What is the Cost Per Square Foot of Different Earth Building Methods? An Overview of Natural, Eco-Friendly, Earthen Architecture Traditions.
Mirror mirror on the wall, which is the cheapest earthen construction method of them all? You might ask yourself which style of earthen building is the cheapest, and that is a fair question, so let us simply begin by posing the following question, “Which earthen building style is the cheapest in terms of paying a contractor to make a building?” It is a fun thought exercise to do a cost analysis of different earthen building materials, and interestingly, adobe is the cheapest building material discussed here.
This post was not just written to provide information about the costs of different earthen building methods, it was also written to give you, the reader, a basic overview of a few different earthen building methods.
The film furnished above is intended to provide a basic overview of different ancient earth building methods. Earth bag construction is a newer method of earth building and is not covered in this video. This article also does not discuss straw and clay slip construction.
Most homes being build in America at this time are made from a wooden frame held together by nails. Most of the new homes in America at this time also have walls covered in a Portland cement mixture commonly called “Stucco”. Additionally, most of the conventional American houses built at this time are topped by roofs covered in asphalt shingles.
