anyone here ever built an earthbag house or strawbale house?

[Gato Moteado]

or any other type of eco-friendly, alternative house?

i want to talk to people that have built these because i'm (hopefully) a few months away from starting on a project like this on some land i bought. i'm leaning toward earthbag construction but i'd like to know more about strawbale construction from people that have actually built these structures. plus, i'd love to hear about any other types of eco-friendly construction that people have experience with. for me the key word is "economy".

[LuminousX]

1. Some info

I don't have experience with it, but I remembered this article:

http://www.eere.energy.gov/EE/strawhouse/house-of-straw.html

[Gato Moteado]

9. thanks.

looks good.

[Lars39]

2. Here's a bunch of links....the subject is fascinating.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=Hay+bale+house+construction

[Gato Moteado]

13. yeah....and check this out......

this is what a small earthbag house looks like:

http://www.calearth.org/EcoDome.htm

[Lars39]

15. Those are neat looking, but not for the claustrophobic!

:)

[Gato Moteado]

17. that's a 400 square foot house.....

but you can make them as large as you like.

[short bus president]

3. google up "earthship"

I'm not sure on economy, but it sure looks cool.

[Gato Moteado]

11. yeah, these are cool.....

...though i think they're more labor intensive than strawbale or earthbag construction.

the nice thing about the one i will build is that i won't need to worry about heating or cooling so i won't have to invest in all that equipment. i should have an adequate natural water supply as well and an inexpensive hydroelectricity system sould suffice since i have a lot of moving streams on the property.

[DemSigns]

4. I toured a Straw Bale House

At:
Straw Bale House

A couple of weeks ago. The guy did a good job and learned a few lessons I think he would be happy to pass on. His contact info is at the bottom of the article.

[Gato Moteado]

8. looks good

i'll contact that guy. thanks for the link.

[Willy Lee]

5. You can learn how at the Northhouse Folk School

In Grand Marais, MN. It is an AWESOME school. Here is the link-

www.northhouse.org/

[Gato Moteado]

14. have you been to the school?

it looks cool.

[kmla]

6. No, but I heard Bob Novak lives in a "Douchebag" house...

And the White House is currently occupied by a scumbag.

But I'm a little off subject here, aren't I?

Sorry.

[Gato Moteado]

7. no problem.....

the whole reason i'm asking about this stuff is so i can escape the douchebags and scumbags like bush, cheney, novak, etc.

[GreenPartyVoter]

10. I have some links on my site about this in the shopping area. And I read

a great article about it in Mother Earth News (special publication) this past summer.

http://www.geocities.com/greenpartyvoter/

[Gato Moteado]

12. nice website you have....

thanks

[GreenPartyVoter]

19. Thank you, too. :^D

-----------------------------------------------------------
FIGHT! Take this country back one town and state at a time!
http://www.geocities.com/greenpartyvoter/electionreform.htm

[slappypan]

16. I am planning to build a passive solar cordwood home

http://www.daycreek.com/dc/html/allthingscordwood.htm

[Gato Moteado]

18. those are beautiful....

but probably too costly for me. also, there are termites where i'm going.