Josh Stephens

We'll be starting our first (test) dome in just a couple of months. I'll be sure to update everyone.

R Scott wrote:http://www.naturalbuildingblog.com/low-cost-fill-materials/

If Owen Geiger says it works for earthbags, I would say it works.

The crusher fines we get will set up if you wet them as you pack them--no other work required.

This is exactly what I was looking for! I guess I wasn't searching correctly. I couldn't think of a reason why it wouldn't work, but I wanted to be sure. I've still got some planning and prep work to do but it looks like I have everything needed locally to get this started. Thanks for both of your time!

Hi everyone. I'm trying to bump this up in hopes of a little help with my previously posted question. Maybe I'm not asking the right questions. I don't expect anyone to be a geologist here, but someone will hopefully know more than me when it comes to building earthbag homes (cause I only know what I've read ). I've posted before about building with cob and we've come to the conclusion that it's just not feasible for us on our property. My ground is pretty much solid rock on the hill we're on. Our next idea is an earthbag house. Maybe a small test dome to start. We are still running into a problem with material though. We have found the bags and I think I have settled on cement stucco for our climate. I'm just not sure of my fill material.

Our weather averages. We're more concerned with being cool in the summer than we are warm in the winter. I have plenty of firewood for that for years to come. I'll have to figure out the best wind and shade angles for summer.

My idea is to use the rock shown in pictures one and two at this link. I have found 18" x 30" Woven Polypropylene Bags. The local abandoned quarry is just 5 minutes away. There are some other materials there shown in the pics but I'm not certain what they are. The idea is how good of insulation and no organic material correct? They also have your standard gravel that you see on rock roads and large gravel that you put down under the smaller gravel.

I'll quit rambling, does anyone have any input on this idea? I appreciate it in advance!

I've seen little information on this. Maybe I'm just not looking it up right. I found a youtube video of some people in Arkansas that started with crushed limestone but their videos just end right when they got exciting. I've also seen a couple sites that said you can do it just like it is sand, but they didn't go into detail. Has anyone here done it? I have found a source for crushed limestone practically free and we got really excited today thinking we could use it. It does almost feel like sand just with some big junks in it here and there(1/4" or smaller). Would I still need to mix clay with it? Could I use it for the plaster as well? We've finally found the earthbags we can use for $0.18 a bag and it's within driving distance.

I literally have a HUGE supply of crushed limestone and your basic gravel at hand. I would really like to use it to build a house, I'm just not sure if I can or if there are other ways to use it if earthbags aren't the option for it.

Long time lurker of the site. I've seen a good handful of members from the area that I'm in. My wife and I are really wanting to build a cob house. If you're from the area you know the problem, tons of great clay, way to many rocks. I can't even hit the ground with a shovel around here. I've got 15 acres of land on top of a large hill. It really pains me that we have so much clay and it feels like we can't use it. I've read different things about people trying to sift it and what size rocks you can leave in it etc.. After everything I've read or seen, it doesn't appear to be realistic to go through all that trouble and work. I would probably get a handful of clay to a bucket of rocks. I'm not against hard work, that just doesn't seem realistic.

Anyway, I came across a post and someone listed a website where you can buy clay. Unfortunately not near me. With all the clay around here we have to have a quarry that sells it, right? I've been on google and just can't find one though. If you could buy clay sifted to 1 inch for $20 a ton that would be perfect. I don't like the idea of having to pay for it and have it delivered even but that makes it seem way more realistic. I appreciate any help I can get with this problem.