Insulation

Articles in This Category

Affordable Lava Rock Insulation for the Far North: Porous lava rock — scoria (cinders) and pumice — is an ideal building material. We’ve covered this amazing material many
New FAQ’s at Earthbagbuilding.com: The Frequently Asked Questions section of www.earthbagbuilding.com has been accumulating pertinent questions and answers for over a decade. These had
The Myth of Earthbag Insulation: There is a consistent myth floating around the internet that common earthbag buildings are naturally super insulating. I don’t know
Hyperadobe with EarthenHand: This is one of the best videos I’ve seen in illustrating how to go about building a project. In just
Additional Passive Cooling Strategies for Hot Climates: The following list includes dozens of low tech, low cost ways to cool buildings in hot climates passively without electricity
Cordwood Construction on Gravel Bag Foundation: There are a lot of little details you can search on the Internet. This is just a basic introductory video
Low Cost Products for Weatherizing Your Home: “Weatherization facts: - Low income families will realize greater comfort and additional disposable income, saving over $400 in reduced energy
PAHS Earthbag House Near Completion: “Earthen Hand Natural Building recently has created an 800 sf earthbag house on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington state. Passive
Underground Houses: “Underground living refers simply to living below the ground’s surface, whether in naturally occurring caves or in built structures. Underground
Earth-sheltered Homes: “Earth sheltering is the architectural practice of using earth against building walls for external thermal mass, to reduce heat loss,
It Can’t Possibly Be Worth It: “More than a third of the average American’s after-tax income is devoted to shelter, usually rent or mortgage payments. If
Withyfield Cottage and the Woodsman’s Cottage: More work by Ben Law. His ideas are spreading throughout the region. The video below shows his finished home before
Zero Energy Earth Home in Texas?: Kelly and Owen, I’d like to thank you for all of the wonderful information you have offered for free to
Straw/Clay Mixer: “Rather than laboriously tossing clay slip with straw by hand to make light clay straw for finishing the stuffing of
Straw/Clay Houses: Straw/clay has been in use for thousands of years with great success. The focus of our blog is obviously earthbag
PAHS Principles Explained: A simple underground house design uses a novel insulating/water-shedding blanket that covers the structure and surrounding soil. The umbrella creates
ECHO Asia’s Earthbag Seed Bank: This small structure is the ECHO Asia Seed Bank’s earthbag house that is nearing completion. ECHO promotes community-based seed sharing
Rice Hull House Wall Section: Yesterday’s blog post on Production Earthbag Building using Rice Hulls introduced one method for building walls with rice hulls. As
Production Earthbag Building using Rice Hulls: Mike, in Texas, has been asking some interesting questions about wrapping a post and beam frame with tubes of rice
Straw Bale/Pallet Walls: “Hello, We want to add two rooms to an existing small older home, my question is: We want to build
Loft Floor Joists: Please document your earthbag project to share with others. Festismr’s YouTube channel has 17 videos on building a scoria bag
Energy Performance of Straw Bale Buildings: “Earlier this year, my colleagues Ace McArleton of New Frameworks Natural Building, Ben Graham of Natural Design/Build, and I conducted
GERES Greenhouse Building Details: I think you’ll forgive me for double posting on this subject after you see GERES free online greenhouse building PDF.
Slash Energy Bills with Window Quilts: Installing window quilts is one of the simplest, easiest ways to save on energy costs. It’s right up there with
Juergen’s Earthbag House in Hungary: Hello Owen. Just wanted to share with you my plan: Next year, I will build a large roundhouse in Hungary
Small Wood Stoves for Small Homes: Andrew, one of our readers, suggested a blog post about small stoves for all those planning small earthbag homes. This
Living Aleutian Home Design Competition: Imagine a creative, livable, affordable home. Now imagine it in Alaska. Join us in creating a model for a new
Airlock Entryways: An airlock entryway (vestibule) has two airtight doors that reduce the amount of air infiltration and heat loss when the
Wool Insulation: 1. Safe Choice – Wool insulation is a natural resource that is environmentally friendly. 2. Flame Resistant Wool is naturally
Post and Beam Earthbag Houses: One of the biggest advantages of building a post and beam frame is you can get the roof on quickly
Engineer-approved TJI/Earthbag System: I’ve been reading about the building boom going on in Wyoming and the Dakotas from all the oil and gas
Earthbag Platform for Yurts: I posted an idea for Insulated Earthbag Foundations for Yurts at Instructables.com. One reader who left a comment liked the
Earthbag Pit Greenhouse Plans: I see at least two main approaches to building a pit house with earthbags: 1. Mimic Mike Oehler’s greenhouse design
Most Popular Earthbag Instructables: Instructables.com is one of my favorite sites and so I’ve been publishing how-to articles there for the last year or
More Choices for Insulated Earthbag Houses: There are lots of options for building insulated earthbag houses. At this time, scoria and pumice are my favorite. These
Earthbag Scoria Casita: Here’s another great project. This small domicile demonstrates how scoria homes are faster and easier to build than bags filled
Vertical Wall Bags: Just when you thought you’d seen it all, here’s a new way to insulate basement walls with foam glass by
Our Little Thing in Patagonia: This house in Patagonia was built by Paul Coleman and his wife, Konomi. It features a double wall system that
All the Best Earthbag Content: For several years, Kelly and I have been filtering all the best earthbag content from the Web, writing extensively on
Autonomous Buildings: Houses With No Bills: “An autonomous building is a building designed to be operated independently from infrastructural support services such as the electric power
Top 10 Most Popular Earthbag Blog Posts: Every year we publish the most popular blog posts for the last 12 months. We’ll do that again in November
Escape the Ratrace and Live a Carefree Simple Life: The ongoing economic recession is putting lots of people in difficult situations. For some, the situation may even seem hopeless.
Bobcat Concrete Mixer Attachment: This Bobcat mixer bucket caught my eye on YouTube. This would come in real handy on large projects to speed
Lightweight, Insulating Geopolymer Earthbags Part 3: I’m proposing using a combination of ferrocement, earthbags and porous geopolymer to build durable, affordable housing. In a nutshell, earthbags
Seismic Resistant Gravel Bag Foundations: Yesterday’s post was about the earthquake resistance of earthbags. Today’s post illustrates what an earthquake resistant gravel bag foundation looks
Solar Pit House Building Details: Specifications: 1,127 sq. ft. interior living space, 441 sq. ft. interior greenhouse, total = 1,568 sq. ft. interior, Footprint: 36’x53’
Evolution of the Pit House: I’ll never forget the Native American museum exhibit of a pit house in Anchorage, Alaska. I couldn’t stop staring at
Affordable, Superinsulated Cold Climate Homes: Dear Owen, I am currently doing research and compiling data in order to draft a proposal here in Canada largely
Recycled Polystyrene Insulation: Those living in extremely cold climates such as Canada and Alaska need lots of insulation so their home is warm
Extra Courses Versus Raising the Site: One good method to raise a structure high enough to prevent moisture damage is to build on high ground and/or
Summary of Earthbag Facts: Let’s take a brief respite from castle plans, shall we? Our website traffic has hit another major spike and so
Disaster Resistant Hemispheric Dome: This 20′ interior diameter, 314 sq. ft. design is my proposed solution to Dustin’s dilemma in Florida for houses that
How to Build the Strongest Buildings That Can Last Centuries: Dustin: I live in Florida where few domestic buildings last more than 50 years because of hurricanes. I explored the
Hobbit House with Wood Shingles: My Hobbit House design was one of the top viewed earthbag plans last week, and one of the most common
More Insulated Earthbag Vault Designs: This is a fourth installment on earthbag vaults. Previous posts have already covered most of the details. This blog post
Get the Basics Right: Make sure you get the basics right so your earthbag home is safe, sound and durable. As obvious as this
Mindfulness Project Insulated Solar Vaults: This blog post is a continuation of Insulated Earthbag Vaults and Insulated Earthbag Vaults for Rainy Climates. The Mindfulness Project
CORGANIX Project Update: Ronin’s CORGANIX shipping container/earthbag hybrid design is gaining a lot of traction. His post yesterday at Renaissance Ronin Blog triggered
Mindfulness Project Insulated Earthbag Domes: Description: 20′ interior diameter earthbag dome = 314 sq. ft., plus 14.5’ diameter loft = 110 sq. ft., total =
Earthbag Building Facebook Page: I got the following email a few minutes ago. Luke just won himself a free copy of my upcoming Earthbag
Insulated Earthbag Vaults for Rainy Climates: This is part 2 about building lightweight, insulated vaults with earthbags. Lower courses are gravel-filled bags to prevent water wicking
Insulated Earthbag Vaults: We get quite a few enquires about vaults. So far we’ve always cautioned against building earthbag vaults except for small
Augers for Moving Fill Materials: One possibility for raising soil and other types of fill material higher on walls is with an auger. The photo
Lunar Earthbag Structures: Mandeep Singh, a graduate student from India, conducted research on lunar earthbag structures for his master’s thesis at Auburn University,
How to Find Answers about Earthbag Building: Are you spending lots of time searching for earthbag information? Using the search engines on this blog and at EarthbagBuilding.com
Surrounded with Everything We Need: Follow me for just a moment as I try to explain how everything we really need is right before us
Hot Dry Rock Geothermal Energy: Let’s take a quick break from earthbag building and look at an interesting source of clean, renewable energy that advocates
Earthbag Building Guide Acknowledgements: The peer review process for this book has included input from other earthbag builders. I would like to thank all
Earthbag Building Guide Table of Contents 2: More book reviews: “This book is very useful for anyone interested in working with earthbags…even those who have experience, since
Earthbag Building Guide Table of Contents 1: More book reviews: “I have built with earthbags for over twenty years, having helped develop the concept with Nader Khalili
Earthbag Building Guide Now Available!: Earthbag Building Guide: Vertical Walls Step-by-Step By Owen Geiger Much has been learned about earthbag building over the last few
Earthbag Prototype How-to: Here’s another project in New Mexico. You can follow the progress on festismr’s Channel. The photo below shows where they’re
Why is there an Energy Crisis?: A BIG issue in everyone’s lives today is increasing fuel costs. (Don’t be fooled by [temporary] low prices. They’ll be
The Earth-Sheltered Solar Canadian: Follow the adventure of building an earth-sheltered structure in Canada, six hours north of Winnipeg. In brief, they’re exploring how
Adobe Rocket Stove: Experimental rocket stove made with rice/hull clay adobes for insulation and traditional adobes. “Two kinds of adobe: one regular old
Thermo Hemp Insulation: Thermo Hemp, made by Ecological Building Systems, is a mat and roll form of insulation made from 100 percent hemp.
Another Insulated Earthbag Method: This new insulated earthbag idea is from Chris, one of our readers. “Feel free to post away with the idea–after
Hyper-wattle Update: Here’s the latest from Patti. “People building with trash have relied on bottles filled with sand or adobe or film
Straw/clay Roof Insulation: Roofs present a number of challenges, including how to provide adequate, affordable insulation so the home remains comfortable. Straw/clay, also
Hyper-wattle Wall Test: Patti Stouter just tested her hyper-wattle wall system that’s she’s building at her home in New York. She’s published the
Pumice-lime / Scoria-lime: There’s a wide variety of fill material that can go in earthbags – road base, subsoil, gravel, crusher fines, etc.
Earthbag Building May be Thousands of Years Old: Major Breaking News. Tim, one of our readers, sent me some information the other day that explained how Bill McNulty
Lightweight, Insulating Geopolymer Earthbags Part 1: We’ve been discussing Professor Joseph Davidovits cast stone research at the Geopolymer Institute in hopes of applying this concept to
Very Good Earthbag Walls: There’s a wide range of earthbag building systems and some are obviously better than others. Let’s summarize the leading V.G.E.W.
New Earthbag Houses in Bangnol, Haiti: From Patti Stouter: The cardiologist with the Haiti Christian Development Project who helped get the Bois Marchand earthbag house built
Raschel Mesh for Narrow Walls: Patti Stouter sent me this news about raschel mesh from a supplier in Canada that works perfectly for the narrow
Low Cost Fill Materials: One key to affordable natural building is to use low cost, locally available materials. Look especially for what others don’t
Hyper-Wattle on Rubble Bags: Here’s Patti Stouter’s entry for the $300 House design competition. Rubble bags on lower walls provide a solid, flood resistant
Alternative Fill Materials for Eternally Solar Earthbags: We’ve been discussing the Eternally Solar earthbag building system at length. Engineering tests show their walls exceed building code requirements
More Details About Eternally Solar’s / Earthbag Building System: Today’s post is from Dr. Johnny Anderton of of Eternally Solar / EarthBagBuild. We’ve been discussing various aspects of their
Hemp Construction Materials: Here are some quotes from FantasticHemp. I cannot verify many of the claims made on their site, but this certainly
Vetiver and Rice Hull/Clay: If you’ve been watching our videos, you’ve seen us making various earthen blocks. This one here is the best one
Earthbag Roundhouse with Siberian Chum Roof: I’m always on the lookout for alternative building techniques. In this video, survivalist Ray Mears shows how to build a
Mesh Bags of Recycled Foam: Patti Stouter has been experimenting with all sorts of things, including using mesh bags of recycled foam. She wants to
Rice Hull Earthbag House: I’ve had the pleasure of corresponding with Paul in Chiang Dao, a district north of Chiang Mai, Thailand. We’ve been
Passive Houses Use 90% Less Energy – Really?: Here’s a great article by Gayle Fleming, an environmentalist and green real estate advisor at EcoGayle’s Blog. She’s EcoBroker certified
Rice Hull/Clay Blocks and Earthbags: We’re experimenting with rice hulls and clay to make lightweight building blocks. We’re using 25% rice hulls on our first
Condensation Problems in Cold Climates: Kelly Hart and I have been following the The Year of Mud cob house blog for about 2-3 years. Ziggy,
Instructable: Insulated Bamboo Walls: This Instructable describes an innovative way to build walls using bamboo or wood saplings and bags of insulation. We’ll be
Vetiver/Clay Follow-up Report: I’m real happy with how the sample vetiver/clay block and earthbag turned out. This follow-up report summarizes some of the
Halcyon Times Dome Home: “Three long months… 2,000 sandbags, 4,000 nails for closing the bags, 90 cubic yards of lava rock, 4 miles of
Experiments with Light Clay Insulation: Patti Stouter has been running a series of very interesting, even surprising, experiments with various materials that might be used
Instructable: Insulated Earthbag Foundations for Yurts: This Instructable includes complete step-by-step instructions on how to make an insulated earthbag foundation. You can use the same process
Instructable: How to Build an Insulated Earthbag House: Energy performance on most buildings can be improved with insulation, including those made of earth such as adobe and earthbag
$220,000 Affordable Housing: I almost jumped out of my chair when I read about this ‘affordable housing’ project in Alaska. The estimated $220,000
Puerto Vallarta Model Home: I have been consulting with Mike Parker who started www.childrenofthedump.org in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico about how to build inexpensive, ecological
Earthbag Game-changer: We believe the combination of new developments in earthbag building is a game-changer, a breakthrough that is gradually pushing earthbag
Cool Pantries: Storing Food Without Using Power: What’s the difference between a cool pantry and root cellar? Humidity. Root cellars are very practical for storing certain types
Amirta – Divine Nectar Retreat Cabin: We have a new complete project page up at www.earthbagbuilding.com: the Amirta – Divine Nectar Retreat Cabin in the high
How Much Wall Insulation Do I Need?: From time to time we answer reader’s questions. Jeff: We are looking at building a home on acreage in central
Hempcrete — Growing Your Own House: This is my second post about hempcrete in just a few days. Obviously I’m pretty excited about it. The last
Hempcrete as Earthbag Fill: Today’s post is from The House Made of Hemp article at Ecogizmo. You can read the full article for free
Earthbag Evolution Video: This entertaining video by Sierra of British Columbia provides an introduction to the materials and uses of earthbag building.
Earthbag Building Blog 3rd Anniversary: This week is the 3rd anniversary of Earthbag Building Blog. A lot has happened this past year, and our blog
Earth Sheltered Homes versus Earthbag Building: A new article by Arvid Linde in Green Home Design compares typical earth-sheltered homes with structures made of earthbags. Linde
A Review of Living in an Underground House: I came across this great article at Mother Earth News magazine and just had to share it. Merle Alix describes
Perlite Roundhouses: A reader asked if perlite is a good choice for building earthbag roundhouses. Perlite should work if you make some
Vetiver/Lime and Vetiver/Clay: There’s growing interest in lightweight bag fill materials as alternatives to more labor intensive soil-filled earthbags. While lightweight materials such
Earthbag/Stone Foundations: The most recent issue of The Last Straw journal (#60) has my article about earthbag/stone foundations. The following information is
Insulated Earthbag/Geotextile Basement Walls: This article describes a low cost method of building insulated basement walls without concrete, using geotextiles. Typical basement walls are
Using Scoria for Earthbag Building: If you’ve been reading our blogs and websites, you’ll often see reference to scoria. Scoria, also known as lava rock,
Woodchip/Light Clay Earthbags: Woodchip/light clay is a traditional building material in Germany and other European countries. It’s typically used as infill between timbers
Magnesium Cement for Roofs and Plaster: There is a whole class of cement that was very popular in the days before the invention and manufacture of
Responding to Catastrophe: The internet has been vibrating along with the earth since the great quake in Haiti, and I have received quite
Zero Energy Housing: I’ve just unveiled my first zero energy house — Zero Energy One — at Earthbag House Plans. Unlike most zero
Living Walls: I recently wrote an article about living walls for GreenHomeBuilding.com, and in doing the research for this I came upon
Cold Climate Earthbag Yurts: There’s great, untapped potential for superinsulated earthbag buildings in cold climates. Here’s a way to combine the best features of
Dome Building Guide: As you can imagine, we get quite a few emails from readers asking about earthbag building. Sometimes these questions and
Rubble Trench/Earthbag Foundation: The Fleming College Sustainable Building Design & Construction Progam project in 2008 was the Madoc Performing Arts Centre. Students of
Radio Interview with Kelly Hart: In May of 2009, Kelly Hart was interviewed for nearly an hour by Veronica Entwistle for her “Paradigm Shifters” Radio
Earthbag Greenhouses: Earthbags are ideal for building greenhouses due to their resistance to moisture damage. Most anyone can build with earthbags, which
Earthbag Walls in One Day?: How would you build earthbag walls up to 12 feet above ground on pier footings? A reader asked me this
Earthbags for Yurt and Tent Insulation: One possible use of earthbags I haven’t seen so far is using bags of vermiculite, perlite, scoria or pumice for
Insulating Earthbag Walls with Tube Sandbags: My earlier post about Earthbag Building in Cold Climates on January 17, 2009 piqued some interest. Since energy performance on
Earthbag Building in Cold Climates: Most earth structures such as adobe are located in hot, dry climates. But what if you live in a cold
Earthbag Building in the Humid Tropics: Earthbag Building in the Humid Tropics: Simple Instructions by Patti Stouter is a 27-page, step-by-step PDF guide to building with
Shaping Buildings for the Humid Tropics: Shaping Buildings for the Humid Tropics: Cultures, Climate, and Materials by Patti Stouter, 2008, is a 28 page PDF document
Building with Unbonded Pumice: Owen Geiger and I have just found that a book published in 1990 in Germany, Building with Pumice, written by
Using Earthbags as Ceiling Insulation: Owen and I have collaborated on a new article posted at earthbagbuilding.com that describes how to use earthbags filled with