Ok, so we've been super busy here lately, building an Earthbag home takes a lot of self labor.  We decided on this 'green' building when we were thinking of how to best insulate our new home.  The walls will be 18" thick, so by the time the extreme summer heat has penetrated to a 12" depth it has completely dissipated, meaning it will not be able to seep through the walls and heat up the house.

To those of you that have no idea what an Earthbag home is it is made of earth filled polypropylene bags that have been stacked and staggered like a block home would be built.  Going further it can have an earthen floor, earth plaster, and even counter tops, shower stalls, tubs, and sinks made of stabilized earth plaster!  Now most people would balk at the idea of having an earth floor, believe me  I did too when my husband first proposed the idea!

They are made with a thick layer of gravel laid first, then a thick mixture of cob (earth, clay, sand, and straw), and finally topped with a thinner layer of finishing mix (earth, clay, sand, and a colorant).  When those have been laid and cured then you seal with a few hot coats of linseed oil and a coat of resin.  All in all they look as beautiful as a stained concrete floor and are just as durable.  See pictures below:

They can be any color that concrete can be made in, you use the same color packets.  Anyway, we've been busy with the footers and preparing the house pad.  Were finally done with that but now the hard part comes, filling and building the bags for the walls.  For those of you interested check out the book: Earthbag Building: the tools, tricks, and techniques by Donald Kiffmeyer.

This is the start to finish instructions book for all you beginners out there.  I'll keep you posted on all that stuff in between my normal posts.  Here are some really great pictures of Earthbag homes!