Red Clay has small round pebbles in - Will it be a Problem?

Hi All;

My house plan and property layout will be such that we will have a sunken courtyard (2m below ground level), completely round with a radius of 15m and then we will build a series of Domes with vaults connecting the domes.

I'm down to 1m depth now and I'm worried by what I found as far as our Clay goes. It is full of little reddish, round pebbles/stones. Size is between 3mm up to about 8mm in diameter.

Can I use this Clay, with Sand mixed in, to fill my Earthbags? Will the little stones cause the composition to be unstable in the long run?

Thank you for any advise in this regard

AJ

That shouldn't be an issue, as long as you do check you clay content and quality with a jar test, and test brick. You can also screen them out if need be.

Regards,

j

Aj Meuleman wrote:Hi All;

My house plan and property layout will be such that we will have a sunken courtyard (2m below ground level), completely round with a radius of 15m and then we will build a series of Domes with vaults connecting the domes.

I'm down to 1m depth now and I'm worried by what I found as far as our Clay goes. It is full of little reddish, round pebbles/stones. Size is between 3mm up to about 8mm in diameter.

Can I use this Clay, with Sand mixed in, to fill my Earthbags? Will the little stones cause the composition to be unstable in the long run?

Thank you for any advise in this regard

AJ

No worries on the stones in the soil! Many earthbag structures have been made with only stone filler... and even ground coral.
All the best,
Clayton