How to Make a Dirt Hut

Earthbags

• 1

  Find a building site that is well drained and flatten it with a pick and shovel. Use a digging bar, if your site is rocky. Nearby trees for timber are also advantageous. Determine the direction of the seasonal Sun and the winds, at your selected location.

• 2

  Install drainage pipes behind the wall. Plan ahead to keep your dirt hut dry.

• 3

  Sieve soil through a 1-inch hardware cloth screen, to remove large stones and root material. Protect the sieved soil with a tarp, to keep it stable through rainstorms.

• 4

  Fill polypropylene or burlap bags with gravel for the first few rows. Lay these in a staggered brick-laying fashion, until they are 1 foot above the grade level. Set a level on the last gravel row to assure uniform evenness.

• 5

  Fill polypropylene or burlap bags with slightly moistened soil, including sand, clay and gravel. The ideal mix is an adobe of clay, sand and subsoil. Sacks come in different sizes and in tube form.

• 6

  Add stability by sloping the bags against the bank of the earth, if built on an incline. Lay two rows of four-point barbed wire between bag courses. Lay rocks on the wire to temporarily hold it in place.

• 7

  Fold each bag and place this end butted to the previous bag. Do not overfill bags to ensure a secure fold.

• 8

  Check the plumb of the walls with a level, as you proceed. Adjust them by standing on the bags to press them into position.

• 9

  Use a tamper, with a metal plate attached to the end of an iron pipe, to compact the bags against each other. Pound bags until the tone of the dirt seems to ring with a dense sound and they feel firm.

• 10

  Poke in the bag corners with your fingers as you lay them. This creates a uniform surface.

• 11

  Cut and lay timbers for metal roof framing. Place rafters 2 feet apart. Attach roofing with washer nails, specially made for this job.