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Build Strong, Affordable, and Resilient Structures with Earthbag Construction
Part of the Sustainable Building Essentials Series, Essential Earthbag Construction is the complete step-by-step guide to building durable, low-impact structures using simple tools and locally available materials. Learn how to create earthquake-resistant, fire-resistant buildings—from homes to root cellars—at a fraction of the cost of conventional construction.
What You'll Learn
- Economical, Low-Impact Building: Use locally sourced earthen fills and minimal industrial materials to reduce cost and environmental impact.
- Strength and Resilience: Design earthbag walls that are naturally fire-resistant, pest-resistant, and well-suited to seismic and extreme climate conditions.
- Material Choices That Matter: Compare gravel, earth, clay, and lightweight insulating fills such as perlite, rice hulls, and volcanic stone.
- Step-by-Step Building Guidance: Clear, illustrated instructions for efficient bag filling, stacking, tamping, and reinforcement.
- Flexible Design Options: Build straight-walled structures, domes, and arches with proven stability and performance.
- Foundations, Finishes, and Longevity: Learn foundation options, finishing techniques, and maintenance best practices for long-lasting results.
With more than 75 photos and illustrations, this guide balances practical building science with hands-on instruction, making it ideal for DIY builders, designers, and professionals alike.
Written by Kelly Hart, a pioneering earthbag builder and widely recognized authority on natural construction, this book draws on decades of real-world experience, research, and teaching to make earthbag building accessible and achievable.
Explore the full Sustainable Building Essentials Series for highly illustrated, practical guidance on natural materials, resilient construction methods, and high-performance building systems.
Kelly Hart is a pioneering earthbag builder, author, and filmmaker. The building of his multi-dome earthbag Colorado residence is chronicled in the video Building with Bags: How We Made Our Experimental Earthbag/Papercrete House. Kelly also founded and hosts the widely visited natural and green building websites greenhomebuilding.com, devoted to all aspects of sustainable architecture and natural building, dreamgreenhomes.com, which features a wide range of ecological home plans for sale by various architects and designers, and earthbagbuilding.com which explores in depth the many possibilities for building with earthbags. Kelly's other publications include Rolling Shelter: Vehicles We Have Called Home, Remodel Green: Make Your Home Serve Your Life, and Earthbag Architecture: Build Your Dream with Bags. Kelly lives in Silver City, New Mexico.
Acknowledgments
Foreword
Chapter 1: A Brief History of Earthbag Building
Chapter 2: Appropriate Uses for Earthbags
Chapter 3: Building Science Notes
Chapter 4: Material Specifications
Bags
Fill materia
Barbed wire and other types of reinforcement
Plaster
Chapter 5: Tools
Chapter 6: Foundations
Chapter 7: Building Walls
Locate source of fill material
Filling bags
Placing barbed wire and twine
Laying bags in a pattern
Closing the top of the bag
Using a metal slider
Tamping the bags
Placing vertical reinforcement rods
Building domes
Chapter 8: Design Considerations and Constraints
Vertical walls
Domes
Vaults
Buttresses
Bond beams
Door and window openings
Door and window bucks
Arches and other shapes
Spacing openings
Vertical reinforcement for openings
Lintels
Wall thickness
More than one story
Below-grade construction
Chapter 9: Plastering the Walls
Chapter 10: Floor and Roof Options
Slab on grade
Masonry floors
Adobe floors
Suspended floors
Roofs
Chapter 11: How to Include Utilities
Plumbing
Electrical
Heating
Ventilation
Cabinetry
Chapter 12: Strategies for Seismic Reinforcement
Chapter 13: General Budgeting Information
Chapter 14: Maintenance and Renovation
Chapter 15: Building Codes
Chapter 16: Other Uses for Earthbags
Retaining walls
Cisterns
Dams
Root cellars and pantries
Sculpture and art
Resources
Author's websites
Other websites
Books
DVDs
Workshops
Bag supplies online
Index
About the Author
A Note About the Publisher