types of grain and animal feed comes in these bags, and there’s a good chance you can get them for free or very cheap from a farmer. Just make sure they are nearly new and in good condition. (Sunlight breaks down the bags rather quickly.) The bags are not actually waterproof, but rather water resistant. You want the walls to “breathe” (transfer moisture through the wall).
I recommend checking out our other sites with much more info. We have dozens or maybe a couple hundred pages of free info now.
http://www.EarthbagBuilding.com (check out the FAQ, projects, articles, videos, etc.)
Earthbag Building Blog: http://earthbagbuilding.wordpress.com/ (all the latest news and more)
[…] Introduction […]
I looked around online and the best prices I could find for sand bags was $1.00 per-bag 14″ x 26″. I would think this is exorbitant considering you are going to need something like 50-100 bags per wall, which is supposed to be the cheapest parts of the house.
Do you have a site for resources or bag supplies?
That’s a lot higher than what I’ve been hearing. Maybe prices have spiked recently, not sure. I don’t keep up with bag prices. All along I’ve encouraged people to look for used but new condition bags recycled from farmers or other similar sources.
Kelly put together a list of some resources here: http://www.earthbagbuilding.com/resources.htm
14″ bags are too narrow. Once filled, they would be about 12″ and create a narrow, unstable wall.
Email from Diane:
Thank you so much for all the information you have available at earthbagbuilding.com and your other sites. I have scoured and searched through the pages and pictures and really think this is the best method for building our new home. We’re a family of six currently living in an old, leaky mobile home and we really don’t want to go into debt for 30 years just to build a home that is made of sticks. Not only that, but we couldn’t afford a home like that anyway!
We live in northeast Texas and I’ve had a devil of a time trying to find information on how to build a home for our climate. Seems like everything out there is focused on cold or hot/dry climate building, which admittedly covers about 50% of the U.S., but how about warm/humid?
Owen: I offer several designs developed specifically for hot/humid climates. Here are a few:
Summer Breeze: https://earthbagplans.wordpress.com/2009/04/01/summer-breeze-earthbag-house/
U-shaped: https://earthbagplans.wordpress.com/2009/03/11/u-shaped-earthbag-house/ (I just finished a larger version of this if you’re interested)
Beachcomber: https://earthbagplans.wordpress.com/2009/04/12/beachcomber/
Beach House: https://earthbagplans.wordpress.com/2009/03/06/earthbag-beach-house/
Chonburi: https://earthbagplans.wordpress.com/2009/04/12/chonburi/
Numerous other designs could be modified. If the above plans don’t appeal to you, let me know which designs do and I’ll let you know if they can be modified.
Be sure to read these articles on building in humid climates: http://www.earthbagbuilding.com/pdf/shapingbuildings1.pdf, http://www.earthbagbuilding.com/pdf/simpleearthbuildings3.pdf, http://www.earthbagbuilding.com/pdf/earthbagbuilding2.pdf. This should answer all your questions about humidity.
Metal roofing is my favorite and would work extremely well in Texas.
I don’t think you need rigid insulation. Regular earthbags should work fine.
I definitely agree with your sentiment about affordable, simple housing. Things are way off course and due for a major correction.
Hallo, i discoverd this site seching for sustainable solutions for homes in Auatralia, an study project. Your ideas have setainly sruck conversation into this project, and i really am tankful for your insite. I hope to learn more and i would love to know if you come up with any other ideas. Looking to learn and thankyou, verity
There are lots of new ideas in the pipeline. Keep checking back. Just a few projects in the works: earthbag benches, multi-purpose stove, outdoor kitchen, sustainable peace villages, cool pantries, solar refrigerator, roundhouse office, desert submarines, natural building internships, earthbag certification (if there is sufficient demand), roofed domes, a new book on earthbag building, disaster resistant designs, lightweight and superinsulated earthbag buildings, etc. I think earthbag building is where strawbale building was 10 years ago. Now there are so many books and videos on strawbale (and thousands of strawbale homes) that I can’t keep up.
Awesome home….love it…. i loved the straw houses back in older mother mags…wanted to build some of those but never could talk my husband into it.
Now I see these and love it looks like hobbit houses…lol.
Would these be durable in southern Indiana’s climate??? If not what kind of earth home would you suggest. We do seem to have alot of rain anymore, hot and humid in warm months, snow,ice, and sleet in winter months and of course the tornados. I have 5 acres that need a house, have to tear down a trailer with 2 additions that have been water damaged and an abundance of mold. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
I love strawbale houses for many reasons, but for rainy, humid climates I recommend earthbag building due to less risk of moisture damage. With earth plaster on interior walls, wide roof overhangs, adequate ventilation and a few other design details, an earthbag house would be perfect in your situation. Also note, it could be designed for tornado resistance.
What plan are you most interested in?
i’m interested in the dome home (looks like a hobbit house) that is bermed. Tornado resistance would be a great factor too. Thanks for sharing your plans and smart housing ideas. i’m very anxious to start this new housing project.
I have several designs that Hobbits would probably feel right at home in, ha ha. You can order plans from DreamGreenHomes.com http://www.dreamgreenhomes.com/materials/earth/earthbags.htm
Hi Owen,
Like one of the other posters a ways back, we are also located in North East Texas. I noticed that most of the designs you mentioned in that post for hot/humid climates were the “above ground” variety. We are extremely interested in doing either an earthlodge cluster or possibly rounds/domes, where we could berm three sides and use the earth and a living roof for some of the cooling/insulation properties. Would one of those designs lend itself well to a climate like we have? btw, I am ready to purchase some plans, but want to make sure that would be a good approach, and would also want to inquire on possibly customizing the design for two familes, with a central/communal kitchen and living space, but separate “pods” connected together.
Thanks so much for all of the great info both here and on the other sites. It has given us hope that we can actually make this happen, and get away from stick house living!
– John
Both earth-bermed and earth-sheltered designs will work well in Texas. The Triple Roundhouse Cluster is one good example. You could have living quarters on each side with the shared space in the middle.
Custom plans are available. Just describe as clearly as possible what you want and also tell me your code situation. Building codes can squash these creative building methods, so find out in advance what’s needed. Then email me at: strawhouses [at] yahoo.com
I live in Riverside, ca. Earth bag homes are the perfect thing for the desert. thanks to the economy being in the tank (I do not exaggerate when I note that our local unemployment is +20%) land is actually affordable. However, it seems like city codes are too restrictive-my local code department would never approve of such a home, though I know they are sound (San Bernardino is much more proactive and has approved some designs -see CalEarth.org). I guess my question is -Are people just building their homes sans permits? I would do this in a second, but I am afraid of the code nazis knocking on my door and asking me to tear down. Am I overly paranoid? is this a problem? I’ve been looking at the Denver/Boulder areas (as their unemployment is around 6%) does anyone have any information on earth bag homes there?
I recommend building in rural areas with few building codes. Code officials can and will tear down your house, and probably fine you, too. It’s not worth the risk. And now they have aerial surveillance that photographs land for tax purposes. It used to be easy to build an addition on the back of your house and not declare it. Those days are pretty much gone.
Denver is not amenable to alternative building. Not certain about Boulder, but it’s 99% sure they won’t accept buildings like this either. Same applies with most rich areas/big cities.
My clients are building this way all over the world, including the US, Canada, Mexico, etc., so do more research until you find a place that’s more open minded. Hint: open mindedness goes way beyond building codes. You’ll live nearby more free spirited people with more in common, which can lead to more enjoyable and sustainable communities.
I have been scouring the internet looking at different building methods, and with me living in a hurricane prone area i think earthbags would be a good solution providing code enforcement doesnt get in the way. One thing I cant get my head around with earthbag houses is where electrical wires are run. are they all under the floor, or is some kind of conduit built into the walls for outlets?
Earthbag building is the strongest, most sustainable, low-cost building system that I’m aware of. That’s why we recommended it for our Post-tsunami Project.
You’ll have to check with your local building officials, since building jurisdictions do things differently. Go armed with a copy of Doni and Kaki’s Earthbag Building book and tech articles from EarthbagBuilding.com: Articles, Testing.
Electrical wires: embed “UF” direct burial wire in recesses between earthbags. This enables you to run your wires after walls are built. The wires will get covered over with about 1-1/4” to 1-1/2” of plaster. Electrical conduit is better if you can afford it because it provides greater protection and enables adding more lines in future.
Hello Owen,
I am very curious for the purposes of making a scale model, what the filled size of bags is. I plan to make small bricks out of earth to scale with the filled bag size.
Thanks for your time,
Hideo Goyer
Final size will depend on bag size and how you fill them. Most use 18″x30″ bags (measured when empty) and tuck the ends under. This creates tamped bags about 15″x20″.
But you can also sew or stitch the ends closed with wire, poly cord, etc. to save bags. This creates larger bags about 15″x22″-24″, depending on how much material you put in the bags. This is the technique I’m promoting now on my YouTube videos: http://www.youtube.com/user/naturalhouses It saves resources, reduces cost and creates stronger walls due to greater overlap.
Hi Owen,
Revelatory work you’re doing – thanks! I am planning to build a small year-round cottage in a rural, fairly wild area of Ontario, Canada. The building site is Canadian Shield – so a gently sloping hill of solid granite, overlooking a large pond. On the pond side, the hill falls off very steeply. I will want a wall of windows (much like your Beach House), and a deck to enjoy the view. The ideal would be a deck projecting out off the side of the steep hill – so probably on pillars.
Have you advice as to how i should build a foundation for this kind of site? Should the whole building be on a platform? Any idea how i would anchor the platform into granite? Would rebar drilled into the bedrock and then surrounded by sono tubes for poured concrete work?
Also – to fill the bags for a cold climate application: do you happen to know how to get volcanic rock in bulk in a rural Ontario setting? Is that the best idea for insulation from the Canadian winter?
Thanks for all of your work on this. Extremely exciting!
Ross
The column method you described is correct. But the whole house doesn’t necessarily have to be on columns, only what’s necessary because this will increase costs. It’s less expensive to use gravel-filled earthbags as a foundation. Also note, building on bedrock is ideal — it’s the strongest and has the least chance of settling.
Thanks, Owen. To build a gravel bag foundation – do you in-fill the entire area under the floor with bags, or only put up walls around the periphery? In other words – should i try to make something like the solid pad one sees in a typical concrete foundation?
As to your wonderful designs – do you have more detailed drawings that you supply?
thanks, again.
I raise the building site with road base — the same clay/aggregate material used to build roads. Spread it out in layers and drive over it different directions. Then I build a rubble trench where the walls go about 18″-20″ wide. Add about 12″ of gravel and typically three courses of gravel-filled bags so earth-filled bags are 6″ above grade.
Yes, all house plans have detailed drawings. The 30 most popular plans are now available in AutoCAD at no extra charge.
Hello,
I live in Ashland, Oregon and own 16 ft and 24ft metal dome frames. I am wondering if it is possible to use earthbags to fill in frames and stucco exterior? would the bags be possible for a dome roof of this size or would wood roof be more likey the type of material to use for roof? Anyone know the answer?
Thanks,
Shaunamadre
It all depends on how the dome is made and how strong it is. What will the bags rest against? Bags will fall inward on geodesic domes if there’s nothing solid to sit against. Also, I suggest using lightweight insulating material such as scoria, pumice or perlite to save weight and improve insulation. Just stack the bags and apply plaster. You’ll probably want an elastomeric coating in rainy areas.
Do you know of any earthbag training programs in Colorado this fall?
thanks–Mark
No I don’t. All workshops, etc. are posted on our Workshops page and Bulletin Board at http://www.EarthbagBuilding.com.
Checking to see if the previous posters in NE Texas ended up building with earthbags. I would be interested in visiting/helping a project close by if possible. Anybody have knowledge of other projects going on in east TX?
Thanks.
Jonathan
vacation homes that are near quite beaches are the things that i sought after ~
Hello Owen,
I don’t know which is more interesting: the website, or the comments that follow the posts. I took a stone building course earlier this year. Now I wish I had researched this topic first. Thank you!
Dave,
in Upper Peninsula of Michigan
This is my first blog and I really love the interaction. It’s somewhat time consuming, but very fun. I think everyone gets a lot out of it. I certainly get lots of ideas from readers.
HI! I AM BUILDING A SMALL EARTHBAG HOUSE IN N.TEXAS. MY ENGINEER/DAD IS NOT ON BOARD WITH THE EARTHEN FLOOR/FOUNDATION. I NEED AMMO TO WIN THE ARGUMENT!
I WILL NOT LIVE ON CONCRETE DUE TO COST TO ME AND PLANET. ALSO,DO NOT LIKE THE WAY IT FEELS AND HAVE READ THAT THE WEIGHT OF THE BAGS CAN BE TOO MUCH. I WOULD APPRECIATE ANY INFORMATION,CONVERSATION AND EXPERIENCE BASED KNOWLEDGE.
P.S. GREAT SITE. AM OFF TO LOOK AT YOUR PLANS…
Well, maybe he could visit the Taos Pueblo and see their floors that have lasted many hundreds of years. Then compare that to the floor in his house in terms of cost, offgassing fumes (which you end up breathing day and night), and all the work to replace flooring every 10-20 years, etc. Then swing by the landfill and show him the mountains of trash our society generates, much of it from wasteful construction practices. Most people don’t seriously connect the dots. I say shove his face in the facts until he’s moved to tears (if he has a heart).
But maybe you have a bad termite problem or other situation I’m not aware of. So you may have to adapt the design. You could add 6 mil plastic moisture barrier under the floor and/or use soil cement to deter termites. Soil cement looks virtually like concrete.
And the foundation is just gravel bags – polypropylene bags filled with gravel should last for hundreds of years if kept out of sunlight.
we do have termites on the property, so thank you for that advice. My Dad simply needs the facts and you supplied some good ones.
Hi Owen, thanks for the great work..
I live on the Canadian prairies. I would like to build a small earth sheltered passive solar home. I wanted to build a hybrid, with straw bale walls above grade and earth bag below. Pumice and vermiculite, etc. do not seem readily available or inexpensive in my area.
I am looking at the Passive Annual Heat Storage work of john hait (rocky mountain institute)…where an umbrella of insulation slopes away from the home/hillside, isolating a large mass of earth extending around the home.
http://www.norishouse.com/PAHS/UmbrellaHouse.html
Do you have any thoughts on this system? Would it be compatible with hybrid earth bag/straw bale construction? It would allow me to use mostly natural building materials and regular earthbags, with a compromise in the polystyrene insulation blanket that I could probably accept if it made the rest of the project viable…
Thanks for you thoughts…
ps i am thinking in particular of your spiral 2 design…
It probably works to a certain degree, but it seems far simpler to just add insulation around your home. In other words, superinsulate the home and not all the area around your home. Yeah, you’ll have to ship in insulation, but it should be less expensive than PAHS.
I’ve had good success with 6 mil poly. I think it can be layered carefully with cardboard or the equivalent to prevent punctures. This would keep moisture away from your home.
Never use straw bales below grade. Use regular earthbags. I think the ultimate would be 24″ wide bags filled with scoria, layer of 6 mil poly, additional scoria insulation as back fill, then another layer of 6 mil poly.
That should work well. It’s designed for earth berming already, and it has fairly good solar gain. You might want to adjust the overhang for Canada so more light comes in. Or you could create a sunroom/greenhouse by adding a window wall along the front.
This is Steve Villa with Superior Sandbag Systems, the guys with the continuous sandbag system. I wanted to get some information out regarding 14″ & 18″ wide woven tubular PP fabric that we have in supply and want to sell. For our purposes, erosion and flood control, we have upgraded the bag material we use with our machine to a heavy duty, military spec material. To make room, I have about 85 rolls of each of 14″ and 18″ tubular bag material (170 rolls total) that we want to offer at a considerable savings to the public. The fabric is an 850 denier, 10×10 construction, 2000hr UVI material, white in color. The rolls are 6000/lf long and I will offer them for the $0.13 & $0.15 per foot, FOB Santa Ana, Ca. until they are all gone. They are sold by the roll only minimum of (1) roll. They have our company name printed on every 42″ on the material. This is excellent material that is UV stabilized and perfect for Earthbag structures.
You can contact me direct on my cell at 949-338-5978 Steve Villa at Superior Sandbag Systems http://www.superiorsandbagsystems.com or stevev@ameripacific.com
Thanks
Steve Villa
We’ve already posted this on our blog: http://earthbagbuilding.wordpress.com/2010/12/15/surplus-rolls-of-bag-material-for-sale/
Owen,
It was on your website that I first learned about earthbag construction and saw some of your wonderful designs. Earthbags certainly make more sense than traditional construction.
I would like to build a home, but I cannot find a plan of yours that has everything I want: Isolated, oversized master suite with a sitting room, 2 bedrooms– each with a door to a private patio, 2 bathrooms, a laundry room, and preferably round or spiral. It look like the “Summer Breeze” can be modified, but it is not round. It also seems that the “3 Pod Floor Plan” looks almost perfect, except that I am concerned about two things: 1) Is it possible (or even necessary to have a wood burning stove to heat each bedroom? 2) What is the insulating value of earthbags? (If it helps, I live in Amarillo, TX, which has a climate very similar to Albuquerque, NM)
While I’m at it, here are some more questions: 1) If I’m going to have a metal roof for water catchment, how is it connected to the earthbags for strength? 2) Is there some sort of list or plan that I need to follow in order to build an earthbag home? Where can I find such instructions?
Thanks!
My plans don’t show large master bedrooms because the main idea is cost savings. The pod design may be the most suitable for you.
You will need very little heating in Amarillo. Adjust the roof overhang size so sun enters in the winter but not the summer. This will keep your home comfortable with passive solar heating free of charge. (The thick earth walls store the excess heat and release it at night.)
The metal roofing sits on trusses. It’s easiest to buy them from truss manufacturer’s. The trusses sit on the bond beam on the top of the earthbag wall and held in place with hurricane ties.
My Building Details doc that comes with each plan explains the basics. My upcoming book (due out in 2 weeks or so) explains everything in detail.
“My Building Details doc that comes with each plan explains the basics. My upcoming book (due out in 2 weeks or so) explains everything in detail.”
So you DO have a book coming out! Good. I do hope it addresses utilities (water, wiring, fuel).
thanks!
Dennis
My book is just days away if I can get people to finish two steps. The ISBN number has to be added to the cover and then the cover has to be added to the book. There are about five sentences that have to be tweaked to include Patti Stouter’s latest hyper-wattle system. Then the book will be uploaded to e-junkie.com and be available for $20.
I’m from central Texas and am interested in the U-Shape Plan! I noticed in an earlier post that you mentioned you had worked on a larger one. How big? I love the current one but a larger one would be more ideal for our growing family!
It’s only slightly larger. I’d have to check.
Nice and informative.Thanks for sharing.
Hello,
Another Texan here. My family has a fairly large ranch about 60 miles from Wichita Falls, where we are experiencing the incredible drought and 110F temps. As of this Saturday, we will have beaten the record for hottest summer ever recorded (1980).
My wife and I are very interested in building an EB home out there (doubt there’s many, if any codes to contend with) – and would like to go completely off grid if possible. I am learning how to make solar panels and vertical wind turbines to power the home via battery banks, along with an ethanol (made from mesquite pods and cat-tails) powered generator on an as needed basis.
We love your roundhouse designs, and have spent many nights staying up way too late – talking about how great it would be to live in one.
Our biggest concern is the hot weather. I saw a document listing groundwater temps in our area to be around 68F (average) – which, if true, would be amazing for an underground or bermed house. I know there are a million factors to be considered, but if we utilized something along the lines of your 2 story roundhouse, 1 floor being below ground, and one floor possibly bermed — do you think it is possible to keep a temperature range below 85F in the summer?
Can’t wait to read your book, I am downloading it tonight when I get home.
Thank you for your time, and wealth of knowledge on this, as well as your other sites.
Chad
Yes, what you’re describing is certainly possible. Our earthbag roundhouse in a scorching hot tropical climate is about 15 degrees F. cooler inside than outside. (28 Celsius versus 36 Celsius.) It’s a stable temperature all day long.
We need to write more about how to keep houses cool in hot climates. Patti Stouter has already written quite a bit on the subject at EarthbagBuilding.com http://www.earthbagbuilding.com/articles.htm Click on Climate Considerations and read the articles about building in hot climates.
There are many techniques to improve the comfort. Taken to an extreme, you can build a cool pantry. http://earthbagbuilding.wordpress.com/2011/04/17/cool-pantry-update/ You can order the magazine article that describes how to build an earthbag cool pantry. The video that shows how to build it is due out any day. I’m waiting on Kelly to upload it to Amazon.
So there’s a whole bag of tricks you can use. Important factors for your situation would include: wide roof overhangs so the sun doesn’t hit the walls (consider wrap-around porch), lots of roof insulation, attic ventilation, lots of windows, 9′ ceilings, natural convection cooling that draws cool air up through the house from below, ceiling fans, plantings, possible water feature.
I’ll upgrade the 2-story Roundhouse at no extra charge because I’m convinced others will buy it too. https://earthbagplans.wordpress.com/2010/09/15/2-story-roundhouse/
This is a groovy plan!!
For getting some cool in Texas
What about this?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ground-coupled_heat_exchanger
Love your site! Thank you for sharing your knowledge!
They work in dry areas, but mold can grow in humid climates.
I am extremely impressed along with your writing skills as neatly as with the structure to your blog. Is this a paid theme or did you customize it your self? Anyway keep up the nice quality writing, it’s uncommon to see a great blog like this one nowadays..
I, too, would like to know if any of the other commenters from NE TX have started their houses! I’m saving up for land which hopefully will be just south of the DFW area, and would love to know what plans they used and how they like the houses. I like the Zero Energy plans. Then again, I also REALLY like the round fortress plan, but that seems excessive for one person. 😉 I want a moat! And a tower! But a greenhouse seems much more practical at this point. Sigh.
The Summer Breeze plan is one of the best for your situation. You could add a greenhouse and tower later.
Most clients want to remain anonymous and so I never publish information about my projects without approval.
I can understand that – I was just hoping they would post back about their experience.
How long is the side of the Summer Breeze? I remember it looked square. I did like the layout, but I need a fairly long space for my studio, that’s why I was looking at the zero energy four. The bathroom/laundry next to it was a plus, too (for fabric dyeing). I suppose I could always add on a studio later – that would let me build a smaller house and have a better chance of getting the house done. I just wanted it all in one building – I’m afraid once the initial house is done, any additional buildings will end up in the “someday” pile and never getting done.
Are any of the dome/spiral houses good for that environment?
The dimensions are shown in the specifications: 33’x48′.
You’ll have less ventilation with domes and spirals.
– Domes: you can only add so many windows and doors before you weaken the structure
– Spiral House: the earth sheltering reduces ventilation… eliminate the earth sheltering and then you can add more windows. But it’s hard to scale up the Spiral House due to the roof design.
Hello
This is Martin from Poland. This is great job what You’re doing on this site.
Maybe You’ve seen this before, but this is an idea of some “underground” inventor from Sopot in Poland. Maybe it could be useful for someone.
[videos deleted]
what is Your opinion about this machines?
Machines like this are totally impractical for earthbag building. They’re for filling small sandbags for flood control. Watch my free videos on YouTube so you’ll understand the earthbag building process. http://www.youtube.com/user/naturalhouses
No machine is needed. Use a $1 plastic bucket with the bottom cut off as a bucket chute (funnel).
We are now convinced that Eartbag construction is the way we will build our new home, thank you Dr. Geiger for you commitment to building earth friendly homes which are afforable, sustaintable and easy to contruct..The world need to look at this method as a answer to meeting the needs of the worlds homeless…
I live in a 12′ X 50′ mobile home and want to dig a hole that would bury the trailer up to window level on three sides and then use earth bags to finish sealing the trailer up for energy efficency and was wondering what you thought the chances of this working ould be?
Mobile homes are not designed to withstand the pressures of being buried. Soil exerts tremendous pressure and would collapse it. Also, building below grade often leads to flooding. Plus, it would probably rust out pretty fast.
Here’s a plan that would work better. Put earthbags around the sides of the mobile home up to 12″ below windowsill height. Cover with 6 mil plastic sheeting and then add earth berming so water will drain away from the building in all directions. Seal up the gap between the earthbags and mobile home with the plastic and possibly some trim. Add good topsoil on the top 6″-12″ and turn the whole thing into a garden.
I live in Alabama and I want to build a sand bag home but have no where to start. Is there a beginner book that says: step1 – do this, step 2-do that, etc. Or are there some experience people in my area who can simplify this for me.
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See our FAQ page: http://www.naturalbuildingblog.com/faqs/
Hello Owen
I am physically challenged and capable of building with assistance. Two good friends have committed to helping me build once I am ready financially. I noticed with some of the designs that the water heater in the bathroom is not in a closet. I also noticed that the bathrooms do not have room for a full tub. Do you have designs for hot/warm climates with variable rainy months that can accommodate a full tub-shower combo? Would you recommend the compound style with separate washroom facilities that may also house water heater as well as full bathroom?
Thanks in advance
Search this site. Every plan is on this site. You can order the original CAD files and edit them.
I really enjoy your enthusiasm about the importance of low cost housing. The other side is the gratification of building it with our own hands. My family is large and so the future for our money is bleak. We live in east central Alabama and we are concerned about building codes and so forth, the bible speaks of making a plan and understanding the cost before beginning a home. That being said we are very early in the concept phase and looking for any assistance and direction,
Yes **planning is key.** We provide thousands of pages of free information on our websites. It takes time to sort through all the options and figure out what’s best for your situation. Codes will wipe out any savings due to all the added regulations. You can build at 1/10th the cost in rural areas with few or no codes.
One good direction to pursue is pole building with local wood. This is one low cost/low tech version of post and beam. You can build the frame, build the roof and add the earthbags later while working out of the rain in the shade. The frame will stabilize the walls and make everything go easier, protect the bags from UV, etc.
I see here a floor plan for a rectangular earthbag cottage. I would love to find clear instructions on how support/stabilize straight, vertical walls. Also, how to build/attach metal roof to round built structure. Are there any written materials available anywhere?
Thank you
Thanks , I have recently been searching for information about this topic for a while and yours is the greatest I have came upon so far. But, what concerning the bottom line? Are you sure in regards to the source?
I’m not sure what you mean. Email me at naturalhouses [AT] gmail.com and state your question more clearly.
We have thousands of pages of free information on every aspect of building with bags. Go to Natural Building Blog and Earthbag Building.com and start searching those sites. There’s also my ebook and DVD that summarize everything so you don’t have to spend so much time searching. http://www.naturalbuildingblog.com/owens-book-dvd/
[…] Earthbagging is an ancient technique, dating back to the Hobbits. Owen Geiger goes a good step further by using chemical stuff to convert the soil into, essentially, stone. Which is pretty cool. […]
I remember the houses in the Lord of the Rings, but I think this would also a good reference for small house designs as alternative in the Philippines. This would be a great design…
Hi Owen, do you know of a contractor or architect in the Los Angeles area who is experienced with designing and building earthbag homes and is available to hire? I would like to build one, but I want to do it right.
Contact Structure1.com. They’re in Oregon but build all over.
Hey! I’be been looking into these earthbag homes recently, but I haven’t found any plans that fit my family. Do you have any ideas where I can I find more plans or design one of own?
Everybody has different needs. Draw a sketch as carefully as you can on 1/4″ graph paper. Write the names of the rooms and dimensions on the plan. Hire a local home designer who does good work in your area. They will know the codes, climate considerations, etc.
Good Afternoon,
My husband and I Iove your Torus Home plan. We would like to use this plan in the future but we have five children. Could you make a six bedroom plan with one of them being a master suite with a walk-in closet and full bathroom. Total bathroom 3 full 1half bath, a laundry room, kitchen, dining room, living room, office/library, walk-in pantry, and family room. We love the greenhouse already with this plan and courtyard in the middle but wanted to add an area for our dog to use the bathroom in the courtyard. We wanted to also add a bridge coming from the courtyard to an in-laws suite for family to stay for holidays without playing for hotel fees. We are using solar, cisterns for collecting rain water, gray and black water system,1,000gallon propane tank for stove/oven. The earthbag home will be built in Vermont to withstand the cold temperatures. What do you think we should use and how can we build this ourselves and about how much would it cost. We are planning to purchase 3.25 acres of land to build on. So sorry for the long comment. We just would like to build a self sustaining home and completely off the grid. Thank you so much.
Sorry, I no longer do custom plans. It’s best to hire a local designer to make these relatively minor changes. They will know the local codes, climate factors, etc. Buy my CAD files and any designer will be able to make the necessary changes:
http://dreamgreenhomes.com/materials/earth/earthbags.htm