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President Ryan Runge, Advanced Soil Building TechnologiesThe seller of the double block making machines said that the blocks do not mold and are earthquake resistant when reinforced with rebar. The walls are so thick that they retain heat in the winter and cool enough in the summer, at least on the first floor there is no need for air conditioning. “It’s like living in a cave,” said Mr. Runge.

But there is a downside: Compacted earth block houses are labor-intensive to build and may not be cheaper than timber-framed houses. Phinizys’ home will cost just over $150 – roughly in line with their estimates for building a traditional home.

As Mr. Phinizy said: “So everything is not so cheap, so to speak.”

Mr. Runge said the blocks of earth also weigh 40 pounds each, making it difficult to transport in large quantities. Because of the high labor costs and low material cost, this construction method is more commonly used in disaster-prone places such as Haiti and Mexico, where labor is less expensive than in the United States, and in high-end homes that owners can afford. paying more for labor and hiring expensive structural engineers to assist with additional permits. (Local building codes often do not account for earth block construction, so a structural engineer is required to sign off on these projects.)

But while it’s still a niche market—there are perhaps a few hundred earthen block homes in the United States—Mr. Runge said he has seen demand increase over the past year as lumber costs rise and natural disasters increase. housing toll.

For the first three years he owned the company, Mr. Runge said he had a house under construction every year. But this year, the fourth, there are five houses under construction. “We are selling them faster than we can now,” he said of earth block making machines.

On the Florida coast, Gene and Tammy Tener face a different kind of challenge.

Teners purchased a home in Crystal River in 2010 because of the area’s natural beauty. “We have manatees coming straight to our dock and dolphins coming up to the sea wall,” said Mr. Tener, a mechanical engineer. “It was a dream come true for me.”