Finishing earthbags with shotcrete?

Is it possible to finish the interior of an earthbag house with shotcrete? It would probably need rebar.

For me this begs the question, why? At both ends, so to speak. Why use earthbag construction and then put a reinforced concrete shell inside:? Why put a reinforced concrete shell inside an earthbag structure? And the questions are different, in fundamental ways.

I see your point. Maybe I should ask the question - is it possible to find an interior coating that can be sprayed on instead of applied by hand, to speed up the process? I read of people needing a couple to a few weeks to put up their bags and then the same amount of time or longer to put the clay/stucco, etc on the inside and outside. Is it possible to prepare a clay or stucco so that it can be sprayed onto the surface? Hempcrete?

I would think the same equipment could be used for mud plaster as for shotcrete/gunite etc. There's usually chopped straw in the mud plaster which might clog the gun though. If you put stucco mesh up, the straw might not be needed or could at least be chopped very short. You could attach tie wires to the barbed wire between the bags and leave them sticking out to tie the stucco mesh to. Poultry netting has also been used in place of stucco mesh. Cheaper I think.

Or you could hire a bunch of kids for a weekend or two to make and throw mud.

Something as rigid and unbreathable as concrete might not be very compatible with earth filled bags. The moisture would never be able to come out of the earthbags so it would never get as strong as it's supposed to be. The curing of the walls can take a very long time depending on climate and sealing them up would prevent it.

Get a hold of this book:
Earthbag Building: The Tools, Tricks and Techniques
Kaki Hunter, Donald Kiffmeyer

They took the time to get earthbag building down to a smooth routine. Kaki's got 20 years in alternative building and Donald about the same in standard construction.

John Pollard wrote:Get a hold of this book:
Earthbag Building: The Tools, Tricks and Techniques
Kaki Hunter, Donald Kiffmeyer

I have a copy, if anyone wants it.

Modern OPC in general is a hideous building material on just about every level...

OPC never (or I know of none) when tried to make work with a natural material performs well, and all too often causes way more issues..

Earth bags in general can create a wall that is one of the least permeable of the "new" natural building modalities to rise up in the last few decades. I do feel it may have its place in some areas, yet feel, in time it will go the way of "geodesic domes" and only have a cult following, as when vernacular building systems are looked at for a geographic region compared to "bag architecture," the ergonomics will always lean toward the vernacular systems in means, methods and materials.

Tom: I've sprayed earthen plaster, Papercrete, epscrete, lime, pumice/Portland and mixtures of these binders/aggregates. Just plaster prep as needed for the pitch and stickiness of the plaster. Though Portland doesn't breathe...
Jay: the woven bags let moisture breathe out, they are permeable. I doubt much difference than EB or RE or CEB.
EB Chris