Kelly Hart - Essential Earthbag Construction: The Complete Step-By-Step Guide

Praise for

Essential Earthbag Construction

A must-have book for anyone interested in natural and sustainable building. It expands the possibilities with practical and essential information on this user-friendly method of construction.

Will Beemer, Director of the Heartwood School for the Homebuilding Crafts and author of Learn to Timber Frame.

Kelly Hart and Dr. Owen Geiger (who wrote the very informative Foreword) probably know as much about earthbag building as anyone. Friend Kelly has always had a clear and concise way of explaining his subject, both in lectures and in his several books. Ive never built an earthbag structure, although we once did a cordwood building on an earthbag foundation in New Zealand. But I wouldnt even attempt it without studying this book thoroughly and referring to it throughout the building process.

Rob Roy, Director, Earthwood Building School and author of Essential Cordwood Building

There is an urgent need for more sustainable homes and earthbag construction offers excellent, affordable, strong eco-friendly housing using natural and local materials. They are beautiful, comfortable and robust. This book is a comprehensive, practical and inspirational guide that is both detailed and easy to follow. Hart demonstrates that anyone can build a home, so use this book and give it a go!

Jenny Pickerill, Professor of Environmental Geography, University of Sheffield, UK and author of Eco-Homes: People, Place and Politics (Zed Books)

Who doesnt love earthbags? Only people who dont know about this most versatile of earthen building techniques, suitable for building inexpensive low-impact homes on most parts of the globe. With just a pile of dirt, some bags, barbed wire, a tamper and a few basic tools, you can build an earthbag dome, retaining wall, or root cellar. For over 20 years author Kelly Hart has been experimenting and promoting simple DIY ecological building techniques, especially via his excellent web sites. Distilling both his own hard-won experience and the combined wisdom of the rapidly-expanding worldwide earthbag network, Hart delivers a thorough, detailed and readable guidebook that tells you everything you need to know for success with this potent technique.

Michael G. Smith, co-editor, The Art of Natural Building and co-author, The Hand-Sculpted House

New Society
Sustainable Building Essentials Series

Series editors

Chris Magwood and Jen Feigin

Title list

Essential Hempcrete Construction, Chris Magwood

Essential Prefab Straw Bale Construction, Chris Magwood

Essential Building Science, Jacob Deva Racusin

Essential Light Straw Clay Construction, Lydia Doleman

Essential Sustainable Home Design, Chris Magwood

Essential Cordwood Building, Rob Roy

Essential Earthbag Construction, Kelly Hart

See www.newsociety.com/SBES for a complete list of new and forthcoming series titles.

THE SUSTAINABLE BUILDING ESSENTIALS SERIES covers the full range of natural and green building techniques with a focus on sustainable materials and methods and code compliance. Firmly rooted in sound building science and drawing on decades of experience, these large-format, highly illustrated manuals deliver comprehensive, practical guidance from leading experts using a well-organized step-by-step approach. Whether your interest is foundations, walls, insulation, mechanical systems, or final finishes, these unique books present the essential information on each topic including:

Material specifications, testing, and building code references

Plan drawings for all common applications

Tool lists and complete installation instructions

Finishing, maintenance, and renovation techniques

Budgeting and labor estimates

Additional resources

Written by the worlds leading sustainable builders, designers, and engineers, these succinct, user-friendly handbooks are indispensable tools for any project where accurate and reliable information is key to success. GET THE ESSENTIALS!

Copyright 2018 by Kelly Hart. All rights reserved.

Cover design by Diane McIntosh. Bottom right dome image: Scott Howard. All others: Kelly Hart.

Illustrations by Dale Brownson.

Background photo AdobeStock_95944284.

Printed in Canada. First printing March 2018.

This book is intended to be educational and informative. It is not intended to serve as a guide.

The author and publisher disclaim all responsibility for any liability, loss or risk that may be associated with the application of any of the contents of this book.

Inquiries regarding requests to reprint all or part of Essential Earthbag Construction should be addressed to New Society Publishers at the address below. To order directly from the publishers, please call toll-free (North America) 1-800-567-6772, or order online at www.newsociety.com

Any other inquiries can be directed by mail to:

New Society Publishers

P.O. Box 189, Gabriola Island, BC V0R 1X0, Canada

(250) 247-9737

LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES CANADA CATALOGUING IN PUBLICATION

Hart, Kelly, 1943-, author

Essential earthbag construction : the complete step by step guide / Kelly Hart.

(Sustainable building essentials)

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Issued in print and electronic formats.

ISBN 978-0-86571-864-7 (softcover).--ISBN 978-1-55092-656-9 (PDF).-

ISBN 978-1-77142-251-2 (EPUB)

1. Earth construction. 2. Earth houses--Design and construction.

I. Title. II. Title: Earthbag construction. III. Series: Sustainable building essentials

New Society Publishers mission is to publish books that contribute in fundamental ways to building an ecologically sustainable and just society, and to do so with the least possible impact on the environment, in a manner that models this vision.

I WOULD LIKE TO RECOGNIZE and thank the many pioneers of earthbag building who have paved the way for the rest of us to explore this wonderful method. Through their ability to think outside the box while applying their inherent understanding of the physical world they have contributed greatly to our global heritage. From Germany, we have Gernot Minke; from Iran and the United States was Nader Khalili; from Japan is Akio Inoue; from the United States are Joe Kennedy, Kaki Hunter, and Doni Kiffmeyer; from Poland and the United Kingdom is Paulina Wojciechowska; and from Brazil is Fernando Pacheco. Many more of us are continuing to evolve this technology all around the world and I thank everybody involved.