Deck with steps

I would like to put a smallish deck with steps outside of my laundry room door. I also want to get some hands on practice with earthbags.
The area is approximately 10ft from left to right, 3ft tall, and 6ft extending out from the wall.
Could this be built using earthbags? Would it be ok to just be basically a frame or would it need some sort of filler inside the perimeter? Would it need a roof? Do earthbags have to have some sand in the fill or would close to 100% clay be ok as long as it had PLENTY of time to dry before being plastered? Any suggestions and ideas would be welcome.

That sounds like a pretty low risk way to practice.

R Scott wrote:That sounds like a pretty low risk way to practice.

That's what I think too. But I can't find a single example of someone doing it (and I've googled, and permies searched extensively).... Which makes me a bit concerned that it's not a viable project. Or that I'm missing some important detail that would make it unsafe.
So I figured, might be worth asking for help in my thinking.

I haven't experience with earthbags, so these comments may not be relevant:
1) I would wonder with clay whether you risk creating a pond under the deck if you just make it a perifery structure.
2) Are you likely to have any issues with damp if you build it adjacent to your house underfloor foundations?
I do think it is a great idea to try a small structure first (small and slow... incremental changes...)

From the photo, I would say there are no foundations beyond some piers at intervals.

With only 10" of rain per year, you may be able to use a strawbale structure with plaster sealing. You would need a solid and strong enough top surface to not crack under foot traffic. It would have to be rigid enough to span between sidewalls whether you have bales underneath or not. I tend to think that it would be enough work to reinforce the top of a strawbale structure that you would be better off just making strawbale walls (plastered) and putting a wooden deck on top.

Perhaps use an easier yet sturdy alternative,  like concrete blocks,  dry stacked, and experiment with different styles.  When you are satisfied,  make the steps permanent with some mortar.  It might be a fun idea and save some time.  

Sorry, my mistake, that first idea could be a leg breaker

Glenn Herbert wrote:From the photo, I would say there are no foundations beyond some piers at intervals.

With only 10" of rain per year, you may be able to use a strawbale structure with plaster sealing. You would need a solid and strong enough top surface to not crack under foot traffic. It would have to be rigid enough to span between sidewalls whether you have bales underneath or not. I tend to think that it would be enough work to reinforce the top of a strawbale structure that you would be better off just making strawbale walls (plastered) and putting a wooden deck on top.

Yes, it's a manufactured house so it's on piers and not a slab foundation.

Strawbale building doesn't interest me at all. I'm looking to get experience with earthbags because I have another property in an area that has high flooding probabilities and earthbag is really good for that.

I am unclear about how you plan to do this.  Will this structure be walls like a house with wood frame for the deck or will it be solid earth bags?

Will the steps be made from earth bags?

How many earth bags with this project use?

I must have had strawbales in mind from some other post. Earthbags in your climate may work when well compacted. I am not sure about covering material, especially for edges of steps which would need to be very strong to last.

Anne Miller wrote:I am unclear about how you plan to do this.  Will this structure be walls like a house with wood frame for the deck or will it be solid earth bags?

Will the steps be made from earth bags?

How many earth bags with this project use?

I'm a little unclear on how I plan to do this too. That's what my questions are for/about.
Would it make more sense to do it as walls like a house, or as solid earthbags? Depending on which answer makes more sense, I'd then figure out how many earthbags it would take.
Could the steps be made with earthbags? Would earthbags work to make the steps?

I'm in the very preliminary stage of planning this as I wouldn't be able to start work on it until May at the earliest.

Well you'll want to make sure the stairs don't drift from each other. So make sure they are attached. I'd say you could do a vertical rebar through each step, maybe two, or even with a wood stake if you're in an arid climate. Then, connnect the bags with wire or string. Id do a hollow deck so you can save on labor/material. Then wood frame atop. Or fill with trash, and do earth bags atop with set stone, maybe.

Erika House wrote:I'm a little unclear on how I plan to do this too. That's what my questions are for/about.
Would it make more sense to do it as walls like a house, or as solid earthbags? Depending on which answer makes more sense, I'd then figure out how many earthbags it would take.
Could the steps be made with earthbags? Would earthbags work to make the steps?

I'm in the very preliminary stage of planning this as I wouldn't be able to start work on it until May at the earliest.

I have read that doing earth bag structure is labor intensive.

For years I have read about earth bag and cob and for many years I wanted to do cob because it is so pretty.

Here is a post where they were doing a double wall earth bag construction so doing a solid earth bag deck might be possible:

https://permies.com/t/87181/Double-earthbag-wall-supporting-heavy

This post might give you some ideas:

https://permies.com/t/3277/dirt-bag-structures#4980

With my very rudimentary computer drawing skills I made it sort of look like what I picture in my mind.

I'm thinking the Red section would need to be solid earthbag layers, the Purple section would be just earthbag walls, and the green part would be wood for the top floor.

an area that has high flooding probabilities and earthbag is really good for that.

I am concerned that this concept maybe incorrect.
Earthbags and floods in my experience would not be a good mix.
If I was learning earthbag construction I would start with a shed of some sort instead.
And I would look at the alternatives given for the steps.
I also doubt earthbags as actual steps would be a good idea because of the wear factor.
But 2 earthbag walls sticking out from your building with provision for timber as a deck and the steps may be a better idea.

Huh. I was under the impression that earthbags are made of the same material as sandbags, just different fill material, and that with a rubble trench foundation they are very good at withstanding flooding. That plan is at least ten years out though, so I'll have to do more research into that.

John C Daley wrote:

an area that has high flooding probabilities and earthbag is really good for that.

If I was learning earthbag construction I would start with a shed of some sort instead.
And I would look at the alternatives given for the steps.
I also doubt earthbags as actual steps would be a good idea because of the wear factor.
But 2 earthbag walls sticking out from your building with provision for timber as a deck and the steps may be a better idea.

I currently don't need a shed but I do need some type of way to exit out that door.

I hadn't thought about the wear factor on the steps.

I'm not picturing what you mean by 2 earthbag walls sticking out from the building...could you give me more explanation?

Ricos 1st picture has 2 walls coming out from the structure, thats what I am suggesting.
The contene
ts of earth bags can be water damaged.
Also the bags are usually covered with a plaster which reduces sundamage.

So it's not the best idea to use the "mud home" website as a useful reference?

John C Daley wrote:Ricos 1st picture has 2 walls coming out from the structure, thats what I am suggesting.
The contene
ts of earth bags can be water damaged.
Also the bags are usually covered with a plaster which reduces sundamage.

Rico himself said that first pic was a bad idea...