Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Update

It has been a while since I posted a message… have not had time for blogs.

Why busy? Here's what I've been up to.


Visit to The Castle Compound;

The Castle is built mainly with beer cans with only 5 layers (courses) of tyres on the bottom. It is three floors with a spiral staircase in the middle. It is one of the most amazing spaces I've been in. Originally it was a vertical axis wind turbine but now that has been decomissioned (although it worked well in its time). The Castle used to be the Earthship Biotecture office.


There is also another, smaller, Turbine building next to the Castle.


They were build way back in the 80s I think and were the precursors to Earthships. I was lucky enough to stay the night at The Castle after some overindulgence at the Sushi bar.


I went on a road trip with one of the interns, Wes who is from California. We rented a car and went to Chaco Canyon where we saw some ancient structures built about 1000 years ago. The Great Kiva has been ingeniously constructed to enable the occupants to track the seasons, summer/winter solstice, and, even the lunar calendar is accounted for. Amazing that they could do this all those years ago.


Next stop was Pagosa Springs where we paid $20 to relax in the hot springs which are heated with geothermal energy. Very nice. Lots of different pools with varying temperatures to suit your thermostat. Also a river going past with colder water for those who like a cold plunge (Wes liked this but too cold for me). Here is a picture of the river near our campsite. People were fly fishing in this river. We saw them catch a few trout.


Finally we went to some huge Sand Dunes at the base of a mountain range in southern Colorado. We hiked for 45 mins to the nearest peak, had a look around and then ran down the dunes in about 20 mins. Fun! Then back to Taos via the scenic route. 2 nights of camping was great and Wes was a good driver. I'm too chicken to drive (on the wrong side of the road). Here is a pic of me and Wes halfway up the sand dune.


I have finished my stay at REACH (up on the side of a mountain). This is one of the planters (which treats grey water) at REACH.



and am now staying in a half completed earthship at the Greater World community (pic below). Fridge and stove are now working but have to go next door for toilet, shower, washing dishes, email. The house is owned by Phil and Sarah who have been kind enough to let me crash there. Phil is one of the foreman.



I'm pretty much convinced now that Earthships are a brilliant invention and I'm planning to do all that I can to encourage others to give it a go. Will need some adaptation for Australian conditions however but I have been asking the crew about how to overcome the various challenges that we face in Australia such as increased rainfall (e.g. how to water proof tyre walls). Will also be asking Mike (the guru) about such things at the concluding seminar this weekend. Anyone got any questions for Mike?


From right, Mike, Phil, Jeff, Seth and Heather getting into beer o'clock at The Corner Cottage, an almost complete Earthship that is up for sale. Often Mike comes to the job site in the morning to discuss any issues and then he is back to the office to do design drawings, or off to some far flung part of the planet to discuss opportunities to build earthships. I'm amazed at the way the crew gets flown all over the world to build these things.




Seth and Phil (right)


Ted, another one of the original Greater World pioneers.


It has been great fun working with the crew and I've definitely learned a lot about building with tyres (and building in general). They are some pretty "colourfull" characters with a different perspective on life.



Next, I'm off to The Farm in Tennessee. Then home - at last. Missing the family.

3 comments:

Zoe Freney said...

Missing you too... and looking forward to cashing in those brownie points!! xxx Z

A Trip to the Tip said...

I'm very interested in earthship construction ..I live in australia, in NSW ,so would be interested in the problems of building earthships here, also I think I'm too old to do much of the work myself so any information on construction companys here in NSW would be handy.

Martin Freney said...

De-arne, I think you will face some problems as you will be something of a pioneer in NSW. The main issues as I see them are;
1. The grey water system i.e. the "planter" will probably infringe NSW waste water treatment regulations. Generally such a system (which is basically a "reed bed") needs to be positioned away from the house- not within it! This can be overcome cunningly by installing diverter valves that enable you to choose whether or not you wish to send water through the indoor planter or off to the septic system where it would normally go.
2. If you are in suburbia there is likely to be some objections about the look of your earthship, although to a certain degree the look of them can be "normalised" by a different design approach that will retain their functionality but make their appearance more acceptable. If you are on a bush block(?) then this shouldn't be a problem.
3. You will need a structural engineer who is committed to this as one of the key features of an earthship is the absence of a footing - as the tyre walls simply don't need them. If you want to overcome this you can simply cave in and build expensive steel reinforced footings (that you don't need).
4. There might be objections about the large amount of glass on the north facade of the house. Some energy rating systems for houses don't like this approach even though it is a well known passive solar design principal. (Note in NSW conditions it is likely that a vertical glass facade with a shading element will be appropriate, rather than the angled, unshaded facades of Taos, New Mexico.) If you explained to your local council that you are attempting to build a zero emissions house then maybe they'll be more accommodating.
5. Termites are not a problem in Taos, but of course they are here. This needs to be addressed, e.g. by use of a steel roof structure as the earthberming of earthships is a potential weak point which will assist termites with getting into the structure. This is not a major problem but just needs some thought.
6. You will struggle to find anyone with any experience this type of construction method. That said, the procedures are well documented in Michael Reynolds' numerous books so potentially any builder equipped with these books would have a good chance of success.
It would be great if you decide to give it a go.
I would like to help you in anyway I can for example by drawing up some plans and even with building. Perhaps get in touch via email: martin.freney@internode.on.net
All the best,
Cheers,
Marty