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Earthquake!

If you live in an earthquake zone, you may be wondering whether a house made of mud is going to hold. I've now experienced four sizeable earthquakes in this house. My earthbag house loves them. But not as much as I do.There is something incomparably sublime about sitting in the home you built feeling the floor shift and watching your hanging candles swing, and not hearing a single creak from the rafters, nor see a crack in the plaster. Especially, when you haven't used a drop of cement and your foundations are nothing but gravel. What? What? No concrete? No rebar? Just gravel?

So, I think I can fairly safely say the gravel foundation works, and that earthbag roundhouses are pretty invincible when the ground decides to start bopping.

What gives earthbag homes (especially round earthbag houses) their incredible strength is the locking in of the bags using barbed wire. There is no weak point on an earthbag wall, thus nowhere to crack. It's also a structure that can move with the earth (mine has) which means a quake just ripples through it.

NB: When subject to earthquake testing, earthbag structures have been known to damage the testing equipment rather than collapse. Just one of the reasons they're being built in Nepal now. (See Kiffmeyer and Hunter's book on the subject)
Here's the earthquake history of my little house to date:

7 Oct 2015: 5.2 earthquake in Kumluca/Demre

5 Sept 2014: 5.3 earthquake at sea, Cirali-Finike.

28 Dec 2013: 5.8 earthquake at sea, just off the coast of Antalya

10 June 2012: 6.1 earthquake Fethiye to Antalya.
Disclaimer: All the content in The Mud Home website is provided for informational purposes only. The author undertakes no responsibility for any person or entity who chooses to use the information on this website. It is not intended to be a standard and should not substitute for the exercise of good engineering judgment by engineers. It is the user’s obligation to make sure that he/she uses the appropriate practices and consults the appropriate experts when building. It is the user's obligation to make sure they are following health and safety guidelines. The author is not responsible for any accidents, injuries or damages to persons or property incurred while using the information presented in this website.

Some blog articles refer to the use of lime. Please note, lime is caustic and can cause burns. Read The Mud Home guide to using lime safely here.

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The Mud Home  Copyright © 2013  Atulya Kerry Bingham
  • Home
  • Building
    • Earthbag
    • Living Roofs
    • Gravel Foundations
    • Off-grid how to >
      • Off-Grid Prep Course
    • Earth Plaster
    • Mud as Mortar
    • Wattle and Daub
    • Lime; Hydrated, Hydraulic, and Putty
    • Mud Building Blog
  • Books
    • Dirt Witch
    • Mud Ball
    • Mud Mountain The Book
    • An Earthbag House in 7 Days?
  • About
    • Contact
  • Learn Mud
    • Courses
    • Mud Building PDF Package
    • Other Projects
  • Earth Whispering
    • Join the Earth Whispering Exploration
    • MUD MOUNTAIN