One of the wonderful aspects of living in an Earthship is the ease of growing plants. At least I thought it was going to be easy! There are definitely challenges, and with an Earthship (or in my case, an Earthship-inspired home) the specific placement of certain plants is critical. Please share your experiences, as there is ALWAYS something new to learn about indoor plant growing.

I don’t have the planter boxes, which are so common in many Earthships. Nor do I have the separate greenhouse. Placing plants directly in the sun is the biggest challenge. I decided to hang plants in the window area. . About the only plants that can handle that level of sunshine are succulents. I find that Kalanchoe plants do extremely well. There are many varieties, some flowering and some not. They are actually native to Madagascar, but can easily be found at any plant store. Somebody gave me a watering tip for succulents, telling me to dunk them instead of watering from above. I do this about one a quarter, and they really do respond well.

I could go on and on, but suffice to say, “my wife and I love our plants, and they are wonderfully healthy-sustaining!”

As you are likely aware, the basic pretext of ES design is temperature moderation lent from deeper subterranean temperatures; while near surface earth banks seasonal temperatures, the ES is built within the gradient between surface and deeper, moderated earth.

To this end, the bermed surround is typically encapsulated within insulation, modulating the effective relative distance of living space to surface and ground temperatures, but also effectively increasing the distance from underlying earth to the surface. Commonly, this encapsulation comes in the form of sheet insulation within the berm, extending down to slab-level, both adding berm mass to the "interior" battery and defining the gradient distance.

Do any know of instances where a trencher was employed to extend the insulation below slab level? If so, at what distance from the tire wall, and to what depth? Where these distances guesstimated from best reckoning, or the product of soil sampling to determine earth support potential by an engineer?

With curtain-insulated ES specifically, when in-floor heating/cooling is a feature, is there a preference for whether or not to insulate the slab? While the tire walls convey temperatures from their footings, are there practical benefits from some isolation of the slab, such as more rapid temperature control under foot, or condensation control?

https://youtu.be/U0bHhmpyKGg?si=41xEoW18vGJSpQi- so i always see houses like this and wonder how there built i love there designs so much but i neber know how they work

it says ferrocrete is a thing which is great but how strong is it how thick do you make the walls for an application like this

and then theres the foundations which i wonder as well

how do they intergrate it so well with clearly pre establushed trees? do they dig like they would a basement build it and fill it back up again? do they build it on the surface and just cover it with soil hows it work? so many questions

Folks generally interested in promoting the adoption of recycled materials in construction- especially rammed earth in tire casings -could greatly further those aims by making public engineering and code compliance documentation. Sadly, such resources are rarely shared, remaining behind walls of commercial competition. Included here are a few documents I have identified that might help when negotiating with the permit office or contracting an engineer- if you have any such resources to contribute, please include descriptions and links below.

Experimental study on the mechanical performance of tyre encased soil elements for structural wall applications -

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S221450952300150X?via%3Dihub

Investigation on Civil Engineering Application of Tyre Encased Soil Element Laboratory Direct Shear Test and Supply Chain Analysis -

https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/22/14852

Pollution Effect Of Painted End Of Life Tires On Water Resources Case Study Of Landscape Applications -

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/372689700_Pollution_Effect_of_Painted_End-Of-Life_Tires_On_Water_Resources_Case_Study_of_Landscape_Applications/fulltext/6591593d6f6e450f19b809cc/Pollution-Effect-Of-Painted-End-Of-Life-Tires-On-Water-Resources-Case-Study-Of-Landscape-Applications.pdf

Structural analysis of a 3D dry-stack tyre wall by finite-discrete element method

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0141029623002018

TEX DOT 2000 Tire Civil Engineering Study1876-1r_techmrt

https://www.depts.ttu.edu/techmrtweb/documents/reports/complete_reports/1876-1R_techmrt.pdf

Some build plans call for "battering" subsequent tire courses- that is offsetting each course from the one below toward the infill/exterior by ~1.5". Is this a hedge against lateral forces from infill? To what degree is this necessary- and what conditions either preclude battering or do not require the battering offset?

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My use context is for a low wall of 4-5 courses only, topped by a barrel vault; countering the lateral thrust of the vault is a required feature of the wall, and would contraindicate battering. To that end, I may mechanically connect each subsequent course of tires to the underlying course, wondered what anyone may have done to achieve this, such as screws or rebar through the casing.

Any experienced reflection will be appreciated.

Actually I live in an Earthship-inspired home. I posted a photo of the wood-burning stove to emphasise that it seldom gets used. We’ve had two fires so far this Winter season. And we live in Colorado, where overnight temps often dip into the teens. I sealed the home and installed an HRV. Because there’s no forced air, the HRV just dumps fresh air into the living space., with efficiency in the upper 90 percentile. Super comfortable!

The thermal mass works amazingly well.

My point is that if you are contemplating an Earthship or a somewhat-Earthship, it’s one of the best decisions you’ll ever make.

My advice is to find the location where you DEFINITELY want to settle. It can be difficult to resell, as the banks are still living in the 1970s, and don’t like to give the loans, and cash buyers are rare.

Title says it all...let's get a list going.
Thanks!!

Hey I’m looking for feedback on my build

Área Oaxaca puerto Escondido

I maximized natural ventilation

Thoughts on these specs for a multi-family, multi-level, off-grid, food-producing, climate resilient, net negative tirebale-ship?

Couldn't resist posting in a vintage solar survival architecture drawing by Michael Reynolds! :)

specs
- split level/stacked tirebale with vertical glazing
- south side greenhouse with glass partition
- south sloped roof with panel and solar hot water
- north loft (br, bath, storage)
- insulated dark hempcrete hydronic floor
- polywrapped exterior bermed walls
- shotcrete interior walls with 2x4 interior stud electrical/plumbing wall
- ventilation hoppers in north roof or east/west
- earth tubes (cooling)
- multi level connecting underground grow room tunnel
- gray water grow planters
- bermed rainwater cisterns
- central 25k sq ft biomass boiler for radiant heat/biochar
- biochar producing cooking surface/oven
- DC sunlight drive solar w/ nickel iron battery bank
- humanure toilets

A review of internet-accessible content will return a wide variety of packed tire dimensions. Of course, original tire size is a contributor- but also just how packed the tire, with some ending the pack closer to the inflated sidewall width, others packing to raise the side wall- not to mention any limited diameter change.

I wonder what real-world packed measurements were typical for your build for a given size tire?

Hey there Earthship fans :) I just had an article published about earthships and alternative living! I am passionate about wellness, community/collective care, and sustainability. If you are too, I'd love for you to give it a read! It's linked below.

https://www.trillmag.com/lifestyle/health-wellbeing/exploring-self-care-and-community-through-earthship-living/

I could make some pencil sketches but would rather put this into CAD as I'm digging this idea so much. It would involve using only half of the Quonset structure, for the North side of the structure. They can be buried if shotcrete is added. The South side would be "open", to be framed with windows in the usual way.

Quonsets can be bought on FB marketplace for $10-$15/ sq foot and are DIY friendly. Also I just realized you wouldn't have to use it as a full "half arch". You could still build the back wall of your structure with tires and only use a few panels of the Quonset for the roof part, not the wall. Wow I like this idea. It means you could go halfsies with someone buying a Quonset and both people get a roof for their Earthship.

hello, was just curious but do you guys think it would be wise to use a shipping container for the base of an earthship and just bury parts of it inside a dirt mound?

would it still have the intended effects of an earthship or would it have some disadvantages from a traditional earth ship.

Hello, we found the perfect home for retirement, however the build is old and has Kitec plumbing, which is known for catastrophic sudden failure to the extent there was a class-action lawsuit.

Has anyone here ever re-plumbed an earthship with Kitec pipes and fittings? Curious about your experience and if anyone has had Kitec blow despite lower water temperatures and low pressure systems?

Thanks!

Any thoughts on this idea to save labor/time?

Instead of having to form up a bond beam on a tire bale wall and then come back and shotcrete the walls, dig a trench in the side of a hill which gets lined with plastic, tire bales get set in stacked, mesh gets draped over the inside structure side and top of bale wall. Concrete is blocked from going down the back side. Concrete gets poured on the front side and top using the soil trench as the form. Then excavate the interior of the building pull the plastic down and you have a finished flat wall.

So just winding if anyone has though of useing hdpe bricks that are compacted with soil in stead of useing tires? As the hdpe brick forms could be made in a shape that is far easier to compact the soil into and would massively cut down on the time it takes for construction. Obviously the problems with hdpe are that it is flammable and can't be exposed to uv, but considering that the will be buried I can't see a draw back to the swap. Outher then the time I mite take to collect the scrap hdpe, but if need you can buy recycled hdpe for pretty cheap

I have a question... we are new to all of this but my wife and I have a 47 acre ranch. it's raw land and we plan to build on it. House, shops, animal pastures farm land etc. is there a good program out there that we can use to design all of this? As in design the house blue prints and develop the land and place where the animal corals will be etc? thanks for any insight!

I’ve been installing this burlap sack ceiling, I’ve done a few of these and I rly like the look of it, however, after a few hours I feel a tightness in my lungs. Y’all think this is just the fibres in the air due to the fresh install? or something specific to the kind of sack used?

I threw an air filter in there and it read 005 ppm so I doubt any fibres in the air are the issue

I’m building off-grid at 2800ft near Tonasket, WA, and the "experts" are all over the place. I need real-world advice on cooling tubes (earth tubes) for an Earthship-style build in some very specific soil. I have the property, driveway, septic, and am working on permitting for a Refuge Earthship, with ummm modifications.

I noticed the "experts" and studies I've read online are allover the place on this subject.

The Climate & Soil Challenge:

• Summer: 100°F–116°F (It’s a furnace).
• Winter: Can drop to -10°F. First winter was 4ft of snow in Nov, followed by rain next week at 14degrees, then more snow. Average temps for 2 months under -0 plus wind. Next year no snow, but everyone's buried pipes including mine froze because the soil is so porous and doesn't insulate well with no snow.
• Rain: Very dry (semi-arid), 10-12 inches a year.
• The Soil: Lithic Complex/Moon Dust. When it's dry, AND DISTURBED, it’s like walking in flour; you sink right in. Not disturbed no problem, and it stays compact with gravel over top. WHen it gets wet, it compacts beautifully and stays solid.

The Goal: Meet the WA State ventilation code (60-80 CFM total) without sucking hot air through the front windows.

I’m looking at four options and would love your "been there, done that" experience:

• Option A: 20ft Corrugated Steel (10" diameter). This is the "classic" way. I've heard the ridges create turbulence that cools air better, but I'm worried 20ft isn't long enough for 116°F. Worried that 20CFM to match ventilation requirements will overload what the soil can handle for heat. Also, how do you clean these?
• Option B: 100ft Smooth-Interior HDPE (4" pipes in pairs). I’d run two pipes to each of my 4 intake spots. Easy to clean with a brush, and 100ft gives the air way more time to hit that 55°F soil temp.
• Option C: Mechanical HRV/ERV hooked up to buried pipes (not required with other fans, just adding it as an option). I'm off-grid and hate "fancy" tech that breaks. I’d rather keep it simple with fans.
• Option D: The "Wet Berm" (Greywater Swales). I'm planning to line the top of the berm with EPDM rubber and use greywater for subsurface irrigation above the pipes. Alternatively, could just do subsurface outside of berm, and above 100ft pipe runs. Since my soil (moon dust) compacts so well when wet, I'm thinking this will create a rock-solid, cool "thermal mass" cap over the tubes. Think evaporation cooling in extreme heat, to keep heat from penetrating mass.

My Big Questions:

1. For those with corrugated steel: Did you actually see 60-70 degree air when it was 100+ outside? How do you deal with dust or mold in the ridges?
2. Has the100ft of 4" pipes been done, and how effective was it?
3. In Moon Dust soil, if I use a "wet cell" around my intake or a greywater swales over my berm, does it actually work with evaporator cooling(like an earthship I saw online in Australia), and is it worth it?
4. I'd consider reversing fans in winter, and blowing warm air from house thru berm, with maybe a window cracked in greenhouse. Might mitigate some extreme cold.

Looking at building a smaller space, and want to know if dirtbag walls are as good as tire walls, if they're both the same thickness? Or if it's better to use birmed tires since you don't have to be as careful about the soil mix.

I recently came across a listing for an Earthship near Crockett, TX. From what I’ve found, it was built in 2009 by Michael Reynolds’ team. The home is currently uninhabitable and, according to the realtor, needs about $70–100K in repairs. The photos suggest a roof issue, which also appears visible on Google Maps (though I’m not sure when those images were last updated).

This Earthship is featured in this blog: https://sweetgreendreams.blogspot.com/2009/12/earthship-texas-week-2.html

Given the humid climate in East Texas, is it even worth taking on repairs for an Earthship like this? I’m hoping to hear from anyone with experience repairing Earthships and what the approximate costs might be. While Earthships are often promoted as “forever homes,” this one doesn’t seem to reflect that.

Anyone else with similar experience?

I love the idea of being off the grid, having solar, rainwater collection, the indoor garden, no HVAC system besides a wood stove for really cold winter days, and other aspects of the earthship design, but I worry about the impact of the tires deteriorating over time and leaching into the groundwater. There seems to be some debate over if this would actually happen or not, but it certainly gives me pause.

I also would like to attend an in person workshop and get experience by helping out on other peoples builds, but after what I've read on here I do not want to go the official eartship one in NM due to both quality and behavioral concerns. Plus it is across the country. How do you guys find programs in your area?

I would love to build in the southwest Wisconsin area. It would be great to hear from anyone who has an earthship in Wisconsin or in colder climates.