Roundwood braces hold door and windows bucks in place during construction. The wall on the right is a buttress that reinforces the door area.
Earthbag walls at about the half way point.
Earthbag bench with finish coat of cement plaster.
Finish coat of cement plaster on exterior walls.
Nailing thatch panels to roof poles.
Rounded edges around windows and doors are created by pinning bottoms of bags in the center.
Sheet metal sliders anchor door and window bucks (rough frames) to earthbags.
Earthbag benches are easy to make. Use gravel-filled bags on lower course and tamped soil-filled bags on other courses. Barbed wire connects the bench with the wall.
First coat of earthen plaster on interior. The first step is to fill the spaces (voids) between bags and apply plaster around doors and windows. Plaster mesh is recommended around all windows and doors to help prevent cracking.
View of exposed roof poles and thatch roofing. Note black steel compression ring that holds roof poles in place.
South side of earthbag roundhouse. Go to our Earthbag Building Blog for more details: http://earthbagbuilding.wordpress.com/
Rounded edges around windows and doors after finish plaster and paint. (See previous pic showing rounded edges of earthbags before plaster.)
East side of earthbag roundhouse. Note finished earthbag bench. Go to our Earthbag Building Blog for more details: http://earthbagbuilding.wordpress.com/
Close-up view of completed earthbag bench, cream-colored walls and recycled hardwood windows.
Interior view showing natural color of earthen plaster, recycled windows and yellow concrete floor. For the floor, we troweled natural iron oxide pigment on the surface before the concrete set up.
Close-up view of interior plaster next to window. Note carefully rounded edges.
Bathroom walls are curved and angle in to better fit the roundhouse. The arch ties both sides together for added strength and visual interest.
Windows of recycled wood. A local company mills down wood from old buildings and builds windows to order. The old wood doesn't swell during rainy seasons, crack or attract termites, and takes a beautiful finish.
