Berming an earthbag house with earthbag raised beds

Hi,

I am designing an earthbag structure. and I came upon an idea of berming the house with earthbag raised beds against the house...
It looks very promising at first but I am concerned about the moisture and drainage problems due to watering the beds.
Did anybody try such a design and how can we drain the bedsides so that the walls and foundation is not harmed and the plants get water? Any suggestions...

Neat idea.
In a bermed structure there is often an impermeable barrier on the outside of the walls of the house.
I would do that,and stack the earth bag beds as separate but adjacent 4 walled structures.

M. Tok wrote:Hi,

I am designing an earthbag structure. and I came upon an idea of berming the house with earthbag raised beds against the house...
It looks very promising at first but I am concerned about the moisture and drainage problems due to watering the beds.
Did anybody try such a design and how can we drain the bedsides so that the walls and foundation is not harmed and the plants get water? Any suggestions...

I once worked on an earthbag residence in Mexico that was designed with raised beds adjacent to the exterior walls and you can read more about this project at http://earthbagbuilding.com/projects/pvmodel.htm

If a good moisture barrier is provided between the wall and the planter bed, and the foundation of the house is designed to escort water away from the foundation (as a rubble trench and French drain do), then all should be fine. One of the beauties of earthbag building is that it is not seriously vulnerable to dampness.

Kelly Hart wrote: I once worked on an earthbag residence in Mexico that was designed with raised beds adjacent to the exterior walls and you can read more about this project at http://earthbagbuilding.com/projects/pvmodel.htm

If a good moisture barrier is provided between the wall and the planter bed, and the foundation of the house is designed to escort water away from the foundation (as a rubble trench and French drain do), then all should be fine. One of the beauties of earthbag building is that it is not seriously vulnerable to dampness.

Thank you Kelly.
That's it then. Already applied and tested:)