QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

Q: I watched a show about 2 years ago & you guys were on there. I have been in love ever since. Some day I hope to have an earth ship. Everyone I have told thinks I am crazy & that it is a silly idea for a home. I strongly disagree. My husband gives me a hard time, but if we were able to have one, I know he'd love it. After all this time w/ just keeping "Michael Reynolds earthship" on a scratch piece of paper, it crossed my mind to see if there was anything on the web. I am so pleased to see all the information. However, the one question I do have is, is what is the typical cost of one of these earth friendly homes?? I'd like to have some idea. That is another reason why everyone thinks I am so crazy, because they say that one of these so called homes will be more than I could probably ever afford. So, just for giggles, I'd like to know the price range. My husband & I just weeks ago found out that we qualify for a $70k loan. I'm sure that is not even close to ya'lls cost. But, maybe when we think about a new home in the future...we might be able to give this earth ship a go. I can't express to you just how impressed I am w/ this earthship idea. How blessed you must feel. How awesome.

A: They cost about the same as conventional housing – as with conventional housing, there are cheap generic approaches and more expensive custom approaches – They range from $120 per sf and up. The main difference is that you have no utility bills in this kind of home - I suggest they look at...Earthship/Biotecture and click on Packaged Earthship for the most economical models.

Q: There is a vacant earthship in Texas. Apparently, there were some structural problems with the tire construction. I've been looking at this home trying to decide if I want to buy it or build my own. I've considered strawbale and earthbag homes. What is your opinion of the earthships?

A: (Kelly) Earthships come in all flavors and degrees of sophistication; I've seen near hovels and grand palaces. The basic concept of the earthship is the same as any other passive solar home: lots of south-facing glass, thermal mass, and earth-bermed north side. The earlier earthship designs utilizing slanted glass tend to over-heat in many climates. In general they are quite energy efficient, and often employ water saving technology (rainwater catchment and gray water reuse). If they have been well built, they can be excellent homes. The earth in the tires has to be very compacted with lots of pounding to make them stable, so if this earthship has structural problems with the tire walls, then this might be the problem, and mitigating against this might not be very easy. I would suggest you get the advise of a competent engineer who knows about earthship design to take a look at it before you purchase.

Q: I am very interested in the earthship concept. My question is whether I live in an area (Austin, TX) that will support an earthship. I read in one of your books that in a hot humid climate, the greenhouse area should be facing north. Here is a link to information about the climate in Austin. http://austin.about.com/cs/localstatistics/l/blweather.htm. Is building an earthship practical here? If so do you know of any more books that might discuss the specifics of building an earthship in this climate.

A: Perhaps the following can help you understand the Earthship concept more and how to proceed with it...The concept of thermal mass housing works both to cool and heat. Natural dehumidification is also available. The buildings can be adapted to whatever extreme necessary for more performance in cooling, heating and/or dehumidification. We have a new book called COMFORT IN ANY CLIMATE that fully explains this. More about this book at...www.earthship.com Look under Education. WE ALSO HAVE A NEW KNOWLEDGE BASE. This knowledge base has current projects and much more information relative to specifics of the Earthship concept.

Thermal mass structure can be achieved with many materials - earth rammed tires being the most economical and having the best structural
integrity. However, concrete, stone and adobe work well also as long as the building is "tuned" to your climate. All other aspects of the Earthship concept, the catch water and waste water treatment systems and the solar/wind power systems, are tuned to your climate and your local codes as well. We have the support of New Mexico officials on these systems. We often “dovetail” into existing “on grid” systems for backup. We have many generic points of departure to try and take advantage of what we already have worked out, but usually some customizing is necessary. Any custom amenities are possible and can be integrated into the function of the home. It is simply a matter of "off the rack" designs being cheaper than custom.

While Earthships exist in almost every state and in many countries around the world in virtually every climate habitable; we have been asked repeatedly not to give out names and addresses of Earthship owners. They usually are not into receiving visitors and questions after the initial wave in the beginning. It has become an invasion of their privacy. Earthship is a concept - not limited to tires - it is a building that
will take care of you by interacting with and encountering the biology and physics of the earth. Concrete Earthships are now available in all
"off the rack" designs. They are just more expensive than earth rammed tires. Earthship homes will work in any climate. One first step is to confirm if the earth rammed tire building method will pass codes in your area. We can help with this as well. There are a few places that it is more trouble than it is worth to get the earth rammed tire method through codes. In this case you must use concrete, adobe or block to achieve the same design – our services involve all methods of creating the thermal mass building.

BALLPARK COSTS ARE AS FOLLOWS...30% LABOR 30% MATERIALS 18% SYSTEMS 12% SUBCONTRACTORS 10% PROFIT. BASE THE ABOVE ON ABOUT $135 PER SF FOR THE PACKAGED EARTHSHIP AND $150 FOR THE MODULAR AND MORE FOR THE CUSTOM. TAKE OFF PROFIT AND LABOR IF YOU BUILD IT YOURSELF. YOU WILL FIND THESE COSTS TO BE SIMILAR TO CONVENTIONAL CONSTRUCTION - BUT THE DIFFERENCE IS THESE HOMES HAVE LITTLE OR NO UTILITY BILL SO THE OVERALL MONTHLY LIVING EXPENSE (mortgage payment plus utility bills) IS LESS IN AN EARTHSHIP - NOT TO MENTION THE SECURITY OF HAVING YOUR OWN UTILITIES.

We can guide you in your efforts to obtain a sustainable home. We can provide a design and detailed construction drawings aimed at
owner/builders.We have a private viewing site on the web where we post designs for your project for immediate viewing. We send them in hard copy as well. We can help you obtain local builders and permits. We can provide experts on site if and when needed. We have nightly rental demonstration homes in Taos, New Mexico. CALL 505 751 0462 FOR BOOKING. We do owner/builder seminars through out the spring, summer and fall - ask for a schedule at 505 751 0462. We have recently been doing 200 square foot Thermal/Solar Room demonstration projects around the world. These projects take eight days and accommodate a local seminar as well - ask for more information on these if you are interested. You can order a video of one of these demo projects on line at...earthship.com
or call 505 751 0462.

This is not a rigid thing - it is a concept that we help you apply to your specific situation. COMFORT AND "MINIMAL-TO-NO" PUBLIC UTILITY USE IN ALL CLIMATES IS POSSIBLE WITH THIS CONCEPT. We take a $75 retainer to schedule a phone consultation with you to begin. In this phone consultation we collect information from you and establish some ball park figures on cost of design, construction drawings and building costs relative to your specific needs, site and climate. We then work up the design. Next we provide the detailed construction drawings and help you get local permitting. We also consult and/or participate in the construction and supervision using local builders and subcontractors as much as possible. If you would like to proceed to the next step in obtaining a home based on the Earthship concept, please schedule a phone consultation by calling 505 751 0462 and make a $75 deposit by credit card. During the half hour consultation, you can provide us with where you want to build, a list of spaces you want, any site information you have, your budget limitations, the level at which (or if) you plan to participate in the project. We will also ask for winter low temperature and summer high temperature and elevation above sea level.

We have thirty years of experience at helping people get into sustainable homes all over the world. We know how to make it easy, safe and step by step. We are building a new demonstration web site at ...earthshipbiotecture.com Here, there is a gallery and other information. Please check it out. Thank you for your interest in Earthships.

Q: I want to level out my garden and for this I need to build a 2 meter high retaining wall. I would like to use car tyres for this but I'm not sure how they would need to be put together, whether concreting is necessary and also whether I would need to dig foundations.

A: (Kelly) A tire retaining wall should not need a foundation beyond just the tires sitting on the ground. Such walls are usually made by filling the tires with soil that is packed (or pounded) very firmly into the tires, so they end up being very firm and quite heavy. The work is done in courses, with each successive course overlapping the first, like bricks are laid. If the wall is curved it will be much stronger and more likely to withstand the lateral forces of the berm. Tires are not usually connected to each other, except through friction and weight. For a more aesthetically pleasing wall, the tires can be plastered with earthen or cement plaster, which also helps bind the wall into a monolithic whole.

Q: I am considering building a small Earthship "survival pod". This plan requires a large earth cliff for most of the wall space. I would like to use earthbags for the above grade courses and a living roof. I would like your opinion on the earthcliff (and other aspects) and its feasibility. Also, do you think the walls could take berming?

A: (Kelly) The way I understand the "earthcliff" concept is that the wall has no retainer, such as the tires normally used in earthships. If this is so, I would not recommend doing that where the soil is at all loose, or where moisture entering the building could be an issue (which is most places). My suggestion would be to use earthbags for the whole bermed portion of the building (below and above grade), because they are easy to handle and easy to plaster and can be filled with scoria, which would give you an insulated wall. A curved earthbag wall, similar to most earthship designs can take considerable berming.

Q: In my Environmental Communications class we were suppose to pick a form of visual art, mine being architecture, and an artist, mine being Michael Reynolds. There are many parts to this paper and the part I’m having trouble with is writing a biography on Michael Reynolds. I also need a little bit of history on earth ships such as when the first earthship was built, what inspired it, things of that nature. If you can help me out with any information on how to obtain this information please e-mail me as soon as possible.

A: (David Knapp) This was the first earthship built in 1989, I think there is a Quicktime version of the video for MAC users located here: http://www.telluride.com/sunridge/. If you don't have a high speed connection this will take some time to download: http://www.telluride.com/sunridge/SunridgeSequence.wmv Michael Reynolds spends almost no time on-line, most of his time is devoted to working on job sites throughout the world or consulting with customers. His web site is maintained by his son Jonah Reynolds.

Q: I am interested in using recycled tires to complete a retainer wall. Any information that you can present me with to help in the construction of the project would be greatly appreciated.

A: (Kelly) Mike Reynolds has pioneered the use of tires for building "Earthships" and has written several books on the topic. Also this book might have useful information for you: The Tire House Book by Ed Paschich, Paula Hendricks, 1995. Both of these are listed above. The concept is very simple; just packing similar tires with earth and then stacking them like bricks to build the wall...then it can be plastered with earthen materials or stucco to make a uniform surface.

Q: I have been interested in earthships for some time now but am still having trouble finding easy to understand information about building them. I am not interested in building it myself. Are there companies or organizations that you can hire to build your earthship? Also, is it possible or even wise to build an earthship in Oklahoma? I am currently living in Birmingham, Alabama, but am planning on moving back to my hometown in Oklahoma in the next year or so. I would love to build or buy an earthship there when I return, but am unclear if the climate and weather would be suitable there.

A: We can help arrange the building of an earthship, and Oklahoma is a good place to do this.

Q: How much does it cost to build the packaged earthship from your plans? I am in the country outside Eugene Oregon currently living in a passive solar house with composting toilet, gray water system, propane fireplace and propane hot tub, garden/orchard, meadow with waterfalls, the entire lot is surrounded by trees. It is not off the grid by any means though, so I am interested in the packaged earthship. Would you require more information to answer this question?

A: If you build it yourself - about $75 per sf. If you have it built - about $155 per sf.

Q: I am very excited by the idea of building an earthship from stone. Could you give me some advice about insulation and waterproofing.

A: (Kelly) The shell of a traditional Earthship is made from earth-packed tires, as you probably know. This is primarily a thermal mass material, as is stone, so the packed tires could be replaced effectively with stone. The tire wall is entirely backfilled with soil in such a way that there is a waterproof rigid curtain of insulation surrounding the backfill. See the cross section illustration for more clarity about this.

Q: I'm an architecture student and I am about to start an important 3rd year project and I would like to use the earthship concept. I was wondering if they are suitable for hot humid climates (eg: Sarasota, Florida)? If so, could you indicate some sites, or books where I could read about it and methods of construction in these conditions.

A (Kelly): The conventional earthship is a highly passive solar design and would overheat in Florida without modification. The designer of earthships, Michael Reynolds, has written a book called Comfort in Any Climate, listed at earthships that might help with your study.

Q: I have a dream to build earthship type houses in the world. My son is co owner of 3 tire stores. He will truck the tires locally to the site. He has to spend over $10,000 a year to have the tires hauled away. When we can pull all these elements together, get some land, build the house, have a prototype to show people. This area missed Katrina winds by a miracle; these homes withstand 150MPH winds. Perhaps show them as a backyard hurricane shelter also? If you have some cohesive ideas I would welcome the feedback.

A (Kelly): Tire houses can certainly be made to withstand tremendous wind and other rigors of nature. And the designs of the Earthship people are quite innovative and utilize many sustainable technologies. One word of caution about stockpiling tires: one reason that it costs so much to get rid of them is that they can become an environmental liability, since they do not biodegrade, might be considered a visual blight, and there may be health concerns related to the mosquitoes they can harbor. So it is best to only accumulate enough for the project at hand, and not keep a lot of them in piles for very long.

Q: OK, so I have been looking at building with tires for about 15 years now and am in the position to build in a couple of years, but time is an issue for me (getting ready to start my doctorial program and work as a teacher full-time). So here is my idea I have developed with my partner. Instead of ramming the tires with dirt why not fill them with papercrete? We can used recycled newspaper and portland cement. The issues we have come up with could be not being able to get the tires totally filled unless we drilled holes in the top of them. Do you feel like this would be an alternative to the labor intensity of a traditional earthship?

A: (Kelly) I don't think that filling the tires with papercrete would be a good idea, for several reasons: 1) Papercrete must be able to drain excess water freely in order to cure properly, and being placed into a tire would not allow it to dry out or cure. 2) Tire houses require densely packed tires in order to support the weight of the structure and be heavy enough to make the wall solid, so even if you were able to get the papercrete to cure in tires, it would likely be too spongy to suit this need. 3) It is actually a lot of work to make a papercrete mixer and then make the papercrete and fill the tires with it...so you probably wouldn't be saving any time or expense. Here is another idea for more easily filling the tires, and perhaps making a better insulated home: you might experiment with filling the tires with either crushed volcanic rock (scoria), if available, as it is quite insulating and would be fairly easy to pour into the tires....or even a loose gravel might work.

Q: I am a disabled vet. and I want to build a home myself with very little help. I am considering an above ground home, similar to an adobe home, only the walls are made of concrete filled tires. I can't pound dirt and can't afford to hire it done. Does this sound reasonable and feasible? I plan on using as much recycled material as possible in the home. I plan on making my home completely off the grid. This seems like a building built to last. Do you know of any homes built like this. Also, do you know of a spray on material that is breathable like adobe mud for the exterior?

A: (Kelly) Certainly tires filled with concrete would last a very long time. I have actually thought that filling the tires with washed gravel might be easier and yield a better-insulated wall. As for breathability, this would only occur in the minor spaces between the tires. A cement stucco that is somewhat weak in the ratio of cement to the sand can breath some, although not as much as an earthen plaster would. It is possible to spray either of  these.

Q: My wife and I are finally in a place where we my be able to build a home for ourselves. We have a friend who has been singing the praises of earthships and my initial investigations make them seen super hippy cool. The concern I have is that I live in the Pacific NW and I am not sure if it is a green home that will work here. Has anyone built an earthship in our area? We are on the wet side of the mountains. Is there another green home that has the same type of low impact pro environment outlook that is more suitable to the area? Lastly, do the tires in an earthship poison the surrounding land with heavy metals and stinky tireness.

A: (Kelly) Earthships should actually perform quite well in the Pacific Northwest. Even though you don't get as much sunshine as the SouthWest, what sun you do get will help heat the home...and all of those windows will help bring more light into the house, which can be a problem there. Some people don't like the idea of all those tires around them but they actually don't have any heavy metals that I know of, and they get well sealed with plaster so they don't smell either. Another option would be to build the same design with earthbags, which may be aesthetically more pleasing for you.

Q: Since one of the drawbacks to using the earth for insulation is the finished look of a house I was wondering if anyone has ever thought of the possibility of building a multi-layered wall with 2 or more layers of tires (in the vertical) to take the place of a big berm. Then you could get a more conventional look, although it would be a lot more work, to satisfy the square house lovers. Would this work?

(Kelly) Do you mean that the wall would be composed of two parallel stacks of tires with earth placed between them?

Exactly, and could you connect the tires together for added strength?

A: Yes, tying them together (galvanized wire would likely do) would help stabilize the wall...curved walls would also help with this. To make it easier to fill the tires without pounding them like the earthship people do, I have often thought that using gravel instead of earth would make it easier and give you a bit of extra insulation from having all the air space between the gravel.

Q: I will have to convince my wife about green homes and earthships, as I like the idea but she considers this type of building to be too dungeon-like as she likes a lot of light.  We are going to the big island of Hawaii next month and I think there is a relatively new earthship there I wish to show her.  How do most municipalities feel about this type of construction?  I know realtors (valley girl businessmen) frown on it unless they are about to make a big commission.

A: (Kelly) I'm sure that reaction to earthships varies quite a bit around the country. In the Southwest they have become quite common, and many of them are even lavish, up-scale affairs. They are well-engineered, so there is seldom much real concern about their integrity from the building authorities.

Q: I have a question about vapor barriers. Does the bermed wall need any barrier other than the rigid insulation? Do people build stick framed walls in front of the tire walls?

A: (Kelly) Yes, it is is always a good idea to have a solid membrane moisture or vapor barrier on any bermed portion of a building, because the last thing you want is water in the house. As far as framing in front of the tire wall, I would not advise it, because you want the tire wall to act as thermal mass, and this would inhibit this.

Q: I'm assuming 6 mil. plastic, but is it applied on the back side of the tires before the berm is pushed up against the tires?

A: (Kelly) Yes, one or two layers of 6 mil plastic should suffice. Looking at the cross section diagram at the bottom of this page, it would be against the rigid insulation before backfilling.

Q: I'm wanting to know how to build a stable base for my shed, using reclaimed tyres. I was wondering if I can use landfill waste to fill them? I am dependant on state benefits so really need to use anything that I can obtain without financial cost. I have just myself and a garden spade to do the job plus my 2 little ones! Can you give me very simple but detailed advise how to do this? I have just soil underneath and am at the present time clearing very old brambles from the area.

A: (Kelly) You can certainly use old tyres to provide a foundation for a shed, but this method tends to be a lot of work because they must be filled with compacted soil, which means a great deal of pounding with a mallet. Landfill waste would not be an appropriate material to fill them with, because it cannot be guaranteed to remain compacted. A much simpler method of making a foundation is the use a rubble trench, which is basically digging a trench below frost level where you want the foundation to be and filling this with cobbles or rubble. This can be mounded up somewhat to get the building above grade level. Then, depending on the nature of the building itself, you can begin the construction on top of this. Or another simple method is to use earthbags (polypropylene sacks) that can be filled with soil or gravel for a foundation. In fact you can build the whole shed this way. See www.earthbagbuilding.com for more about this...

Q: We have a large family. We need 6 bedrooms and an Office. Have any Earthships been built that large? Is there any reason to think it can't be done. We are planning to build an underground type home in 2009. I like the idea of having indoor gardens and using gray water, well all the energy efficient concepts in the Earthship. Is it possible to have the home built for us here in Oklahoma?

A: (Kelly) The earthship concept is expandable to virtually any size. The traditional earthship is composed of a series of U-shaped rooms, with the top of the U facing south; as many of these can be lined up as you want. It shouldn't be too difficult to have such a home built in Oklahoma.

Q: I am looking into the Earthship for a home. I would also like to build it very large, with extensive green houses to make a living with as a small time vendor of fresh foods. An Eco Farmship. But I want to build it in a place not known for raising beans and corn: Arizona. Any ideas? for the semi retiring?

A: (Kelly) I see no reason why the Earthship concept couldn't be adapted to a huge solar greenhouse, since that is basically what the front is designed for anyway. With more skylights and good ventilation the growing area could be extended as well.

Q: I am a Naval air crewman Medic. I have been deployed for the past 5 years straight. I have seen my share of war and now wish to fall off the grid with my new family. My family's background is construction with a "if you can't build it, we can" kind of attitude. My dream plan is for my house to be built first but then later add houses for my family. I am finishing up my enlistment with roughly 25 grand debt free, so money is an issue for me having a family but there is still in my head no reason I cant do this. My main concern is making it all work as your design shows. In my situation do you think this is do able or should I just save an save up more an more before really going for it ?

A: (Kelly) I would say that if you already  have the land, you can get pretty far into your project for 25 grand. Used tires are free, as are the old pop cans and mud...

Q: I would really like to know what the oldest tire house is and if there has been any testing to see if there are any gases coming off the tires as they get older?

A: Mike Reynolds, the inventor of Earthships, published his first book about them in 1990, so he obviously has been experimenting with the concept of using old tire since at least some time in the 1980's.

According to Mike Shealy, who has a lot of experience building with tires, "The surface of used tires has been subjected to years of exposure to oxygen by high speed rotation in the atmosphere.  This exposure causes a phenomenon called oxidation.  Oxidation 'interlocks' the surface molecules with oxygen and 'out-gassing' (fly-away molecules of synthetic rubber) is considerably limited, if not stopped completely.  It's the new tires that stink/outgas, they just need to “rust” for a while, before they are suitable for use as a building material."

http://www.sisweb.com/referenc/applnote/app-37a.htm  reports on some test done on Volatile Organic Emissions From Automobile Tires. It does seem to be primarily associated with new tires.

And Leonard Jones reports: When a tire bale building is initially enclosed, the tires may be left uncovered for a time. During this period it is possible that occupants may be able to smell the "rubbery" odor of the tires. However, when the walls are completed, they are covered with a 2 - 4 inch thick coating of cement-based plaster. The tires are completely covered and sealed away from the occupied space. It seems very unlikely that any out-gassing would reach the occupied space once the plaster is in place. Any residual odor will slowly but steadily be reduced by continuing ventilation of the enclosed space. This issue has been studied and commented upon extensively by designers, builders, and owners (as well as detractors) of related rammed tire earthship buildings, previously referred to. I have done much reading in this area and I have been unable to find a single case where any human or animal sickness occurred that was attributable to outgassing tires. The use of discarded tires for occupied structures is relatively new compared to other building technologies, and it is possible that long-term problems may arise. However, other outgassing issues inherent in conventional buildings, like the chemicals used in commercial glues, carpets and engineered wood, seem to be at least as serious.

Q: I was wondering if it is the thick walls and the tires that achieve the isolation  and keep a constant temperature, or if you could achieve the same outcome with just a thinner wall in the earth and the south east facing windows?

A: (Kelly) The use of tires is just one way to build a bermed wall; other possibilities include earthbags, stone, concrete, etc. The earthship concept utilizes a large area of soil that is isolated behind the tires to create a Passive Annual Heat Storage area (PAHS), and this same thing can be accomplished with materials other than tires.

Q: Would an Earthship in Louisiana be a crazy idea? I'll soon be building a sanctuary for the blind animals in my rescue org and I'd like to to be as energy-efficient as possible, off-grid if I can do it.

A: (Kelly) Earthships have been built all over the world and in most of the states. In Louisiana you might want to diminish the amount of south-facing windows somewhat to compensate for the generally warmer climate.