Earth Bag in Cold Climate

Sarah Houlihan

pollinator

Posts: 128

Location: Central Maine

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posted 10 years ago

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I am looking into building an earthbag home in the middle/western Maine. My plan was to earthberm/ bury the house underground. My question would be, if doing something like this, how much R-value would I really need? Or should I just not do this for some other reason?

homestead houligan: one who lives on any homestead and tends to break the "rules" or practices of a traditional homestead. ex:using practices such as permaculture on a homestead. homesteadhouligan.com

mike wood

Posts: 15

posted 10 years ago

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I'm in NB to your east.
With a 36" soil depth, typically I can expect an average soil temp of 59°F.
From 0-3', you get 90%+ of the potential r-value from the soil.
Anything deeper is not necessary: see law of diminishing returns.

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