Brittany Vaughn

Looking at options for waterproofing an earthbag structure here in North Alabama, where we get a good bit of rain. Aside from not being a natural, local building product, what do you think of something like this? http://www.homedepot.com/p/ANViL-5-gal-Acrylic-Crystal-Clear-Coat-Sealer-209730/204144101?cm_mmc=shopping-_-googleads-_-pla-_-204144101&skwcid&kwd=&ci_sku=204144101&ci_kw=&ci_gpa=pla&ci_src=17588969

Some other suggestions I've gotten are large overhangs on a traditional roof or covered porches, along with bricking (my partner's personal preference). However, if we can find a way to make it reasonably possible, we're interested in a dome structure instead of a traditional roof. Would, perhaps, a living roof structure make this possible by absorbing the water?

Thank you, Karen. Your response was very helpful! We do get some wind driven rain here. I've never actually heard of brick ties- shows my inexperience! I'm thinking that either way we may have the finish professionally done after we lay the earth just to ensure that we don't screw things up.

R Scott, that is a good suggestion, but for some reason I've always been averse to porches. Maybe because my family never actually used them, or because the ones I saw on family houses were all extremely ugly and cumbersome looking. Something to consider.

A follow-up, for those who use stucco or plaster, am I misunderstanding the costs/risks that come with it, or at least with certain mixes we could use? I've seen some attractive houses around here that look to be made of some kind of stucco-like material, but I'm not sure what it is, and I don't know how much maintenance they put into them.

John Polk wrote:
I recently saw an ad for LGD puppies. I inquired, and learned: neither parent was a working dog, these were her 3rd litter, they had never been outside the garage (where they were born) except to spend their days in a ~12' x 20' chain link kennel, and the owners wanted $1200 each for them! This is just another puppy mill trying to take advantage of gullible buyers.

If you want working dogs, get them from working families. If you want a pet, it doesn't matter where you get it.

I'd agree except on one point, John. If you want a pet, it certainly does matter where you get it! Aside from encouraging unsustainable and cruel breeding environments, you end up with a pet who has many behavioral issues due to inbreeding, bad conditions, early weaning, etc. I'd never encourage anyone to buy from a backyard breeder or puppy mill under any circumstances (backyard breeder implying someone who breeds for pure profit or without proper knowledge of dog husbandry, genetics, training, etc.) All the more so for a working dog, certainly, but pets should be balanced and well-behaved, as well, and we should not patronize cruel or callous breeding practices.

Hi, there. My partner and I are in the first stages of planning an earthbag house. We're very interested in earthbag technique because of its low cost, ease of building, low environmental impact, and insulation properties. However, we currently live in the Tennessee Valley, which gets a considerable bit of rain, so we will probably end up doing a traditional roof rather than the dome shape that otherwise interests us. Along with that, we are concerned about any kind of plaster or stucco we might make without professional help being too susceptible to the elements. Because of this, and because my partner and I both like the look and low maintenance of traditional (in the US, anyway) brick houses (not adobe brick), we were considering whether it would be possible or desirable to brick the earthbag house. I have done some cursory research, and it seems that professionally done stucco is just as or more expensive than brick, and is prone to cracking over the long term, needing a considerable bit of maintenance- I can't find any information on bricks for an earthbag house, though. I assume this is because most people who do earthbag houses are trying to use natural, local materials, which is awesome, but I want to make sure that the house is low maintenance for future cost purposes, and attractive for my partner's benefit (even if we can't brick it right away).

Two questions, in summary:
1) is it possible to traditionally brick an earthbag house?
2) is this desirable from a practical standpoint (will the bricks leech moisture into the earth and require extra precautionary measures, for example)?