Alison Kennedy's House
The First Permitted Earthbag House in Utah
This tastefully designed home was built on a shoestring budget by owner/builder Alison Kennedy in Moab, Utah. The 1,000 square foot earthbag home is the first permitted earthbag house in Utah.
Alison Kennedy applied for and received a building permit from the Grand County Building Department to build a post and beam structure with earthbag in-fill. The foundation/stemwall was constructed of poured concrete and conventional concrete block. She used typical woven polypropylene 50 pound bags filled with "reject sand" delivered from a local gravel yard. A concrete block bond beam was mortared into place on top of the wall to tie all the walls together and provide an anchor for the wood truss roof members.
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The truss roof was sheathed with OSB and tarpaper and then covered with assorted colorful asphalt shingles acquired from left over end lots and laid in a design pattern inspired from traditional Navajo weavers. The exterior walls were covered with a primer coat of earthen plaster followed by two coats of lime plaster for additional erosion protection. Alison harvested wild colorful clays, which she made into a paint and applied to the surface of the fresh lime plaster. This is a technique called fresco that permanently bonds with the lime during the curing process.
The interior features all earthen plasters and natural clay paints. The floors are poured adobe over a radiant heat floor system. Inset tile details are installed throughout the house.
Alison's house is warm, friendly and solid! Thank you, Alison, for helping to introduce Earthbag and other natural building techniques to our community in such a simple and attractive fashion!
Alison's exterior kitchen door.