Earthbag Building: The Tools, Tricks and Techniques (Mother Earth News Books for Wiser Living Book 8)

The only comprehensive, illustrated step-by-step guide to building with earthbags. Over seventy percent of Americans cannot afford code-enforced, contractor-built homes, leading to increased interest in natural building materials like straw, cob, and earth. These alternatives offer inexpensive construction that relies on labor rather than costly, environmentally damaging outsourced materials. Earthbag Building covers all tools, tricks, and techniques for constructing with earth-filled bags. The authors, introduced to sandbag construction by Nader Khalili in 1993, developed the "Flexible Form Rammed Earth Technique" over the following decade. This method creates durable, tree-free structures suitable for homes, outbuildings, garden walls, and arched or domed designs in any region, developing countries, or emergency relief work. The guide addresses design considerations, foundations, walls, floors, electrical and plumbing systems, shelving, lintels, windows, doors, roofs, arches, domes, and exterior and interior plasters. Additional sections cover costs, making specialized tools, building code considerations, and a complete resources guide.