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Joel:
The idea of creating an Earthbag wall for this assessment stemmed from the floods hitting most of Queensland earlier this year, with the initial thought of sandbags being something quite easy to come across. Unfortunately that wasn't the case, and I spent a good 3 weeks trying to locate a good supply of the polypropylene sandbags. This would have been easier if we were after 1000+ bags but wanting between 20-30 it just wasn't going to happen. So we were left using Hessian bags which were never going to work as well and given all the rain we did have between our build days we ended up with some quite waterlogged bags. We also ran into issues with the window opening and having enough materials to correctly waterproof it. Lacking sealant and a decent window frame really hurt us here. The final area I felt we fell short was in the 'finish' of the wall. We had run out of money from our $100 budget. To get render and wire mesh to properly finish off the front of the wall would have really made a difference. This wasn't as much a structural problem as it was purely aesthetic, an aesthetic that would have really made the wall go from amateur to fantastic!
That's what didn't work as well as I would have liked, but looking at the things that worked I was really impressed with how well the team worked together to get the wall built in just two Saturday sessions. The earthbags themselves I originally thought had no chance of sitting upright beyond about 3 courses high. But we did a really good job in lining the bags up and shaping them to ensure every course remained level and the overall sturdiness of the earthbag section of the wall was quite impressive. The timber frame section also came together really well with both timber we purchased from Bunnings and wood from mates / scrap. The roof was the best 'win' for the team in regards to effort vs result. We pretty much decided the day before we wanted to incorporate a green roof and we just got it done.
If we had the chance to do it all again, I'd want to do it will polypropylene bags, a window frame, render and i'd want to do a full size wall with a corner. I think this would be a true test of 'waterproofness', as we really did lack some materials by the end of it. It was a heap of fun to put together, and I learnt a whole heap about general construction and what does and doesn't work.
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Leah:
When I heard about the Earthbag for the first time, I felt surprised and impressed at the same time. A structure of sandbags, it is easy to understand what it is and how it gets build as it sounds. But the actual building process was not easy as it seemed. We only built a little part of the wall but there was a lot of work that needed to be done. The bags were heavy when it was filled and carrying and stacking them needed a lot of energy. To build a whole building, it should take huge amount of materials, time and power.
If I had a chance to work on Earthbag construction again, I would want to test different types of soil and content for the filling although it is already proven what is best to use. Just for an experiment, and in different parts of the world maybe there are more suitable material to suit the land.
I would also like to do some kind of rendering on the exterior wall which we didn’t get to do it this time.
A lot of parts in the world are working on and experimenting with Earthbags. I think it is a good idea because of its simple method of constructing and easy to get the materials, so it can be used for the land that has been destroyed by disasters and those countries which are developing.
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Shakiba:
Earth bag structure was the new way of constructing the building .It was a good experience , and qeit challenging cause it was`nt a common method ,so we need to discuss and decide about each single step.
But I found it very useful for areas with lots of rain and natural disaster ,and I hope it helps to save lots life by making building or at least use some part of Earth bag method for their our buildings.
In this method we first discuss about our material .which kind of material are we going to use for filling our bag .Or which size of timber should we use for our frame .
The next step was thinking about safety and making it as a sustainable wall. how are we going to make the wall and roof water proofing ?,how are we suppose to support the roof? and connection between our timber frame and Earth bags are all questions that we are faced for making the wall as perfect as we could
Also for Using Earh tbag needs to be aware of materials and power that we are going to use for it. I think preparing all of the bags ,filling them all up , carry them too the right spot , and the kinds of material that are going to be used are all the issues that need to be considered for this project .
The Earth bag wall was simple sample of actual projects that have been done in different countries. I hope we hear lots of of progress in this project in all around the world.
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Daniel:
With the initial idea of Earthbag construction, I can’t say I was too confident we would achieve what we had planned on paper. Images of a weak and waterlogged wall were all I could think about and with winter setting in, the idea of filling bags of wet dirt and sand was not my idea of a good time.
As we wanted to steer away from traditional (third world) Earthbag construction and modernise with our own version, we set out to incorporate a timber frame for the internal wall, allowing us to clad the internal walls with something other than tradition bagging techniques. With our initial ideas having too much wastage of timber, we opted to halve the amount of timber used, not only saving cost but also saving the environment.
Filling the bags and stacking them into a wall was not a pleasurable task, however once it was completed I was quite surprised at how structurally sound it actually was. Bracing the bags to the timber frame turned out to also be a beneficial idea and improved the walls strength greatly.
Having planned, analysed and designed our wall thoroughly before commencement of construction, we managed not only to save time, but effectively and successfully put our plan into action with only minor hiccups along the way.
Constructing the wall in only two short days is a great achievement for our group and something I am quite proud of. Along the way I have learnt a great deal about environmentally friendly materials and construction methods which I hope to incorporate in future building designs. The last minute idea of a green roof turned out to be the finishing touch on our wall and also something I found very interesting to research.
All in all I am proud of our team and the achievements we have made, even if I wasn’t too sure about the whole idea in the first place. Earthbag construction is a worthy contender and has great elements with regards to sustainability, however I do believe it has a while to go before it is applied and incorporated into the modern day world we live in today.
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Bao:
Earthbags is definitely a challenge for our group. From materials to structural, it is an impressive way, unusual try.
We have learned a lot from the whole process of this project. We build up our knowledge and at the same time improved our team cooperating. It is really awesome!
It is a very impressive job. The buildings are cool in summer and warm in winter, probably the most environmentally friendly homes. They meet all building codes, are energy efficient, weather tight, and so solid they passed the most gruelling stress tests.
Although Lack of sealant, it seems all right after testing. Everything is under control :) We've done a successful job. The earth bag wall is not only sustainable, doable but also affordable, simple.
