David Armstrong of Roanoke, Mo. is no fool. Like many savvy shoppers, he clocks a lot of research hours before making any purchase. It’s the smart thing to do. So when looking for a solution to resurface the block wall foundation of an old homestead building on property he had purchased, he spent lots of time on the Internet, several hours of which were on MortarSprayer.com

“I searched numerous websites to try and see what to do with this foundation,” David explains. “We wanted the solution for the foundation to be something we could do as a do-it-yourself project.”

An inexpensive solution was also important. The property on which the old house rests is something of an investment in the future. One day soon, David hopes the building will be surrounded by a thriving winery.

“Approximately eight acres came up for purchase at an estate sale,” David explains. “We purchased the property with the intention of creating a winery.”

In addition to the building with the ailing foundation, a 3,700-square-foot, 1890s era, three-room schoolhouse also rests on the property.

“We hope to renovate that structure, as well, to serve as the main building for the winery,” David says.

First things first. The first hurdle was the small out-building.

“This little building sits on the corner of the property,” David explains. “At one point, we thought we were going to fix it up and flip it, but then we decided not to do that.”

Since the building did once serve as a residence, David considered making it habitable to rent. But that plan was scrapped as well. It was decided the building would be incorporated into the winery, and while there are still no concrete plans for exactly what purpose it will serve, the building most definitely needs work. Regardless of its new role as a winery structure, the foundation of the building was in desperate need of a makeover, and other issues arose.

“The whole project involves a new roof, insulation, and new siding, as well as fixing up the foundation,” David explains. “This block foundation is under the oldest part of the house, under about two thirds of it.”

Like many of the old Missouri buildings built around the turn of the Century, the small structure is supported by a block foundation. Mortar used to set and finish blocks in the old days was not nearly as efficient as it today, and several patches of block on this home had to be reset and mortared before any resurfacing could be performed.

Using jacks, the house was lifted. Failed block was replaced, and all of the loose blocks re-mortared. David was ready to tackle the foundation.

Even after straightening and re-mortaring there was some surface unevenness, so David opted for a surface bond mix enriched with glass fibers, which he laid on pretty thick using a sprayer from MortarSprayer.com. With the help of a mixer mounted on the three-point hitch of a small tractor, he was easily able to complete mixing and be underway.

“We combined that mixture with a stone-veneer mix (Quikrete) that has high-adhesive qualities. We covered it with a pretty quick coating.”

Once that coat had set up, David came back over with another layer of stone-veneer mix combined with Quikrete sand topping mix. This succeeded in hiding any of the remaining glass fibers still sticking out.

The amazing part about all of this is that David did not have an adequately sized compressor to push the flow. What he did have was two smaller compressors for powering air tools. His solution was to tie the two compressors together.

“They had small tanks with fairly low CFM pumps,” David says. “We knew that we had to increase the rate of compression.” Having enough compressed air was also an issue. Tying the two pumps together using a couple of ten-gallon air pigs did the trick.

“The guy that was helping me with the project is a roofer by trade. He already had his compressor set up for the roofing nails, so we tied his compressor in with mine.”

The two compressors were run through one manifold which fed the sprayer.

“It worked great.”

Since David had never sprayed plaster before, there was a learning curve involved. But it didn’t take him long to catch on.

“It took some time, but we eventually had a good feel for how to keep the tool moving, when to pull the trigger, etc.”

His mix kept leaning toward the dry side, so it also took a little playing to get the right consistency. “When we had fingers of mix coming out of the holes that didn’t drip on the ground, that was what worked best.” From start to finish, the entire job only took about two hours.

All in all, David was pleasantly surprised with the results. “I thought it was going to be a dull, concrete gray, but it dried up a little whiter than I expected and looks real nice.”

David says he doesn’t know how he would have completed the job without the sprayer, and he was quick to justify his purchase.

“There’s going to be some foundation work on the schoolhouse, too,” David adds. “This will work well for matching the original foundation.”

David says that since he’s completed this project, he has all kinds of additional potential projects floating around in his mind, such as stucco siding on some buildings, and even a compost containment bin.

“I don’t know which of these projects will happen, but it’s certainly opened our eyes to a whole wide range of potential projects. It’s just a new method of construction that we hadn’t considered possible before.”

In the meantime, the foundation of the house is complete. And while the grapes mature, David has his eye set on the schoolhouse.

The Decorative Concrete Decision

When real estate was booming, all was well in the Battles household. But having two breadwinners in the same industry can sometimes backfire. In the case of Dion Battles, it hit home in a big way.

“Both my wife and I were in real estate,” Dion says. “Then the industry tanked. It came time for me to go out and get a job paying eight-dollars an hour or branch out into something new.”

With a prior background in construction, as well as airbrush work in the automobile industry, Dion felt it was time to make a positive change. It was time for something new.

“I’ve always kind of been an artist,” Dion says. “So we looked at our market, saw what we did not have, and decided to dive into it.”

What Dion dove headlong into in the small town of Nampa, Idaho is the field of decorative concrete. In Dion’s case, vertical concrete was the niche he decided to fill.

Vertical decorative concrete differs from traditional horizontal concrete (known as flatwork) in that it deals primarily with vertical surfaces. If you’ve ever been to Disneyland, or any other large theme park, you’ve seen lots of it. And in Dion’s case, he not only wanted to do vertical concrete, he wanted to do “themed” concrete.

Themed decorative concrete is bold and brilliant, often mimicking natural stonework, boulders and stressed wood. It is colorful and vivd, and when it’s done properly, it can be downright spectacular.

“This industry gives me an opportunity to create a positive change in people’s lives and put a smile on their faces,” Dion adds.

One such environment sits outdoors at the Nampa High School. What started as a request for a bid for a veteran’s memorial resulted in Dion donating his work.

“The principal of the high school saw me doing some work across from City Hall,” Dion explains. “He walked over and asked me if I’d be interested in doing a veteran’s memorial. Is this something that you could do?”

Dion worked with the school to develop a plan for something interactive, and that also served a purpose. The net result is what follows:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Dion welded up the armatures at home and then hauled them out and placed them on site. He used the mortar sprayer from MortarSprayer.com to apply all of the scratch coat. The carve coat was hand applied, shaped and then colored using a combination of waterbased stains. A final coat of protective UV sealer finished the job.

“They were really happy with the finished product.” The memorial was opened to the public and dedicated on Veteran’s Day, 2011.

Dion was, and still is, not completely alone in his venture. He has some folks to thank, in particular, Thom Hunt of Big Bamboo Studios and Nathan Giffin with Creative Rock Forming. Under their continuing tutelage Dion is able to hone his skills even further.

“Nathan works in Chicago and Thom works out of Nebraska,” Dion explains. “I was lucky enough to be able to work side by side with both of them, and I wholeheartedly believe that these gentlemen are two of the best in the world.” Dion is eternally grateful for their guidance, and still partners up from time to time.  “I’m good friends with both of them now.”

Click here to view the embedded video.

Vertical Concrete Creations does a variety of vertical decorative concrete work in around Nampa and the Boise area. The majority of their work includes themed environments that incorporate rock and stone work, boulders, slabs and a variety of unique surfaces. Imagine transforming your home or business into an old world environment, an ancient ruin, a castle motif, or a rock-wall cave. Through the “carving” of his decorative concrete surfaces, Dion says he can achieve all sorts of looks you just can’t get anywhere else.

“No more looking down on concrete,” Dion says. “I want homeowners and building contractors to realize that there are so many different methods and opportunities to use concrete that no one’s even imagined.”

Click here to view the embedded video.

MortarSprayer.com – Now, Lisa, for those who don’t know, tell us what a straw bale timber frame house is.

Nudo – Well, ours is a straw bale hybrid of sorts, two walls are stacked straw bale wrapped to the outside of the actual timber frame structure, so the bale walls are not load bearing. We used local oat straw, two string bales, so our walls are 18″ thick with approximately one inch of lime plaster on either side. For an assortment of practical and structural reasons the north and south walls are damp packed cellulose stick frame, however they are staggered stud walls so as to break any thermal bridges in the studs. In other words, the south wall is 8″ thick, framed with 2×4′s that are staggered 12″ on center, but every other stud either sits to the outside and the studs between sit to the inside.

MortarSprayer.com – Is this type of construction fairly common where you live?

Nudo – No, not really. There are a handful of braves who go down this path, and the ever-growing, green-building revolution is alive in Wisconsin, so it seems there is an increasing number of us crazy, non-conventional builders.

“I strongly feel we wanted to craft a home, not just slam it up.” — Lisa Nudo

MortarSprayer.com – Now, can a straw bale timber frame home be built anywhere?

Nudo – Seems it could, but every climate demands you play by the rules. You must evaluate the environment you live in and build accordingly. Perhaps straw bale would not be as practical as some other natural building system for a specific region. There is no perfect recipe for all climates.

MortarSprayer.com – And how does a straw bale timber frame-home stack up to most of the homes built in your average housing subdivision?

Nudo – Ha! It surely has more character! On a similar note, to endure the process of building straw bale – that’s a real character builder! It clearly is a slower process of building, but I strongly feel we wanted to craft a home, not just slam it up. Straw bale is crafty. We will be gaining a lot of mass for storing and regulating the internal temp of the house. The walls are thick and very substantial. The walls are embracing. And the slight irregularity of plastered walls is just lovely. All this depth and character often lacks in these other typical homes.

MortarSprayer.com – Lisa, tell us what it was that attracted you to this type of construction.

Nudo – Wow, that’s a call to our character. We are resourceful, we don’t choose to have a large income, we work hard and we are both rather craft-crazed. I am a habitual dumpster-diver,  repurposer,  recycler, and we both practice a variety of primitive and traditional skills. So, really, it comes back to us desiring to craft a unique home, a story. Straw bale, timber frame, traditional plaster, solar water, ram pumps, composting outhouse – it’s a way of life. It’s how we roll.

MortarSprayer.com – Did you already have a parcel of land picked out before you decided to build a straw bale timber frame home?

Nudo – We met and knew we wanted to live on the land, as we both had been doing individually. We bought this parcel in Hoot’s (Aaron’s) home neighborhood only knowing we were going to do a lot of something here while raising our family. The idea of straw bale was one that took time to creep in. Like many, we were skeptical at first and not sure it was a good fit for this climate. I got rather research-crazed and started to look for cold-climate straw bale info, and in the wake of others’ courage I, too, found sense and courage to make this system work.

Click here to view the embedded video.

MortarSprayer.com – You know, personally, I find the story behind where you guys got the logs to build your home rather interesting. Tell us a little bit about how you came across these logs and how you were able to incorporate them into your new home.

Nudo – We have a friend with a portable saw mill. We had worked with him before. Aaron had his curiosity about timber frame perked by some friends who had done it. Hoot is a tree man. He’s planted hundreds of thousands of trees, done sustainable forestry, helped start the Kickapoo Woods Co-op, ( a sustainable forestry co-op) harvested timber, carved an assortment of wood items and makes primitive bows. Wood is his calling. So timber frame it was, as we discussed our future home.

Ironically, a local large transmission line was due for a 60 year tune up, and they had to widen the right-of-ways to get their equipment in. There was an area with several small parcels of land on a steep hill with what looked like matchsticks speckling the hillside, logs of many species left to rot as it was not worth the hassle for local loggers to go get the wood. A scavengers delite! Aaron offered a fair log price to the land owners and they were glad it was not going to waste. An entire summer of milling (when we could) and hauling the wood home ended with so many piles of lumber and beams equaling approximately 30,000 board feet! We had beams, flooring, sub-flooring — wood, wood, wood.  Our friend, Sawyer Sam, is a gift. He let us use his trailer, and even his truck at times, to move loads.

MortarSprayer.com – I understand Aaron, or “Hoot” as he’s sometime’s known, actually took a class on joinery. Was this something he did in anticipation of this project?

Nudo – Definitely. He realized he was sitting on a wealth of beams worthy of much more timber-framing knowledge!

MortarSprayer.com – This all sounds like it was just a huge undertaking. Tell me, how were you able to accomplish all this construction?

Nudo – I have no clue how we do it other than it seems we just can’t help ourselves. It just is our way of life for now- we talk about all the things we will do when we’re finished, but that seems unreal for now.

“We built a small bath house/sauna as a test run for some of our ideas, one being the succulent roof. It’s lovely and un-ordinary.” — Lisa Nudo

MortarSprayer.com – Lisa, what does sustainable living mean to you, and why is it important?

Nudo – Sustainability comes down to salvage. Give everything at least two or three lives, if not more. Reuse almost everything, consume less, make disposability a shame, make more from scratch, grow, forage, and put up more food. Respect all resources. We all can be more sustainable.

MortarSprayer.com – Can you tell us about some of the more interesting features of your home? I understand the roof is not what you would call an ordinary roof?

Nudo – Much of the roof is steel, but a section will be a lighter-weight “living” roof.

MortarSprayer.com – Interesting. What does that mean?

Nudo – We will have 2-3 inches of soil on top of several other layers in which succulents will be planted. We built a small bath house/sauna as a test run for some of our ideas, one being the succulent roof. It’s lovely and un-ordinary.

Click here to view the embedded video.

MortarSprayer.com – Tell us about the cupola.

Nudo – We live in a tight valley, so we wanted to build up a tower-like-structure to catch some breeze for summer cooling, as well as for the great view. At the work shop Hoot went to he got to take home the blue prints for a small hammer-beam, truss-style frame structure they built at the workshop. So…as a tribute to that he built it on the ground, and a crane flew it up to it’s final resting place– the highest point of our house.

MortarSprayer.com – So now this acts as a cooling tower?

Nudo – A cooling tower and real cool place to go access the living roof.

MortarSprayer.com – I understand it was you who took on plastering duties. Do you have a background in plastering?

Nudo – None other than self-taught. I practiced on the sauna building. I really enjoy the whole process and finished product.

“I was new to the mortar sprayer, so I was unsure of the speed it would sling plaster onto the wall. After about day 2 we had the rhythm down, and then we danced!” — Lisa Nudo, LaFarge, Wisconsin

MortarSprayer.com – It must have been a challenge to spray all that stucco. How did you accomplish this?

Nudo – For clarity, we sprayed traditional lime plaster, not stucco, which implies Portland cement.  Our mix was lime putty and sand with a small amount of kaolin clay pozzalon. Another wonderful friend loaned us his super nice mortar mixer. I had to go out of town and fall was upon us, so I got into marathon mode, set a goal, and did what it took. We had the outside 1,000-ish square feet plastered in four days (some breaks in there) and the inside came a bit later, but same deal,  just did it, worked hard for a short time and got it out of the way.

MortarSprayer.com – Did it take as much time as you anticipated?

Nudo – I was new to the mortar sprayer, so I was unsure of the speed it would sling plaster onto the wall. After about Day 2 we had the rhythm down, and then we danced! Pre- mortar sprayer, I was sure this job would take much longer than it did as I was well aware the scratch coat on straw bales eats a large quantity of material. Just getting it on the wall is a lot of work and time.

MortarSprayer.com – What would you say to other folks considering a straw bale timber frame home?

Nudo – Hoot would say “Don’t do it!”, but we know our learning curve was real steep. I would say only if you are an extremely detail-oriented person who has lots of patience, enjoys the process of problem solving, and can spatially look ahead. Have a lot of like-minded friends not afraid to get dirty. “Pay as you go” prevents debt and forces breaks. These breaks are a funny thing. A lot of learning and plan-changing happens during the down times.

Get some hands-on, network with experienced people, go to workshops, build yourself a library, and adjust to your specific climate. Read! Read! Read! Ingenuity and logic are a must. Alternately, you could have a bunch of cash and pay someone crazier than you to build it for ya!

MortarSprayer.com – Is there anything else you would like to add?

Nudo – We have been dedicated to this house project for almost six years. Our kids have grown with the structure, our family support is priceless.  Aaron’s mom, dad, sister, and nephew have been our mules. My dad has been our tool library and electrician. My mother and step-dad have always had faith, and many of our friends have left many marks in the house. This has truly been a community affair.

Mortarsprayer.com – That’s all for now. Thanks for reading, and thanks to the Nudo family for sharing their insights and experiences building a straw bale timber frame house for themselves using our stucco tools.

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Did you know?

• Cement Stucco is a proven plastering system that has withstood the test of time. The addition of an acrylic top coat helps protect the cement stucco against harsh winter weather even in the northern climates like Saskatchewan Canada .
• Stucco is a durable choice for a home or garage. A stucco shop can also offer more fire resistance than a wood sided shop.

MortarSprayer.com – Hi, Maureen! Thanks for joining us today.

Maureen – It is my pleasure.

MortarSprayer.com – Maureen, the pictures of your detached garage are beautiful! I understand you and your husband, Alex, have never applied any stucco before. Is that correct?

Maureen – That is correct. Alex has done concrete work in the past, so he had a fairly good idea of what he would be dealing with, but neither of us had ever worked with stucco before.

MortarSprayer.com – I also heard that you enlisted the aid of a special someone (your daughter)?

Maureen – Our youngest daughter, Chloe was home on holiday. She was determined to get her hands on the sprayer.

MortarSprayer.com – Well tell us about the project. What gave you the confidence to purchase one of the stucco sprayers from MortarSprayer.com?

Maureen – Alex researched the sprayer online. Since we were going to do the project ourselves and since he knew that my ability to trowel on stucco would be limited, he was convinced that using a stucco sprayer would speed up the process and enable us to work together more efficiently.

MortarSprayer.com – Now before we get started talking about your beautiful garage, we should probably talk a little about all of the tools and products you selected and why. First off, besides the stucco sprayer, what other tools did you need for this job?

Maureen – We purchased a cement mixer, which we used for the base and second coats.

MortarSprayer.com – Did you have to rent a compressor?

Maureen – We own a compressor and had enough hose to reach the far side and full height of the garage.

MortarSprayer.com – Were there any other tools you needed?

Maureen – We used a hand held mortar mixer to mix the color into the acrylic stucco. We used our own cement trowels. We purchased a brush for scratch coating, which also worked well for brushing away debris later. We used scrap plywood, cardboard and plastic to protect the parging and the concrete driveway. This also helped a lot when it came to the final clean-up.

MortarSprayer.com – Now you guys did a three-coat stucco finish, which is pretty common. What product did you use for the scratch coat? Was it a pre-mixed product? Brand name?

Maureen – We used Quikrete Base Coat Stucco – Pump Grade. Only water was added. This mixed well in the cement mixer. We ended up using the highest recommended amount of water to keep the product from being too dry, which made it easier to use, and to achieve a good looking finish.

MortarSprayer.com – How about the second coat. What kind of product? Name?

Maureen – We used the same product for the second coat.

MortarSprayer.com – And your finish coat?

Maureen – We used Imasco Perfector Acrylic Finish

MortarSprayer.com – What made you decide to go with an acrylic finish coat?

Maureen – We chose acrylic stucco for ease of use and we thought it would be easier to get a consistent color mix.

MortarSprayer.com – Did you guys face any special challenges? Wind? Height? Other weather issues?

Maureen – Wind and heat were a problem. Not surprisingly we found that all stucco coats dried much faster with the wind and higher temperatures. We found that starting early in the morning and working on the shady side worked best. Also, since we had the stucco on the ground and Alex was on the scaffolding much of the time, we developed a method of loading and tossing the sprayer to him. When it was three of us working I would mix, Chloe would spray lower sections of the walls, with Alex always troweling. Or if working up high, she would load and toss the sprayer to Alex on the scaffolding. If just Alex & I, I would mix, load and toss, then he would spray and trowel.

MortarSprayer.com – What about color? Did you guys use a color that had to be mixed in with the stucco? Brand name (and color) of the product used?  Or did you paint everything when you were finished? Brand name (and color) of the product used?

Maureen – The acrylic stucco came in large pails. We had determined the color required to match the house. The colorant came in bottles that were added, one to each pail of stucco, with exactly 8 ounces of water. This product required a lot of mixing with a hand mixer. We were told to mix a number of pails at a time so we could take some from each pail to mix together, to ensure we didn’t end up with a patchy look. The coloring agent was an Imasco product.

MortarSprayer.com – Awesome! Ok, Maureen, the question that’s on everyone’s mind is how did the sprayer you purchased from MortarSprayer.com perform?

Maureen – We were very thankful to have the sprayer, it worked great! We worked much faster and we believe we ended up with a better finish. We were able to get the stucco on thinner, using less product.

MortarSprayer.com – Do you think it was easier to use than working with one of those old-fashioned  hawk-and-trowels?

Maureen – It was so much easier, we couldn’t believe the difference it made. The sprayer greatly reduced the physical demand on Alex as he was doing all of the troweling.

MortarSprayer.com – How about time savings? Would you say the stucco sprayer from MortarSprayer.com saved time on this application?

Maureen – The sprayer saved us a huge amount of time. We tried troweling one wall and were amazed at how quickly we moved once we started using the sprayer. We estimate that we were able to cover three times the amount of wall space in the same time as troweling.

MortarSprayer.com – You guys did a pretty awesome job for a family who has never done any stucco before. Would you recommend the stucco sprayer from MortarSprayer.com to other folks out there who have limited to no experience with stucco?

Maureen – Absolutely! We have no qualms about recommending the sprayer. It was very easy to use and we know it allowed us to finish faster with a better looking garage. In fact we offered it to friends for their use.

MortarSprayer.com – Is there anything else you would like to add?

Maureen – I have a word of caution to add. For those loading and tossing the sprayer, be careful where you place your hands. I accidentally grabbed the trigger and sprayed Alex down the front. After apologizing we carried on and finished the wall, with him being a little more uncomfortable than us. At the end of the job Alex discovered he could not get his pants undone. I’m afraid that finished Chloe and I. We all had a good laugh at the end of a long day! That aside, we feel we could not have done it without the sprayer. After using the hawk and trowels on one wall we were very disheartened;  it took so long and so much effort.  The sprayer guaranteed that we were able to complete the project and we know we did a better job with fewer lines, as it allowed us to work much faster.

MortarSprayer.com– Well we are just about out of time. Thanks to you, Maureen, and to your husband, Alex, and your daughter Chloe, for joining our family of satisfied customers. And thanks to you out there! If you have any questions about how to proceed with your own cement stucco garage or home, please let us know; we are here to help.

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A new earthbag building guide has just been completed by Owen Geiger of the Geiger Research Institute. This is the most compete Earthbag Building Guide that we have read. It is a complete “soup to nuts” step by step guide. The book does a great job of detailing all the steps necessary to prepare for and build your own earthbag home. We give this book our strong endorsement for anyone considering earthbag construction.

To read more about building with earth bags or the to get your very own copy of the Earthbag Building Guide please click here.

This book covers:

• Dirt cheap building methods
• Step-by sptep earthbag building instructions
• Buildling codes
• Electrical and pluming issues
• Construction costs
• Structure insulation
•  And much much more!

Owen Geiger continues to develop the most up to date and well finished methods for building with bags. his homes are truly inspiring and complete. The finishing details make the structure feel like a home that everyone would love to have. The Earthbag Building Guide will be an asset to build with and a treasure to have in your library.

Earthbag building is more than a passing hobby for Owen Ingley; it’s is his passion. Through his educational nonprofit, Plenitud Initiativas, he teaches people how to build their own earthbag home out of dirt, plastic, barbed wire, and plaster. These simple, inexpensive products are the main materials used in earthbag construction, one of the fastest-growing natural building techniques in the world.

Owen’s story begins after graduating from the University of Florida at Gainesville, where he studied anthropology and history with a focus on Latin American Studies. While traveling extensively throughout Central America and the Caribbean, he worked with many different agriculture-based nonprofits and indigenous communities. Soon he began to realize the need for sustainable low-tech homes that families could build for themselves, and that led him to EcoNest. This natural building workshop is run by Robert La Porte, a bioconstruction pioneer, teacher, and author. During Owen’s participation in an intensive 17-day seminar at EcoNest, he was allowed to shadow the director.

As he searched for even more information about natural earthbag building, Owen participated in a workshop at Cal-Earth. Founded by architect Nader Kahlili, the California Institute of Earth Arts and Architecture leads workshops where people learn how to construct their own earthbag house. This nonprofit has three core beliefs: (1) everyone is entitled to shelter, (2) everyone should be able to build their own home, and (3) the most logical way to accomplish this is by constructing with earth.

Fueled with passion, Owen and his wife Paula Paoli moved to her home country of Puerto Rico and started Plenitud Initiativas, an educational nonprofit set up help their local community. The word Plenitud, Owen explains, means wholeness or complete, and the word Inititiativas means initiatives. The name can be easily understood in the context of their dedication and holistic approach to the community. Through their workshops, Owen teaches people how to build their own earthbag home, teaches them about organic farming, educates them about permaculture and helps them with personal their growth.

Although the simplest, most straightforward approach is to use dirt directly from the site, that would take a lot of time and result in higher labor costs, so Owen uses inexpensive road base subsoil that is hauled in by truck. Before filling an earthbag, the dirt is mixed with other materials such as clay and sand, although the mixture can vary depending on availability of materials, location, and climate. Fiber or straw is often added to provide more tensile strength, and the addition of gravel makes a stronger mix. Some earthbag house builders have even developed their own techniques and processes. Kelly Hart, for instance, uses a type of volcanic rock called scoria when he builds homes in cold climates, as the crevices and holes provide more insulation.

Earthbags are made of polypropylene, the same material used for sacks containing rice, corn, and grain. The simplest and most earth-friendly construction process would be to re-use these feed and grain bags, but it is seldom practical because it would take too long to find and collect the bags. For his workshops, Owen uses rolls of polypropylene tubing cut into 10′ or 20′ lengths, or as needed.

Tips of  EarthBag Building

When building an earthbag home, the easiest shape to construct is a dome because the walls are strong and load bearing. Vaults and arches work well for this process, too, because all these forms have natural compression. That also means arched window and door openings can be built into the walls without lintels.

The earthbag construction process is simple. To begin, each bag is filled with dirt, and then placed directly on the ground to form a circle, with the ends of the bag tucked underneath. Barbed wire is placed on top of each layer of bags as they are stacked up to form a dome. Barbs hook into the plastic bags above and below, securing and stabilizing the structure by locking the bags together.

In the next step, spaces between the bags are “chinked”, or filled with earth plaster, and the earthbag home is then left to dry naturally. In the past, Owen’s next step was to cover the dome with layers of hand-troweled earth plaster. Recently, however, he discovered a faster and easier way for this step using a small mortar sprayer instead of hand-troweling. For chinking, he uses one jet on the mortar sprayer, and then switches to the 3-hole jets and sprays layers of plaster over the entire structure.

For a flexible plaster mix, Owen adds 1 1/2” fibers, and found that the fiber-filled plaster sprayed easily and smoothly through the 1-hole jet. A second surprise came when he sprayed plaster containing 1/4″ aggregate through the 2-hole jet, and it worked just as well. Owen said there are two main cost-saving advantages of this sprayer over plastering by hand. The first consideration is time; since the small mortar sprayer is much faster than many layers of hand-troweling, labor costs are considerably lower. A second advantage is the ability to use a small compressor, which is cheaper and easier to move around.

The last step in the process is waterproofing, and people are trying out all kinds of different materials and processes to solve this issue. Owen, for instance, has been working with elastomeric roof coating, but says it is still in the experimental stage.  Owen Geiger has also just completed an earthbag building book that does the best job we’ve seen in explaining the basics of earth bag construction. For more information please read Owen Geiger’s new Earthbag Building Guide.

The general concept of earthbag construction has been in existence for more than thirty years, and continues to evolve even today as improvements are discovered. This organic, sustainable, environmentally friendly process is now being explored around the world because shelters that hold up to the elements can be put together quickly. In fact, some people taking the Plenitud Initiativas earthbag building workshops are heading to places hit by natural disasters, such as Haiti, where they will help people build their own earthbag home. To learn more about earthbag building and other sustainable practices please visit the Plenitud PR site.

Earthen hand construction offers natural building classes. These include EarthBag construction, natural plastering and passive solar design. July 23-26, EarthenHand in Portland Oregon will host the first of several workshops this summer. This workshop will use the newest kind of  mesh Earthbags which EarthenHand have found to be superior of others they have tried.  This workshop will also include an introduction to Passive Annual Heat Storage combined with earthbag buildings. This amazing method allows the earth surrounding the house to absorb summer heat for use during the winter.

The Earthbag Building Construction course is one of EarthenHand’s most popular offerings.

Come learn the theory and practice in any or all of four different in-depth courses in July and August. The new Hiperadobe method, replaces the polypro bag with a strong mesh bag, further reducing materials, costs, and construction time.

In this course you will:

• Learn more about Passive Annual Heat Storage
• Learn construction techniques on construction mesh bags.
• Gain hands on plastering skills
• Get One on one building and construction advice.

Please review all their course offerings at www.earthenhand.com/workshops/.

Feel free to email with your questions to: workshops@earthenhand.com

Learn Earthbag Building, EarthenHand Offers an Apprenticeship Program

Earthen Hand is also offering an apprenticeship program this summer that is flexible to fit your schedule. It’s going great so far, and it’s not too late to join. Apprentices can use their days to attend any workshop listed as well as one-on-one instruction. Learn the ins and outs of project planning, natural building techniques, and carpentry in a customizable program. To learn more, go to:www.EarthenHand.com

All Earthen Hand workshops are packed with information and fun, leaving students with practical skills that will last them a lifetime. Earthbag courses are designed to be accessible to all skill levels. Students will learn cumulatively if they attend some or all of the Earthbag workshops.

In addition to the earthbag building class happening in July EarthenHand offers these  fun courses at their facility and around the world:

• Cob Bottle Wall + Sculpture
• Earthbag Building and Passive Annual Heat Storage
• Earthbag Building Basics
• Mobile House Consruction

As always, 10% off for bringing a friend, 20% for groups of 4 or more, and a 10% discount for attending any two of the many courses Earthenhand offers. Building with earthbags can be fun for families and groups.

Earthen Hand strives to be the leader in teaching earthbag building techniques, if we can help with any of your questions please let us know.

For more information on Earthbags please visit our Earthbag Building section.

Print your straw bale flyer!

Lunch will be provided both days. Please call (970) 930-5291 or email johnpaulog@gmail.com for more information and to RSVP.

When?

Saturday, July 9th & Sunday, July 10th
8:30am to 5:00pm

Where?

14785 HWY 65
Eckert, CO 81418
(Just north of mile-marker 8 on HWY 65)

Tools to bring if you have them: level, work gloves, tape measure, utility knife
Self care items: hat, sunscreen, water bottle, additional snacks

At the same time we decided to open up comments on the all our previously published articles in the Projects, Highlights and Advice section.

Last but not least we refurbished all the store pages to make it easier to browse our stucco, mortar and plaster spraying tools.