5 Reasons Not To Build With Earthbags or Hyperadobe.

[@KarinaRodriguez7795]

That's true, most of the people don't talk about the cons. Thanks for sharing.

[@offgridsolitude]

Thanks for watching!

[@lerazadj]

But hes never even dont his before so what hes sharing isnt from any of his own experience. Its just other peoples words being shared for views.

[@jamesbarros950]

Thank you for this video. I’m a huge proponent of earthbag building but your points are 100% spot on. With a team of 4 fit people, they’re a challenge to build, and you will be exhausted at the end. I can source cheaper bags (especially for wholesale quantities of hyperadobe roll) and I am comfortable working through the process of using thermal mass effectively, but just like the design of the walls to ensure they don’t collapse, it’s a significant process and requires a lot of local conditions; not just erecting a building like can be done with other materials. While I love the method, I think so many of the failures are because people get excited without doing serious research and miss the points you explain here. Thank you for sharing these so succinctly.

[@offgridsolitude]

Thanks.

[@daycrow8651]

sources for hyperadobe rolls?

[@stanpak007]

Really nice and compact overview of the drawbacks of this method. I think nothing beats the speed and flexibility of the frame and stick construction. It can be sturdy clean inside, easy to install any infrastructure inside etc. Yes dirt is in place and you can build with it but all at the cost of labor, flexibility and stability.

[@offgridsolitude]

Thanks for watching!

[@newolde1]

Speed perhaps, flexibility no. Stick frame is square, earthen can assume just about any shape. A well plastered wall is just as clean as drywall. Folks seem to forget about the amount of toxicity in a stick framed house. Earthen walls have none of this and are breathable. If we're comparing longevity, earthen buildings, if built well, win by a long long ways. The oldest buildings on this planet are earthen. So if you're looking at the process as a long term investment instead of the initial build speed there really isn't any comparison.

[@lerazadj]

Stick houses cant handle anything the earth throws at them. there is a reason everything left from antiquity was built with earthen materials. Everything today is build to break within 100 years. Stick homes will not survive the earth changes already happening and still to come. nobody should be building that way anymore.

[@clisig2153]

There is no place like being at home in a genuine Adobe house. Stick built these days is OSB and paper.

[@chip582002]

The real advantage to a lot of these alternative building ideas is that a small group of people can build some kind of shelter over a period of time for nearly free.

[@sararunyan]

Yes exactly. Thank you this is the most valuable point really.

[@seanpupillo7823]

@@sararunyan Yes, for a 1,000 sqf structure it means cheap but that also means moving, mixing, and lifting 400 tons of dirt. It is cheap, but if it takes 1,000 hours, that time could be spent making money and building a wood framed structure, or paying a crew.

[@oakld]

Yes, this is absolutely great method, in situations like farmers in 3rd world countries filling their off season time with this labour. There are lot of more meaningful ways to build a house in a developed world, even if you're very ecologically minded and/or want to source local materials.

[@jessicasoss1586]

We just finished a chicken coup that is 250 sqft and... 17 feet tall? Cob and plaster stick great to hyper Adobe. As for "cold in the winterr warm in the summer" is incorrect. Before the cob and plaster were put on yes, that was correct, it WAS still cooler then outside in the summer and a little warmer in the winter. However, once cob and the lime plaster was applied even when it was 20 outside it was 60 inside (no heat at all) in the summer when it was 100 it was 75ish inside. The bags were exposed for a year before cob or plaster was put on. When it rained the bags did get wet, BUT stayed hard. Yes cleats have to be used. Yes hurricane straps have to be used. And you are 100% on the labor part . 😊

[@offgridsolitude]

Really? 20 degrees outside and 60 inside. That sounds perfect.

[@dementecato]

I do build with Earthbags, Cob, wattle and Daub, Light Straw Clay. Your video is an "honest" but unfortunately there a quite a few miss conceptions. It is totally understandable, since you have made it clear that you have not actually build using Earthbags. Then I visited your channel. It looks like your are taking it easy about building living structures. The "wind damage" video made me sad, but it looks like your spirit is facing those difficulties with the positive attitude. If you ever reconsider building with earthbags, let me know. I do believe it could help you on your situation. Meanwhile, I wish you the best on your endeavors. Buena suerte . Cato Arce - Moradas Verdes.

[@gameosapien13]

As someone with home building experience and that has heavily researched alternative building I could not disagree with you more. Do to your location you have no choice but to self build but you bought what you could afford congratulations on that. It's sounds to me like your building a shack not a home, lumber, T-1-11 siding probably no drywall as that is an incredible amount of work in it's self, etc. If that's the case in the environment you are in you're building for failure. Convince shouldn't outweigh logic. your stick home home will be an oven in the summer and a icebox in the winter and is the worst possible choice for your location and weather environment for longevity and easy of maintenance. I have been to Cal-Earth Institute, looked into Aircrete, cob etc. I settled on an adobe "Santa Fe" or "Taos" style build if you will for my upcoming retirement home. Fortunately for me I have access to inexpensive labor since I am building it on land in South America that is only a 30min drive to a good size city. Good luck.

[@4ager505]

I live ~135 miles from Taos NM, ~60 miles from Santa Fe NM...so I am familiar with various adobe house designs and construction procedures. I have lived in adobe houses and I love their elegance and charm. Your argument against the conclusions stated in the video is a compelling argument FOR those conclusions. You have access to inexpensive labor...the contributor does not...he must do everything solo. You are close to a large city...he indicates his property is remote. In general. site built, stick framed houses are both easier, and cheaper overall in those circumstances. they can be effectively insulated to provide quite high thermal efficiency. Adobe is much lower in R values, and does not insulate as well. Adobe's comfort advantage is in the moderating function provided by the huge mass of the walls...and in some designs, also the floors, or other augmenting mass associated into the particular design. Stick built houses can be sealed to the weather with only exterior walls, floor and roof...and then temporarily occupied while installation of utilities, insulation, and interior walls/ceilings continues until complete. Both systems have their advantages/disadvantages...depending on location, material availability, building codes, local soil and weather, rain fall/floods, and level of seismic activity. Each house build presents unique challenges to the builder. The contributor shows a good understanding of those challenges. After saying all that, with everything being equal...I like a good adobe!

[@oakld]

I think this is really good approach. Publicizing down sides of alternative building method may help a prevent people from becoming victims of wishful thinking

[@creepingduck5458]

Hi Joe! Thanks for doing the research. Another great video. In AZ I feel that concrete walls are best due to the temperatures.

[@offgridsolitude]

I agree. Concrete is the best.

[@markmayhem2173]

Concrete does zero to insulate a building

[@markharmon4963]

You could always keep thinking about it. If it was six months ago, your dome could be done and you would be healthier and more fit.

[@panchopanterausa1750]

Good video thanks to give us the info. But I disagree with you on only on one thing. building a house with earth it is not necessary any insolation, the earth adobe is the insolation. I lived for many years in an adobe house in Taos New Mexico and I know that in winter it keeps the heat inside and in summer it is cool inside. Adobe homes need no insulation.

[@offgridsolitude]

Well that's good to hear. Some people complain about cold in winter. And I know concrete and brick buildings have always felt cold to me. But maybe the windows weren't sealed, etc.

[@mariatruitt]

I agreed until the insulation part. Earth walls don't need insulation. When the weather is warm outside, inside the house is cool. When outside is cold, surprisingly inside the home is warm. Actually, in North Dakota some pioneers built tiny mud homes and it worked out pretty well

[@Ytom-m8n]

Thanks for talking me out of building earthbag home

[@Animallovingpermie]

great video, i think you're spot on with four of the five points, but with point four, there is more options than just spray foam. I think it isn't widely spoken about because building that way is uncommon enough, but for earthbag building in the north, an outer course of bags filled with vermiculite/perlite is recommended. i don't know for sure, but a second wall might also help with the stability, if they are each slightly angled for a subtle triangle effect. most important thing to keep in mind i think is that earthbags/hyperadobe aren't silver bullets. if the design isn't well thought through, it can and will fail.

[@BrandanLee]

This is an excellent video. Very well done! As you said, not a lot of fail-states out there to learn from. Probably because there's such a tiny minority of people doing it as much as non-reporting fails. A hybrid Earthship/Hyperadobe using one of those giant dirt hills in the background would be n interesting project. Using the hills themselves to help provide thermal mass by digging out a section and looping the ventilation through part of the hill.

[@offgridsolitude]

Thanks. That's a good idea using the hill for support. And couldn't hurt to add a little rebar, too.

[@GregAndler]

Very informative information..thanks

[@khalidrashad-xu8xe]

My concern is the polypropylene bags if exposed to the sunlight will disintegrate quickly . Also insects deciding to live in the nicely graded and sifted soil may be a big problem. Thanks for the info 👍

[@tworebelsoffgrid]

Great video!

[@offgridsolitude]

Thanks!

[@goodbodha]

Every time I look at something like this I think more and more that I would rather just pour a pad and put up a large quonset hut. It wouldn't be solo construction friendly, but it would be low skill labor friendly and that should be good enough. Build it, add septic, water, and electric. If you want to make it comfortable insulate it, otherwise consider having a camper or rv in the hut as your full service living space. It doesnt even have to be a drivable rv. It could literally be one with facilities that work and you just tow it to the site and park inside. The advantage with that is there are a lot of over the hill rvs that still have decent interiors, but have issues with engine, drive train, or a leaky roof. Those kinds of issues aren't an issue if it is parked indoors.

[@boopeepv]

I'd still build my hyperadobe house, but using the lessons you pointed out.

[@4ager505]

Thanks for posting this. I read the comments, seems like a lot of closed minded folks totally missed the point of your effort. A bunch of them are currently assembling a party armed with garden implements and lighting torches. I think you wasted your effort by encouraging them to think through their own projects before settling on a building plan. I hope I don't meet any of them on the road, probably be another road rage video with me as the victim. Good luck on your own house project.

[@antonioguamil3275]

There is always that bloke, who think his better than everyone.....

[@kevinrose8568]

Thanks for the video. I am coming into a similar life situation as you and have considered buying some desert land and building. I have looked at the earth bag home techniques and am impressed by these methods and what they accomplish. I've considered them. But I've also arrived at some of your same conclusions, it is hard work to build one of these earthbag homes. Not sure with my health I could accomplish it. It's possible, but it is definitely hard. Also this is the first video I've come across where the cons are talked about. Haven't seen that before. And people criticizing you for criticizing the building methods just because you "haven't done it before" really do not know what they are talking about.

[@robford3211]

Most of your criticism is Apple and oranges . Is building earthbag by yourself difficult of course it is : why not have a work away party , bring friends, relatives. Is being enslaved to the bank for 30-40 years better then hard for of 6 month. I know what I will choose. How many buildings of earth bag material have you done? 100? Or zero? Yes if you built improperly a wall can fall . So you just re built it and chalk it to expérience. This reminds me how after a concert of piano music a few older ladies came to the performer and told him that some of his playing was not correct. After ascertaining that they never played the piano we are stuck with the similar theme : practice what you preach otherwise it’s a a wasteland

[@darrenbrooks9216]

Where are you buying the necessary lumbar to build a house for the same cost as dirt

[@ToddBissell]

Informative

[@offgridsolitude]

Thanks for watching!

[@iamvoxo9550]

Thank you for sharing

[@BestMuzick]

I’m so interested in your comments. Ru building a type of eco friendly home and what are r ur solutions?

[@dvska]

00:00 Строительство дома из земли Джо строит дом на своей ферме в Аризоне, используя земляные мешки для стен. Он исследует различные строительные технологии и решает не использовать земляные мешки из-за их недостатков. 01:57 Недостатки земляных мешков Земляные мешки требуют много работы, могут рушиться, не имеют изоляции и трудно прикрепить штукатурку. Стоимость земляных мешков может быть сопоставима с традиционным строительством, но требует больше работы. 03:54 Взвешивание плюсов и минусов Джо обсуждает, что строительство из земли может быть сложным и требует много работы, но также имеет свои преимущества. Он призывает зрителей взвесить все "за" и "против" и принять взвешенное решение.

[@donmcleod8307]

Thanks for your video Sticks of 2x4 in Australia are around $4.50 usd per linear meter, they must be a LOT cheaper in the States!

[@vfgfdfdf]

They're not. He's full of shit.

[@biancajones2377]

thanku 4 your opinion, good2 know 'other' side, get a broader perspective.. i need insultation the way the weather is, and too old for laborious work..as much as i like them..

[@Pokoyo1346]

Hey Mate, what do you think of strawbale homes?

[@duanenavarre7234]

Most of what you say is a good reason, but the falling walls issue was solved by the native americans and others by doing a better job of foundation. A lot of modern homes over the last 100 years in the US have foundation issues. There are multiple companies whose total business is around foundation repair.

[@offgridsolitude]

Yes. A strong foundation and probably a good building site are very important.

[@garaiko8008]

This is not true. Super adobe is not just earth in bags. You analyze the composition of the earth of your land so that you know with how much sand you have to mix it, and then you always add 10% of either lime or cement so that when it dries it becomes really hard and solid. When you use just earth it's not so robust and it's just called adobe, not superadobe. They are different.

[@rosanilebron1566]

Thanks for bringing this to the conversation. I'm planning on building with superadobe with a group of friends. And I'm so glad people are commenting on pros and cons. But, he hasn't even done anything with superadobe and is talking about something he doesn't have any experience whatsoever.

[@fredk4136]

Agree with you 100%

[@fosilfool]

Thank you!

[@sontisontheim3138]

look at tiny shiny home. they are very honest with the complications and money.they also say its not cheap. but they doing it anyways.

[@offgridsolitude]

Tiny Shiny Home is a great channel!

[@lerazadj]

Way cheaper even running into problems than any stick home will ever cost. Tiny homes cost more and wont survive anything the earth can throw at them. Earthen building was the way of our ancestors because it lasts. everything built today is built to fail over time.

[@carol07643]

Yes it would be much easier by yourself to build a stick build!

[@chriswhinery]

There's an old structural engineer saying. Wood is forgiving, masonry is not. Meaning, wood buildings will give you years of warning before a collapse, masonry won't. It'll just fall over on you. Same thing goes for earth bags and adobe. They aren't an inherently safe or structural building method.

[@offgridsolitude]

Well said.

[@--Morpheus--]

The patent that cal earth obtained, withstands californias stringent earthquake standards

[@chriswhinery]

@@--Morpheus-- No one is stopping you from building this way. If you like the idea of tons of dirt caving in on you...go ahead.

[@--Morpheus--]

@@chriswhinery right..

[@chriswhinery]

@@--Morpheus-- I know I'm right... thanks. There are no legitimate structural engineers who would sign off on this method of construction. But, you go ahead and do you and end up under a pile of rubble.

[@valentinadone8033]

Sorry but in my country try they build a lot this time a houses for hundreds of years, and in summer is cool and winter keeps the heat the best way, so you don’t need insulation.

[@chrishultgren777]

build a yurt if you have limited labor resources

[@ТимотейГоранов]

"A lot of work" but remember that some people doing building work every day as full time job and they don't even have own house

[@clisig2153]

Traditions Adobe construction has given society many historic Adobe buildings. So though you raise some good points you fail to mention actual building methods. I ve lived in Adobe for 47 years. Wouldn't want anything else

[@wulfclaw4921]

Hope the emergency gynecologist was on call. Is this a sattire ? Your so funny !! 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@4ager505]

??? Translate to English, please?

[@bluecollartech-io]

No insulation? Lol

[@rosanilebron1566]

It is good for people to assume certain things just by watching videos, reading or doing some basic research. But, is not responsible to bring up information about building techniques that one doesn't have any experience whatsoever or any expertise. Thanks for your input, but to be honest, first try it and then dismiss it.

[@lerazadj]

This drives me crazy. People making videos on the cons of something they never did themselves in essence regurgitating what they read from other people. There is a reason things built this way from the past are still standing today while everything we build today will vanish with no trace in the future.

[@knallkopp9662]

@@lerazadj The internet is full of experts and you are certainly one of them. Time to shut the itnernet down once and for all.

[@laynesimons808]

Yeah you skimmed over alot of the benefits of earth bag building. Guys dont listen to someone like this. No experience and big opinions. I have built with earthbags, adobe, wood, pretty much any thing you can think of other than hempcrete. Earthbag building is affordable, storm proof, earthquake proof, bulletproof and its easy for a normal person to safely build. Hes a typical city person with a limited knowledge of sustainable building. Idk why he even made the video if im being real with you. Its not accurate

[@offgridsolitude]

Thanks for watching.

[@4ager505]

Awrigt dude...if you didn't use the hemp in the concrete, what did you use it for?

[@hopelaurel2207]

Don't do videos that you are not educated on and passing bad info.

[@4ager505]

Curious...what discipline(s) are you degreed in, and levels of degree in each? And based on your education levels, on which specific points would you authoratatively disagree with the contributor? Which info, in particular, is bad?

[@chrise-ih4ix]

​@@4ager505 good questions

[@VojvodinaNet]

make concrete walls? What kind of solution is that? Your comments are not really valid. How many walls fell? What is your evidence of that? Your comments are unfounded and misleading.

[@offgridsolitude]

Thanks for watching.

[@coledansie9428]

​@@offgridsolitudethanks for addressing criticism like a bitch

[@eveadame1059]

​@@offgridsolitude 🦋🌿 You might be interested in Monolithic Dome Homes

[@noramascarenas9990]

This guy seems clueless to me. Almost all my relatives live in adobe homes built in late 1800's or early 1900's in New Mexico. Walks are over a foot and 1/2 thick. Warm in winter( with a wood stove) and as cool as a cave in summer!

[@gemguy6812]

I’m building an earth bag pod, the only negative I have found is it’s very labor intensive.

[@Doc.wormington]

Thanks for this informative video! I will never use this cheap poor mans way of life. Theres a reason why all our homes are made with sheet rock, timber and fiberglass. Trump 2025! Much love!

[@lerazadj]

You seriously shouldnt make videos on things you havent done. Spreading other peoples information on something you dont have experience in is miss information. You cant claim to know anything about the cons of something you've never done.

[@vfgfdfdf]

Bro has no idea what he is talking about

[@davidwolf2253]

Give up .

[@claire_A-T]

NEGATIVE NANCY

[@willie-gw2ku]

More work yes ,otherwise this is clueless B crap