Solar Pit House

Solar Pit House (click to enlarge)

Specifications: 1,127 sq. ft. interior living space, 441 sq. ft. interior greenhouse, total = 1,568 sq. ft. interior, Footprint: 36’x53’

Description: This modern solar pit house is based on the traditional pit house. The construction is much the same. Additional ‘modules’ have been added to create an elongated rectangular design for added living space and windows added on the south for solar gain. Each module is based on wood posts set in geopolymer or concrete footings. Wood beams approximately 10”-12” diameter are joined at the posts with half lap joints and pinned in place with rebar or logging spikes. Smaller poles around the perimeter lean against the beams. 24” wide earthbag walls with a reinforced geopolymer or concrete bond beam rest on rubble trench foundations.

Solar Pit House (click to enlarge)

Solar Pit House Section View (click to enlarge)

Complete drawings available at http://naturalbuildingblog.com/house-plans/free-house-plans/.
More information at our Natural Building Blog:
Solar Pit House Building Details
Evolution of the Pit House
Affordable, Superinsulated Cold Climate Homes

Note to other designers: I’d like to refine this design with input from other design professionals and make all drawings freely available on the Internet. Please email me at strawhouses [at] yahoo.com if you would like to contribute. Or just leave a comment here if you’re short on time.

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Observation Tower and Round Guard Tower

Observation Tower (click to enlarge)

Observation Tower
Specifications: 123 sq. ft. interior, 104 sq. ft. 2nd story, 86 sq. ft. upper floor, total = 313 sq. ft. interior, plus roof deck, Footprint: 15′-6” diameter

Description: The Observation Tower for my Dome Fort (coming soon) could also be used for other purposes such as an office, pantry or even spare bedroom. The kids would love it. A spiraling staircase joins the first three floors, and a ladder provides access to the roof deck. Total height is 31’. The same tower is used in my Native Spirit home design.

Round Guard Tower (click to enlarge)

Specifications: 123 sq. ft. interior, 104 sq. ft. upper floor, total = 227 sq. ft. interior, plus roof deck, Footprint: 15′-6” diameter

Description: This guard tower for my Dome Fort could also be used for other purposes such as an office, pantry or even spare bedroom. The kids would love it (and big kids, too). A spiraling staircase joins the first and second floors, and a ladder provides access to the roof deck. Total height is 22’. The Round Guard Tower is the same as the Observation Tower except it is one floor (9’) shorter.

Observation Tower and Round Guard Tower plan

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Custom Chonburi

Custom Chonburi (click to enlarge)

Specifications: 1,134 sq. ft. interior main floor, 1,134 sq. ft. upper floor, total 2,268 sq. ft. interior, 2 bedroom, 3 bath, Footprint: 27′ x 29′. Pantry and mechanical room could be converted into an extra bedroom.

Description: This is a larger version of the original Chonburi design that includes two large bedrooms versus three smaller ones (all upstairs for privacy). Master bedroom has private bath. There’s also a pantry, mechanical room, sitting room, arched doorways and large country-style kitchen. Optional cathedral ceiling in master bedroom. The crenellated roof design maintains the classic lines and adds a touch of grandeur. There’s also a large roof deck where you can take in the scenery and cool breezes. This design is part of my Earthbag Castle.

Custom Chonburi Main Floor (click to enlarge)

Custom Chonburi Upper (click to enlarge)

Original Chonburi (624 sq. ft. interior main floor, 624 sq. ft. upper floor, total 1,248 sq. ft. interior, 3 bedroom, 3 bath, Footprint: 27′ x 29′)

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Insulated Earthbag Vaults

Insulated earthbag vault with solar panels (click to enlarge)

Specifications: 263 sq. ft. interior, 74 sq. ft. sleeping loft, total 337 sq. ft. interior, one bath, Footprint: 15′-6″ x 30’

Description: As explained in one of our blog posts, earthbags are inherently unstable if they are stacked into a vault shape. The proposed design shown here resolves the stability issues. This vault building method is very strong, simple, low cost, superinsulating and extremely fast and easy to build. The shell of a small, simple vault could be built in about one week, in part because the top two-thirds of the vault is built with tubes or bags filled with lightweight insulation such as scoria or pumice (preferably nonflammable materials). These earthbag vaults are now available with a number of roof options: solar panels, metal roofing, living roof and thatch. A similar vault for arid conditions (no roof, just plaster) will be available soon.

Insulated earthbag vault floorplan (click to enlarge)

Insulated earthbag vault with living roof (click to enlarge)

Insulated earthbag vault with thatch roof (click to enlarge)

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Earthbag Building Guide Now Available!

New Earthbag Building Guide by Owen Geiger is Now Available!

Earthbag Building Guide: Vertical Walls Step-by-Step
By Owen Geiger

Free ebook with all house plan orders! See below.

Much has been learned about earthbag building over the last few decades through research, trial and error, and sharing of information. It is becoming increasingly clear what works best and why. And now with engineer-approved methods for building in code-enforced areas, it is time to pull the most practical ideas together and take this movement to the next level.

This builder’s guide does that by providing simple, clear explanations of each step of construction, from earthbag foundations that don’t require concrete, to complete information on tools and supplies, as well as tips, tricks and advanced earthbag techniques.

All major aspects of building earthbag houses are covered: Planning; $10/sq. ft. dirt cheap building techniques; Building code issues; Electrical and Plumbing; Cost estimating; How to build insulated earthbag houses; How to make earthbag benches, and privacy and retaining walls for next to nothing. It is profusely illustrated with about 185 color photos and detail drawings.

The Earthbag Building Guide by Owen Geiger is now available for $20 as a PDF download. The ebook is available for free with all new house plan orders through Earthbag House Plans and DreamGreenHomes.com.

You will need a recent version of Adobe Reader for the book to display properly. http://get.adobe.com/reader/

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Hobbit House

Hobbit House (click to enlarge)

Specifications: 24′-6″ diameter with 471 sq. ft. interior, 471 sq. ft. loft, total 942 sq. ft. interior, one bedroom, one bath, Footprint: 27′-6″ x 27-6″

Description: Many people dream of a simpler life, free of the cares of this world. They want a home that is easy to build and maintain, small yet adequate in size, with everything they need to live comfortably with their small friends. This one and a half story home is designed for you. Features include drop-down stairs that lead to a spacious loft, wood stove heating, and modern kitchen with pantry space for Hobbit food. The undulating thatch roof or living roof is created by varying the knee wall height above the bond beam. (Another earthbag first.)

Hobbit House (click to enlarge)

Hobbit House with wood shingles (click to enlarge)

This alternate version uses a double pole roof to provide ample space for roof insulation. Inner and outer roof poles are bolted to steel compression rings like in my earthbag roundhouse. Wood shingles are practical and well suited for this curved roof design. Loft height in the center is 8′.

Hobbit House with Grain Bin Roof (click to enlarge)

Another good option is a grain bin roof. Good quality grain bin roofs are typically maintenance free for decades. Good choice for windy areas and hail zones. They are especially practical for those who live in agricultural areas and can buy the roofs separately from local grain bin suppliers. Hoist the roof in place with a crane, bolt in place and you’re finished.

Plans are available through Dream Green Homes. Just ask if the plan you want isn’t posted yet.

Hobbit House with haystack roof (click to enlarge)

More info about this haystack roof on our Earthbag Building Blog.

Hobbit House with 2nd story Open-air Deck (click to enlarge)

Here’s another version of the Hobbit House showing an open-air second story deck and rectangular windows. The deck adds another 471 square feet of living space at very little extra cost. This design is perfect for hot climates where breezes make a big difference in comfort. The deck can be accessed by stairs or a ladder.

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$300 Earthbag House

$300 Earthbag House (click to enlarge)

Description: 11.1 sq. m. interior, 5.4 sq. m. sleeping loft, 11.2 sq. m. patio for cooking and socializing. Single units can be expanded by adding on in any direction or joined to create multi-unit structures. Almost all materials are free or recycled: grain bags, rubble, clay, door, security bars, earthen plaster and floors, or locally available, natural materials: bamboo, rice hull insulation.

$300 Earthbag House (click to enlarge)

This is my entry for ‘The $300 House Open Design Challenge.’ Over the next two weeks I’ll be adding more drawings and fleshing out my proposal. The challenge is to design affordable housing for the world’s poorest. You can view other proposals here. Several other earthbag house designs have already been submitted. The $300 House was first described in a Harvard Business Review blog post by Vijay Govindarajan and Christian Sarkar. More info at The $300 House.

$300 Earthbag House with Additions (click to enlarge)

Option B: Starter Home with Additions
This is the same house with two rooms added on. One of the key advantages of this design is the ability to add on in any direction, so I wanted to show what this could look like. This larger version doubles the living area from 27.7 to 55.4 sq. meters, including the porch.

$300 Earthbag House with Additions (click to enlarge)

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2-story Roundhouse Above Survival Shelter

2-story Roundhouse Above Survival Shelter (click to enlarge)

Specifications: 20’ DIA roundhouse, 314 sq. ft. interior first floor, 252 sq. ft. interior loft, 314 sq. ft. interior survival shelter plus pantry), 880 total square foot interior, Footprint: 23′ DIA, 23′ x 31′ survival shelter

Description: I consider this one of my most efficient and practical designs. It’s prudent to have a safe place to go to in case of emergencies, and what better place than your basement. Hurricanes, tornadoes, blizzards and other natural disasters are all too common. While others panic and run for last minute preparations, you can calmly retreat to your basement (through a hidden trap door) that’s wisely stocked with everything you need to ride out the disaster.

More details on the Earthbag Survival Shelter that’s also sold separately.

2-story Roundhouse Above Survival Shelter (click to enlarge)

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Roundhouse with Siberian Chum Roof

Roundhouse with Siberian Chum Roof (click to enlarge)

Specifications: 16′ interior diameter with 201 sq. ft. interior, sleeping loft, half bath, Footprint: 19′ x 19′

Description: Here’s a compact design ideal for extremely cold climates. The basic concept comes from the Siberian Chum (tent). There are two chum roofs or conical shaped roofs made of poles with insulation between. Virtually all materials are made from small diameter wood poles, which are often abundant in northern forests – roof poles, bond beam, lintels, loft joists, wood shakes and woodchip insulation. Tilt-down stairs lead to a sleeping loft. Only a very small wood stove is needed for heating. It would be quite easy to build debt-free by gradually adding extra roundhouses as time and resources allow. A small cluster of these roundhouses would be real cozy.

Roundhouse with Siberian Chum Roof (click to enlarge)

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Earthbag/Geodesic Dome

Earthbag/Geodesic Dome (click to enlarge)

Specifications: 24′-6″ diameter with 471 sq. ft. interior, one bedroom, one bath, Footprint: 28′-6″ x 28′-6″

Description: Many readers prefer rounded domes. However, rounded domes cannot be built by earthbags alone. This solution — inspired by Richard Laurens — uses a 24′ diameter geodesic frame set on 42″ high earthbag walls. Metal and wood geodesic frames are available as kits through various suppliers, or you could build your own. Lightweight bags of insulation cover the entire dome. A key feature is the expansive window wall that provides a sunny, pleasant home. Most dome homes, in contrast, have insufficient or poorly protected windows.

Earthbag/Geodesic Dome (click to enlarge)

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