earthship?
@xmichelletarax (370)
United States
June 25, 2012 11:41am CST
have you ever heard of an earthship?
i find them extremely neat and would love to build one. they are built using recycled materials (ie. used tires, cans, glass bottles ect)
my fiance is currently building one for a man in ny. you can do so many diffrent things with them, build them above or below ground and they are completely self sustainable.
is this something you would be interested in doing for yourself? you can find pictures on google if you type in earthship
2 people like this
3 responses
@SomeCowgirl (32191)
• United States
25 Jun 12
I've seen things like those before. Made out of the earth, also made out of plastic bottles, but actual homes that one could reside in. I think these types of things are interesting, and i would consider living in one provided I could make one big enough to sustain myself in.
I've also looked at "tiny houses" these are very little spaces where one could live, but it's cutting out a lot of things, you save loads of money living in them though.
@xmichelletarax (370)
• United States
25 Jun 12
oh yes it would have to be quite large but i love the idea. i have never heard of tiny houses... i dont know how i could do that but if i ever had to i would :)
@suzzy3 (8341)
•
25 Jun 12
We holiday in a caravan.It is alright to live in a small place for a while ,but we have to put the bed away and turn the space into a lounge ,then dining room takes a bit more effort.Everything has to be put away or it gets impossible to manage life in.The kitchen oven fridge are so small but we do have a microwave.We have central heating and blinds and sunshades and insect blinds on the windows.It is very comfortable but live in a small place like that full time would be very difficult.After about three weeks I love coming home to my house.Washing clothes is impossible as the sink is far to small.So it is off the launderette.Plus we could manage in the toilet shower if we were plumbed in as we would always be fetching water in the barrel.I suppose it could be done.Then we have to take our waste water away as well.We have a shower and toilet block where we go.They do say it is the way to go.Make room in a small space for living full time.
@xmichelletarax (370)
• United States
25 Jun 12
for about a week i stayed in the back of a pickup truck.... thats why i say i dont think i could ever do anything tiny. it fit my bed in the back and a tiny table but it worked for my fiance and our dog for a few days, could never do it full time. as for cooking we built a small fire pit, water came from the stream and we had to walk out into the woods to go to the bathroom (soooo not my idea of a good time lol) i had to bathe in a creek and honestly i never wanna do it again, its all fine and dandy for a night but anything more then that i wanna go home and take a shower in a REAL shower lol
@PageTurner (2825)
• United States
25 Jun 12
Hello xmichelletarax
I love earthships. I have all the books I can find on earthships, and had planned for years to build an earthship on my farm. I had been collecting the materials for some years.
Alas, I no longer live on the farm, so the earthship will probably never materialize.
Did your fiance' design the earthship that he is building for the man in NY?
Peace
I love the world!! 
@xmichelletarax (370)
• United States
25 Jun 12
i have been collecting too for the past few months. i love the idea and have been reading up on it quite a bit as well.
i really hope that someday you will be able to build yours.
no he didnt design it, he is just doing the labor. but it is good practice for when/if we do ours
1 person likes this
@PageTurner (2825)
• United States
25 Jun 12
Yes, it will be great practice. He'll learn a lot from that experience.
When I built my more conventional unconventional house, I first helped to build a friend's house so that I could learn / practice for my own.
Peace
@suzzy3 (8341)
•
25 Jun 12
What a marvellous idea .I have never heard of this before.I don't suppose any body in the uk would be able to build one as our planning laws are so difficult to get around.We do have eco houses built with straw and waste paper for insulation,plastic roof tiles made to look like real tiles.The idea is you only ever put them on once so your roof will last forever and not have to be replaced every forty years.They also have water collection and reycleyed.Some are built to suit the area they are built in.They are really expensive to build and not many of us could afford to build one.From what I can gather they are built into hillsides,underground,surface as well.They can also have solar panels ,so you don't get much of an electric bill then if you have spare electric generated you can sell it back to the national grid.You can buy kitchen work surfaces and basin,baths,toilets ect made from recyeled glass so it is happening here as well to a certain degree.Everything you need the special heat glass,solar panels ect are so expensive not many of us would afford to build an eco house for a good few years yet.
@xmichelletarax (370)
• United States
25 Jun 12
it can add up to be quite expensive if you go all out.
you can build them out of tires that no one wants and get 99% of the tires for free along with peoples old cans and bottles.
if you build them into a hillside so it is partially underground and have large windows on the one side you dont have to pay for heating. underground it stays 55-60 degrees all year round and with windows on the one side or even on two (east and west) you can get the heat from the sun. the trick is to build it so that gravity moves the water through the house and you dont have to buy or run a pump to move it, you can also collect the rain water in large jugs and use that,
most people like the guy my fiance is working for do it to be COMPLETELY off the grid (ie. no running water, no electric, ect)
i would however need to install solar panels for lights. lol
im not sure how you get it past the state and their laws but it is possible and people have been doing it more and more.
