Durability of Earthbag Homes | Natural Building Blog
← Stanford University Earthbag Project	
Soulless Buildings →
Durability of Earthbag Homes
Previous blog posts have explained how earthbag homes are similar to rammed earth (see Ancient Rammed Earth Structures) and compressed earth (see Impact Testing Megablocks with Black Powder Cannon). And in comparison to adobe, which is also quite durable, earthbags gain additional durability from:
– Tamping (greater density, less air space, clay platelets bonded together)
– Barbed wire (added tensile strength)
– Soil is contained in strong bags that will likely last hundreds of years when protected from ultraviolet exposure. See Durability of Polypropylene Bags where it quotes “A Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) study concluded that the half life of polypropylene fabrics in benign environments could be 500 years or more.”
So there is abundant and compelling evidence that indicates earthbag houses protected with plaster and properly maintained should last hundreds if not thousands of years.
However, earthbags are vulnerable to UV damage if left unprotected for more than a few weeks during construction. This topic was addressed in a previous blog post How to Reduce or Eliminate Tarping Earthbag Walls. The simplest solution is to slosh or spray a thin coat of mismatched recycled latex paint on the bags. It’s really cheap in five gallon buckets, especially during close-out paint sales and on Craigslist. You might even get it free at community drives that collect hazardous household goods.
Posted in Bag Material, Design, Introduction, Structural aspects	Tagged durability, earthbag, earthbag building, earthbag construction, earthbag home, earthbag house, sand bag	permalink
Durability of Earthbag Homes — 6 Comments	
The location of the originat report is: http://isddc.dot.gov/OLPFiles/FHWA/009276.pdf
Good find, thanks. Title: Testing Protocols for Oxidation and Hydrolysis of Geosynthetics
It’s a nice 204 page read while having a snack.
Bruce Douglas on May 23, 2011 at 11:56 AM said:	
Owen, do you paint the bags before use or do you fill and tamp them and then only paint the exposed parts?
Paint the exposed parts after you fill, tamp and flatten the sides. Surfaces in total shade don’t need paint.
Jim Lawrence on May 22, 2011 at 10:06 AM said:	
Owen, rather than using artificial UV blocks like paint, couldn’t we just mix up a quick batch of earth/water/lime slip and paint/smear it on each course as we go!
You can try it. Seems like it would flake off as the bags above are tamped.