SOIL TESTS FOR EARTHBAG

PATTI STOUTER, REVISED 9-2010

CONTENTS
PART 1: CAN I USE MY SOIL?
1
1
2
2
3
4
4
4
4
5
5
6
6
7
8
8

Collecting Soil
TEST BAG
Clues About Soil
SQUEEZE TEST
DROP TEST
Sand
Weak Soil
Silty Soil
SHAKE TEST
Rich Clay Soil
Tropical Clays
Expansive Clays
RIBBON TEST
CRUSH TEST
SWELL TEST
SHRINK TEST

PART 2: HOW DO I BUILD WITH THIS SOIL?

9
9
10
10
10
11
11
11
12
13
14

Plan your Building Wisely

Plasters
Plaster Needed for Different Bag Fills
Building with Weak Soil
Improving Weak Soil
Building with Rich Clay Soil
Building on Swelling Clay Soils
Using Swelling Clay Soils to Build
Improving Rich Clay Soil
Stabilizing Soil
Notes and References
0

PART 1: CAN I USE MY SOIL?

Good soil can make strong buildings. Earth with a little clay in it will hold together. Most soils do not need any cement,
asphalt, or lime added to harden them. More kinds of soil can be strong in earthbags than in adobe, CEB, or rammed
earth. Soil used for roads (called road base) contains just enough clay, can be bought in many places, and usually works
well.
Your land may contain different soils. Dig a few small holes in
different areas to find out without removing many plants. Are
there different layers? Soil scientists often use a long-handled
soil augur. This tool helps you to quickly check the soil several
feet deep without making a big hole.
Right: Several very different soils and an augur

COLLECTING SOIL
Dont use the top layer of darker soil. The topsoil smells a little moldy and contains
rotting leaves and roots. It is good for growing but bad for building because it can
rot and compress. Save it out of the way.
You need to see if there will be enough of the same kind of soil to build your
building. To build a 3 x 3.6 m (10 x 12) room with 2.4 m (8) high walls will take 44
cubic meters (52 cubic yards) of soil. If you take this from a hillside next to your
house, the hole will need to be about 6 x 10m x 1.5m deep at the back. On sloping
land some people set the building floor level low enough to use some soil from
under the building. On flat land some dig a new cistern to get soil.
Collect enough soil to fill one or two bags and a few extra handfuls for other tests.
An average sample mixed from two or three holes is best.

TEST BAG
The best soil test is to make a bag, tamp it, and leave it to cure in the shade and
out of the rain for 10- 14 days.
Get a couple leftover woven grain bags. Fill each at least half full. Roll, sew, staple,
or pin the top. Lay them flat. Pound each 5- 10 times with a tamper or thick piece
of wood.
Then pick each bag up and drop it from 45 cm (18) above the ground. Most good
soils will not crumble all loose.
Tamp them again, and let them dry in the shade.
weather or less near the stove).
1

(This could take 2 weeks in hot

After they are hardened, open them up to check. A good soil wont break easily. No
chunks will break off if you hammer a nail in. It will be hard to dent.
If there are any cracks, they should not be deep enough to cause pieces to break off.

CLUES ABOUT SOIL

While youre waiting for your bags to cure, try to find out more about your soils. Are buildings or roads settling or
cracking on this kind of soil? If the same soil holds up a two-story cement block building, it can hold up the weight of a
one-story earth building.
A few soils have odd problems. Some dry area soils are white from salts or other chemicals. Some dark soils that used to
be salt water swamps turn very acid (and toxic) some weeks after they are dug up. Some warm-climate soils harden
permanently into rock. Some clay soils slowly slide downhill, leaving fences and trees that lean. Others that crack in the
dry season can swell and break building footings. Any of these might be a problem for earthbags.
If there were any earth buildings in your area find out about the soils used. Elders may remember how others used to
work with your soil, even if no one builds with it now. This knowledge is precious.

SQUEEZE TEST
Use the subsoil that is underneath. Pick out any sticks or leaves and stones. Take a small handful of soil. Add a few drops
of water (if needed) so it will hold a shape when you squeeze it in your hand.

A SOFT LUMP

STILL FALLS APART WITH ADDED WATER

A VERY FIRM LUMP

Probably a good soil

See Drop Test page 3

Needs added clay or extra reinforcing to

hold the building together
See Sand page 4

A lot of clay
Learn about it and test it more
See Rich Clay Soils pages 5

DROP TEST
This will tell you if the soil has enough clay for earthbag. Later as you fill bags, use the
same test to be sure theres enough moisture in your soil.
Make balls 4 cm (or about 1 inches) in diameter. Use soil just moist enough to hold
together. Drop the balls one at a time from a 1.5 m height (about 5) onto something
hard. Most of the balls should act the same way.

WEAK SOIL- This soil was squeezed hard

but broke into many little pieces when dropped.
Read about weak and silty soils pages 4 and 10.

SOIL WITH SOME CLAY

This ball split into a few pieces when dropped.
Soils like this usually contain just enough clay and are good for earthbags. Have a
look at pages 9 and 10, and build carefully!
But if you are building in the tropics, hold on. Tropical soils like this can contain a lot
of clay. Cut a ball with a table knife. If the soil looks shiny and smooth, do a swelling
test. See page 8.

RICH CLAY SOIL

This ball flattened with only a few cracks.
This soil has a lot of CLAY, probably 15% or more. See pages 5- 8 and 11- 13.

Shiny balls or ones that leave a big wet mark are too wet.
Add dry soil and retest them until they stop leaving the wet mark.

SAND
Sand bags are not the same as earthbags.. They are ttoo likely to slump. Earthbags need
to tamp to a solid mass to be strong.
A few unusual sands will set up firm in bags. These were formed from coral or granite
and harden by a chemical process. If you have sand, tamp it in a test bag and let it cure
for several days to see if it is an unusual sand
nd that will harden
harden.
Above: This sand in the Bahamas from dredg
dredged coral set up hard in bags
Sand mixed with shells or shell fragments may be less likely to slump than pure sand. But any low
low-strength
strength soil must have
bracing during construction a structural skin.
kin. Read about building with weak soils on page 10.
Sandy soils also sometimes contain salts. The salts in the bag can work their way out through the plaster to make white
patches or weaken cement stucco. If you arent buying washed sand, wash it well.

WEAK SOIL
Some soils that form a ball when squeezed still shatter when dropped. They can feel gritty because they have a lot of
sand, or feel smooth because they are mostly silt. Either should have clay added so that an earthbag will hold together.
together
This will greatly reduce the cost of reinforcement needed. Read about building with weak soils on page 10.

SILTY SOIL
Silt by itself is very weak because the particles are rounded and do not interlock well. Silt is not very strong to hold up
buildings or to make them, and it also doesnt drain well to treat wastewater. Soils with a mix of different particle sizes are
strongest. A very silty soil has to have both clay and sand or gravel added.
If you want to be sure whether you are feeling the grit of some fine sand, a shake test will show you.

SHAKE TEST
VERY SANDY SOIL

CLAY SOIL

Break up a handful of soil and put it in a bottle with straight sides.

Add enough water to cover it and shake well.
If you think your soil has a lot of clay in it, stir in a little salt. It will
help the clay to settle in hours to a day instead of 1- 3 days.
days
Let the bottle sit very still for one minute. The sand
nd particles will
settle on the bottom. Mark a line on your bottle or put a rubber
band to mark the top of the settled material.

Contains both clay and

sand, but also organic
matter at the top

It is hard to tell where

the silt ends and the clay
begins

If the water is so cloudy or brown that you cant see anything,

anything leave
it for one hour. The silt will be settled too, and sand at the bottom
will look grainy. Silt particles are so small they are hard to see.

If you have a lot of time, leave it uncovered after the water clears when the clay is settled. As it dries the clay layer will pull
away from the bottle, and show where the silt layer ends.
If you want a quicker answer, stir, time it and very gently pour the different layers off. After one minute pour the liquid on
top into another bottle the same size. The thicker or grainy stuff will mostly be sand. Let it set. An
hour later, gently pour off the liquid from the second bottle until something thicker is left. That
will be the silt.
The organic matter (what is in topsoil) doesnt settle. It will keep floating in the liquid on top. If
there is more than a tiny amount floating on top in your bottle, dig deeper for your sample and
retest.
Right: Organic material floating on top
Many builders use this kind of shake test to see what proportion of sand, silt and clay is in their soil. It is hard to measure
accurate percentages, because particles often grade too gently from one size to the next. But it does tell you if a soil
contains these different particles.

RICH CLAY SOIL

Any clay in a soil will stain your hand, and can not be brushed off.
Soils that contain too much strong clays cause problems in adobe or rammed earth or
CEB walls. Because they are exposed any cracking must be kept to a very small amount
or moisture will soak deep into the units. But earthbags protected by poly bags and
plaster can use soils that contain more clay.
Different clays are very different. Soil with a lot of clay should be tested more, to be sure
it does not include too much of a problem kind of clay.

TROPICAL CLAYS
Clays in the tropics need to be checked differently than clays in cooler areas. Deep tropical soils that are red or yellow
often contain a lot of clay. People used to clays in other areas may be fooled because tropical clays can be much less sticky
and flexible (or plastic) than clays in other places.
Tropical soils are often deeper and more variable than soils found in cooler climates. Be sure you are testing soil mixed
from different parts of your soil dig area.
Many rich clay soils found in the tropics have swelling problems. If a tropical soil cracked a little in the Drop Test and
looked shiny like clay when you cut it, you should do the swell test on page 8.
If a tropical soil is very sticky, the ribbon and crush test will tell you how hard it will be to work. It also is a good idea to dry
out a little to be sure it doesnt harden into rock-hard laterite, if you havent seen it dry before.

EXPANSIVE CLAYS
Some clays shrink and swell as they get wet or dry. A really expansive soil can swell 50% to 200% in volume when it is
wetted. It takes special care to build earthbag walls with a soil that shrinks and swells a little. Buildings on these soils may
also need special foundations.
The ribbon test and crush test below are quick. They may tell you that your cool climate soil wont need a swell test.

RIBBON TEST FOR RICH CLAYS

Get soil just moist enough to roll. Remove big pieces of grit, and keep it just damp. Shape it into a ribbon about the size of
a finger. If a finger width will hold together upright in a piece as long as a hand, the soil may be strong enough to use for
adobe, rammed earth, or cob.

To find out just how flexible it is, knead it more to mix it very well and develop its strength. Add enough water to roll it out
a little thinner.
Shape it as thin as a pencil- 6mm thick (a little less than 1/4 inch).
Cut off 4 cm (1 inch) length.
If it stays together when you can hold it up, it is a SLIGHTLY PLASTIC soil. It should not
have any swelling problems. Read about building with rich clay on pages 11- 13.
Above: This sandy clay fell apart when the pencil size ribbon was lifted

To shape it thinner you may need to roll it on a flat surface or press it into the right
shape with a knife.
If you can hold up a 4mm thick piece (a little more than 1/8 inch) it is a MODERATELY
PLASTIC soil. You should also do the crush test.
If a very thin, 2 mm thick ribbon holds together (between 1/8 and 1/16 inch) when it is
the same length or longer, it is a VERY PLASTIC soil. You must do the crush test below
also.
Right: This very plastic clay could be rolled longer than 4 cm.

CRUSH TEST FOR RICH CLAY

To test for strength, find a chunk of dry soil or make a ball of moist soil about
2.5- 3 cm (1 inch) and dry it out. If there are thin platy crusts in the soil, use a
piece 1- 1.5 cm long but 0.5 cm thick held the long way.
How easily can you crush the small chunk? Try for a second to crush the soil.
The soils strength will also control how difficult it is to dig up

Right: It took a light squeeze to shatter it. This soil was not even hard.

Left: The gray clay that was very plastic (page 7) could not be squeezed but
was easy to crush underfoot. This NY clay did swell (about 30%) and was used
to make the stabilized bag shown on page 13

PRESSURE NEEDED
Can barely break
between thumb and
one finger
Can break between
two hands
Can crush it under
foot on floor
Hit gently with a
tool to crush
Hit hard with a
mallet to crush

TEXTURE
HARD
VERY HARD
EXTREMELY
HARD
RIGID
VERY RIGID

COMPARISON

USES

IF

Hard as very stale

bread

Probably strong
enough for
earthbag
Medium to heavy
clays good for
earthbag, adobe,
rammed earth, or
CEB

It is also moderately plastic

maybe it will swell: Do the
swell test (page 8)

Easy to dig out with a

pick
Must swing a pick over
the head to dig it
Very hard to dig by
hand
Slow for a 40 hp
backhoe to dig

Some of these
very rich clays can
work in earthbags

It is also very plastic

it probably will swell:
check how much (page 8)

SWELL TEST
If your clay is DRY, put it in a bottle or test tube to see if it swells.
Any tests for expansion will take more than a day. Some clays soak up water very slowly. It may take more than 24 hours
for dry clay to really become wet.
Crush it to a fine powder. Put it in a dry bottle with straight sides. Try to add enough soil to bring it to 9 cm high, tapping a
little to settle it. Add just enough water to cover and stir with a stick or nail. Let it sit a full day. See if it swells.
The percent expansion is approximately
final soil height minus
dry height

dry height

If it ends up about 9.5 cm high, you have about a 5% expansion.

Higher than 10.5 cm will be about 15% expansion.
Above: These test tubes were filled to the same level with different dry soils.
A more accurate way to test for swelling is to take 2 amounts of oven-dried soil that weigh the same. Use two bottles or
straight glasses the same size. Drop one soil into water with a little salt, and the other into an equal amount of kerosene
or thin cooking oil. Stir them very well and leave them to settle out until the liquid is clear. Then measure the difference in
height between the sediments in oil and the sediments in water.

SHRINK TEST
Some soil scientists say a swell test is more accurate than a shrink test. But
if a shrink test is easier, any test is better than nothing.
Spread MOIST soil out thin on a piece of metal and dry it. A metal hoe
might work well. Put a little oil on it first. Try to get the soil to cover it
exactly, about 1 cm thick. Then dry the hoe in the sun or near the cooking
fires until it is very hard.
Left: Haitian clay on a grub hoe

The percentage of shrinkage is approximately

Wet area

minus dry area

dry area.
3

On a grub hoe 11 x 22 cm (4.5 x 8.5 inches) you can fit 240 cm of clay. If it shrinks back 1 cm from each edge (like the soil
above did) you have 62 240 or a 25% expansion.
If it ends up also a little thinner than 1 cm, its even more expansive.
8

PART 2: HOW DO I BUILD WITH THIS SOIL?

PLAN YOUR BUILDING WISELY
Earth buildings dont cost much money, but they cost in care and wisdom. Earth is strong, but it needs to be kept up out of
the water and given a chance to dry out. An earth building with a good hat (a roo
rooff overhang) and good boots (a solid
water-resistant
resistant base) will last. You can be proud that you are a good builder if you use earth well.
Earth walls without a stabilizer like lime must start above the flooding, rain splash, and inside spills levels. These raw
earth walls need protection from extended soaking to stay strong. Build on top of a stone wall, bags filled with gravel, or
stabilized earthbags. Always use a moisture barrier or air gap between any cement and raw earth.
Start earth-filled bag walls at leastt 15 cm (6 inches) above an inside floor and 20
20- 25 cm (8- 10 inches) or more above the
ground outside. If lime or earth plasters are used, stone veneer or tile can protect the lowest meter from rain splashing
back. Cool climates may need higher waterproofing
ing where snow often sits against walls.
Strong earthbag buildings must protect the bags from sunlight. This is especially
important in places with high risk of earthquake.
Choose a plaster that works well with the soil in your bags and your climate. Al
All soils work
well with a lime or earth plaster. On some soils in some climates earthbags can have
cement stucco.
Right: Earth plaster can be applied by hand

PLASTERS
Earth plaster can be sturdy and dust-free.
free. But it wears quickly when wetted, and may take some testing to get right.
Lime plaster resists wear and water better than earth plaster. It hardens more slowly and is
less brittle than cement. Lime plasters breathe to let walls dry out, and expand and contract
like earth. Cracks can be easily repaired with lime wash painted on or added plaster.
plaster Lime
plaster is made of hydrated lime mixed with water and then mixed with 3 times (or up to 6
or 10 times for inside plaster
plaster) as much sand.
Above: Very fine cracking like this is normal in lime plast
plaster, and is sealed with lime wash in future.

Portland cement is stiffer than earth or lime plasters

plasters, and more likely to crack. It attracts water,
and doesnt dry out well. If it cracks, it cannot easily be repaired. Adobe buildings in areas with
frost start
rt to decay after cement stucco is added on top.
Right: This cement stucco was not done properly, and is going to be difficult to repair.

PLASTERS NEEDED FOR DIFFERENT BAG FILLS

Fill for
Firm
bags

Region:

Warm Humid Areas

Soil with maximum clay

Lime or earth plaster

only

Soil with medium clay

Soil with minimum clay

Stabilized earthbags

Semisolid
1

fill

Loose
2

fill

Gravel or rubble bags

near ground level
Angular light gravel
(pumice or scoria)
Loose Sand
or Weak Soil

Cement stucco, lime or

earth plaster
Can make buildings
moldy

Warm Dry Areas

Areas with Frost

Earth plaster

Wall must breathe- lime or

earth plaster only

(or optional: lime

plaster or cement
stucco)

Lime or earth plaster with

cement stucco one side

Cement stucco, lime or earth plaster

Cement stucco to
Strong lime plaster Cement stucco to protect from
protect from rain/
(optional: cement
snow/ rain
splashback
stucco)
Reinforced cement stucco or lime plaster with a strong structural mesh and
3

cement anchors to fasten barbed wire

Reinforced

Rice hulls, etc.

cement

Too moldy

stucco structural skin with cement

to fasten barbed wire
Infill only- not structural

anchors

Gravel bag footings have rebar spiked through them to hold them in place. Pumice or scoria requires extra vertical rebar
unless it is angular enough to settle well and not roll and is used in a non-seismic risk region.
2
Bags filled with these are not really earthbags and must be reinforced differently.
3
Barbed wire, important for tensile strength, is not held well by loose fill. Anchors are a small block of cement located
occasionally between bags to keep wire from pulling out.

BUILDING WITH WEAK SOIL

An earthbag wall more than 90 cm (3 feet) high built with weak soil or normal sand needs temporary braces as well as
barbed wire and vertical reinforcement. It must be tamped, even though it wont harden up.
Extra steel rebar attached on each side will strengthen earthbag walls made with loose fill. The building must be plastered
inside and out with a strong layer of reinforced cement stucco.

IMPROVING WEAK SOIL

A weak soil can become strong if you add clay to it. Try 9: 1 or 9: 2 sand: strong clay. Test different combinations with a
Drop Test (page 3) to see what works well enough.
But a weak soil that does not contain sand is a very silty soil. It must have both clay and sand added, at least 7:1:2 (silty
soil: clay: sand or gravel).

10

Always do several tests with different mixes to find out the simplest or cheapest
way to make the bags strong. Add just enough clay to make a bag hold together
well.
Never add the clay in lumps. It is best to dry and crush lumps of sticky clay finely
to mix in. Or soak the clay until it is almost liquid and stir it in very well.
Right: A bag of sandy soil with 2 cm clay lumps is still flexible after repeated
tamping. The sandy fill inside never mixed with the interior clay lumps.
If clay is not available, a weak soil can be stabilized. See page 13.

BUILDING WITH RICH CLAY

Rich clays can be hard to work and must have earth or lime plasters that allow the walls to breathe. Earthbag walls of rich
clay may be more flexible until hardened. But when they firm up they are very strong.
Left: Unstabilized clay in bags can form strong arches
When very rich clay soils are tamped, they compress more
than sandy or silty soils. This means a house may need more
bags and more work to complete in a rich clay soil. Clay-filled
earthbags may require more pressure or longer tamping.
Earthbag walls of rich clay may be more flexible until
hardened. But when they firm up they are very strong.
Walls containing clay survive best if they can dry out completely between wettings. In a place with frost, it is very
important to let clay bag fill dry out. Be careful what plaster you put on a rich clay. Check the chart on page 10.

BUILDING ON SWELLING CLAY SOIL

Very expansive soils can swell 50% or even as much as 200%. Worldwide these soils cause more damage to buildings than
any other problem.
It is safest to ask an engineer exactly what to do for each specific condition. To build on top of a swelling clay soil, he may
tell you to pre-soak the footing area, and to make sure the foundation is entirely on the same clay. Rubble footings and/or
gravel bag foundation walls may resist damage better than reinforced concrete because they can flex.
Some ways to prevent swelling soil damage to footings include raising the building a little higher than normal. A deeper
footing with some non-expansive backfill added above the problem soil may help, since soil 1 meter (40 inches) deep stays
more the same amount of wetness through the year. And once a building is finished, dont water plants or plant trees
within about 5 m (15 feet) of the house. Tree roots can dry out soil.

USING SWELLING CLAY SOIL TO BUILD

We dont know enough yet to say just how much swelling is too much for fill in earthbags.

11

Different types of earth construction recommend using soil that will shrink from 1- 3% maximum. But earthbag walls do
not rely on bonds with mortar for strength. They could swell or shink a little without losing strength. Because the units of
earthbags are held in place by barbed wire and bags, they have built-in expansion joints.
It may be wise to stabilize the lowest 3 feet or 1 m of an exterior wall if it must be built with a somewhat expansible clay.
Some expansive clays become non-expansive if they are well compacted when somewhat wet. They will still shrink while
curing, but will not swell again. This would be worthwhile testing if builders can be careful to tamp all of the walls equally
well. A heavy clay soil can make a very strong wall.
Expansive clays do not swell because of humidity. They must be soaked with liquid water to swell. So if a building can have
a good water-repellant finish and avoid plumbing leaks inside the walls, an expansive clay could be used even if it is not
stabilized by tamping. The hardest question is how to plaster it.
Cement stucco on an expansive clay wall is probably not a good idea, even in a frost-free area. Because cement is a stiff
material, a single stucco leak could trigger spreading swelling that could crack all the stucco off.
Architect and author Paulina Wojciechowska has built many earthbag buildings in Poland and other parts of the world
using very rich clays. She has not had any problems so far. She recommends a lime plaster. First use earth with clay and
straw to fill the gaps and even the wall. The second coat is thinner, with less clay and some lime. The finish coat can be
standard lime plaster.
We know of one builder who filled earthbags with a very expansive clay. After they dried, he attached a corrugated metal
wall covering. This utility building has had no problems, and is very strong. A wall of the same clay unprotected from rain
and frost also resisted decay very well. Maybe he tamped it so well that it wont swell again.
If working with expansive clays, any wood, metal or glass should not be set in place and attached until the building is
completely dry. An expansion joint between window and door frames and the bags could help prevent cracking in the
event of a temporary leak in the plaster.

IMPROVING RICH CLAY SOIL

A clay soil that is hard to handle or expansive can be improved by thinning
the problem soil with sand, by adding aggregate like gravel, rubble, or
shells, or by adding fiber to prevent swelling. Machine-powered mixers
are very useful for mixing soil, but are not necessary. A tarp can also be
used.
Right: Two people pull a tarp back and forth to mix soil
Sand can provide the coarse grains missing from a very sticky clay and make it easier to handle. Adding a quarter to an
equal amount of sand to the soil can reduce the amount that a clay soil expands.
Up to 50% of an earthbags fill can consist of a larger aggregate if the soil is a heavy clay that will hold the bag together.
Light gravels are available in volcanic regions and can add better insulation value. They also make lighter bags that are
much easier to work with.
Fibers are also helpful to reduce swelling, but must be chosen for the climate. Straw or other natural materials mixed with
very damp soil in a humid climate may start to mold before the earth can dry. Chopped straw pre-treated with lime wash
and dried may be calcified enough to form a significant part of the bag fill without being vulnerable to termites or mold.
12

Plastics or waste materials may be useful as fibers in humid areas with high levels of termite activity. 4 cm long plastic
fibers or 1% by volume can reduce the expansion of a problem soil by 30%.
Other fibers used to reduce cracking and expansion in rich clay soils include
horse dung, human and animal hair, needles from evergreen trees, or fiber
from coconuts, sisal, agave or bamboo.
Adding material to rich clays takes energy. Some people loosen and dampen
the soil, throw sand or soil on, and have cattle or horses trample it in. Others
chop it with a hoe, spread it thinly on a tarp and crush it with their feet when it
is dry.
Left: Working long straw into an infill plaster layer by hand

STABILIZING SOILS
If available soils are not very strong some people add lime or cement to them. Stabilizers like these make earth blocks
permanent so that they cannot be recycled. They will not soak up water or be damaged as easily by water.
This brown cement costs more than soil with clay added. Because earthbag walls are wide, it takes a lot of cement. At
least a half bag of cement will be needed for each 30 cm (one foot) length of standard wall (2.4 m / 8 high wall 38 cm/ 15
inches thick). So a single 3 x 3.6m (10 x 12 foot) room would require about 22 bags of pure Portland cement for the walls.
Ash is also a mild cementing agent. Ash from burning sugar cane waste or rice hulls, or fly ash from industrial waste can be
cheap and effective. Fly ash may need care in handling because it sometimes contains toxic heavy metals. Fly ash and
bitumen may make CEB or rammed earth walls slightly toxic. Because earthbags are covered in plaster, they may be safer
than exposed earth units containing this type of stabilizer.
A stabilized earthbag wall will resist flooding and can have any kind of stucco or plaster. An engineer can design its
structure more like a cement or masonry building. But a stabilized earth wall will receive more condensation and get
moldier in humid places than raw or unstabilized earth walls will. It may not be as strong in a quake because it will stiffer.
Clay soils should have some lime added before Portland cement. Because stabilizing
soil is a chemical process based on the particular soil minerals, different tests should
be made to find the cheapest way to stabilize a particular soil.
Right: This strong bag was formed of a very plastic, rigid clay with a
small amount of sand and wood ash (20: 2: 1). It holds a nail
securely, and can even support weight when upright.
Because clay is the material that holds earth construction together, stabilizers will not
necessarily increase the strength of clay bags. Adding Portland cement and lime will
make a building that needs less protection from flooding or leaks. But it will also
create a building that is less flexible and more prone to moldiness.

13

N OTE
This is part of an information series developed by the team at www.earthbagstructures.com. Check the website for the
latest updates, including test results to fine-tune earthbag for seismic areas and building code compliance. Short videos
demonstrating construction are also available at http://www.youtube.com/user/naturalhouses/.
This document relies heavily on the expert advice of Owen Geiger and Kelly Hart. Many thanks as well to Nadir Khalili for
beginning this technology, and the many other earthbag builders who share their wisdom.
Contact Owen at strawhouses@yahoo.com or Patti Stouter at handshapedland@yahoo.com for free plan review or
project advice. We may also be able to refer builders or engineers experienced with earthbag. We have several free plans
available, and can help with custom plans. We also welcome comments and help to translate how-to manuals like this.

REFERENCES
Test Bag: Kaki Hunter and D. Kiffmeyer, Earthbag Building: The Tools, Tricks and Techniques (Gabriola Island, BC: 2004) 1920
A good reference available to buy as an ebook, but does not include reinforced earthbag details for seismic areas.
Squeeze test: A helpful chart for identifying soils (although not exact for tropical soils)- North Carolina State University CIT
Intern training, Introduction to Soil Descriptions, Part I of 3 (St. Louis: Washington University, undated) 13
Drop test: Hunter and Kiffmeyer, 2004, 19 and Gernot Minke Building with Earth: Design and Technology of a Sustainable
Architecture, (Basel: Birkhauser, 2006) 22
Shake test: Gernot Minke Building with Earth: Design and Technology of a Sustainable Architecture, (Basel: Birkhauser,
2006) 22
:

Ribbon Test: ASTM E2392M Standard Guide for Design of Earthen Wall Building Systems 8 recommends this test to
evaluate soils for earth building, but the full test is based on Schoeneberger P.J., Wysocki, D.A., Benham, E.C., and
Broderson, W.D. (editors), Field book for describing and sampling soils, Version 2.0. (Lincoln, NE: Natural Resources
Conservation Service, National Soil Survey Center, 2002) 2-53 Available online at http://soils.usda.gov/technical/fieldbook
Crush Test: Schoeneberger et al 2-50; Comparison for dry hard soils- David Lindbo, CIT Intro to Soils Part 1: Soil
Descriptions, North Carolina State University Cooperative Extension, and for digging difficulty- CIT Intro to Soils Part 2: Soil
Descriptions, both accessed at http://www.deh.enr.state.nc.us/oet/cit_online/osww/CIT_Soil_multiple_presentations_here; Likelihood for expansive soil in Schoeneberger et al 2-55 and KI Peverill, A Sparrow,
Douglas J Reuter, eds. Soil analysis: an interpretation manual, (Collingwood, Australia: CSIRO, 1999)
Swell Test: modified from A. Sridharan, and Prakash, K, Classification Procedures for Expansive Soils, (London:
Geotechnical Engineering, October 2000 volume 143) 236
Swelling Clays: Compacting to stabilize: George Reeves, Sims, I., Cripps, J.C. (eds.), Clay Materials Used in Construction,
(Bath, UK: Geological Society of London, 2006) 101 and 114; Swelling clays dont swell with humidity: Minke 24
Rich Clays: Plaster recommendations from Paulina Wojciechowska, personal email to the author; Fibers in soil: Minke 40
Engineers or architects may be interested in these general earth building codes although earthbag structures may
perform somewhat differently than the traditional earth block or rammed earth that they specify:
g:
ASTM E2392/E2392M 10 Standard Guide for Design of Earthen Wall Building Systems, W. Conshohocken, PA: 2010
available online at www.astm.org
The ASTM document recommends NZS 4299/1998: Earth Buildings Not Requiring Specific Design available online at
www.standards.co.nz
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