In 1995, 26-year old Christina Sporrong
moved from Seattle to Taos, New Mexico in search of
sunny weather. Having experience in residential
construction, Christina went to work for local
architect and builder Mike Reynolds.
Earthships
Mike
Reynolds’ buildings, known as Earthships, use
earth-filled tires for the exterior walls and
mortar-encased pop cans and glass bottles for
interior walls. The tire walls are built into
U-shaped rooms with the open side facing south. The
walls are earth-sheltered, which helps maintain a
constant temperature in both winter and summer.
The south
side of the Earthship has large plate-glass windows
set over indoor gardens, creating a greenhouse.
Winter sunlight warms the tire walls and earthen
floor which then release the warmth during the night.
This is the essence of passive solar building.
Reynolds has
developed a model for shelter that approaches
sustainability on every level. Not only are the walls
made of recycled materials, but every internal system
(heating and cooling, water and wastewater, power and
waste disposal) has been designed to use resources
wisely and to work as part of an integrated whole.
For example, rainwater harvested from the roof is
used for cleaning and bathing and is then channeled
to planters inside and out. A solar toilet, which
combines the principles of a composting toilet and a
solar oven, reduces human waste to a handful of ash
that can be used as compost.
When hearing
about tire walls and below-ground U-shaped rooms,
perhaps you envision a dark, cave-like structure.
Quite the contrary, Earthships are spacious and
light-filled, and the combination of plants, tile
counters and earthen floors makes these dwellings
warm, inviting, and even luxurious. My aunt Zena
lives in an Earthship and says that the shape and
feel of her home leave her feeling
“embraced.”
Christina’s
House
Working on
Earthships was an education for Christina. “It
inspired me to build my own house and showed me that
I could do it alternatively, cheaply and on my own.
Mike gave me the tools to do that.”
At a land
auction in 1996 Christina purchased a quarter-acre of
sagebrush-covered mesa for $500, and set about
designing a house that she could build in one summer
with the help of friends.
The house
design took shape in two sections: one a below-ground
living and sleeping area and the other a ground level
entry and kitchen with steps leading down to the
Earthship room. Christina read up on straw-bale
construction, visited local straw-bale homes, and
decided to build with bales for her ground level
room. She also decided to use a post and beam support
for the roof instead of load bearing straw-bale
walls.
Christina
stopped working construction and picked up a job as a
cocktail waitress so that she could build during the
day and still earn money at night. In early spring,
she went and staked out the area where her house
would go.
The next step
was to get tires from a local landfill and set them
around the perimeter of her house-to-be. At this
point Christina’s life took on a rhythm that
would last through the summer: work in the evenings
to afford materials for the next part of the project,
and work during the day digging out the Earthship
floor and building courses of tire walls. Each wall
tire had to be filled with earth and then tamped down
with a sledgehammer. “It took about a half-hour
to pound each tire. I could only do about 7-10 tires
a day before I went to work—it was totally labor
intensive. Even though this is a small Earthship, it
still took over 100 tires, and that took a few months
to build.”
The first
major project was concrete footings for the
straw-bale walls. Christina built the forms and then
called friends to help pour eight yards of concrete
in one day. A month later she gathered materials for
the post and beam framework, including posts recycled
from an old feed store. Again she called together a
crew and they put up the posts and beams. Next were
the trusses and roof. Christina used Propanels,
corrugated steel roofing with a baked-on ceramic
coating which allows for safe rainwater catchment.
Now it was
time for the walls to go up. Christina purchased
bales from a feed store. “A few were rotten and
I had to buy some more. You only want to buy the
bales when you’re ready to put them up, so you
don’t risk getting moisture on them.”
The straw
bales were stacked in offset rows, like giant bricks,
inside the post and beam framework. Rebar was driven
top-down through the bales with a sledgehammer, and
the walls were covered with chicken wire. “If I
had it to do again,” says Christina, “I
would measure each bale prior to building, and then
stack them in such a way that I wouldn’t have to
cut any bales. I would also use a weed whacker to
clean up the walls before plastering. My bales were
so uneven that, after the initial plastering, my
place looked like a Smurf house. I had to use extra
coats of plaster to even it out.”
Finally the
windows went in and Christina had a home.
“I’ve taken my time on the finishing
touches”, says Christina, “like
weather-stripping around the windows, insulating the
ceiling and putting color on the walls.”
Building
Your Own Home
“Alternative
construction may be way more labor intensive,”
says Christina, “but it’s worth it. It
baffles me that people would choose to do traditional
frame building, which is so unfriendly to the
environment. Sustainable building expresses a
different set of values, using materials that at some
level are friendly to the environment.”
Both of
Christina’s choices, recycled tires and straw
bales, were environmentally sustainable. Straw is
plentiful and is a waste product often burned in the
fields rather than being harvested. The authors of Build
It With Bales offer the following eye-opening
perspective: “Using only one quarter of the
straw available each year in North America, we could
build over 3 million houses having an interior square
footage of 1500 square feet.”
If
you’re planning to build a sustainable shelter,
you’ll want to learn about different methods
[see articles and resources thorughout this special
issue]. Consider taking a workshop, or helping with a
building project.
Once you
begin designing your place, you may want to build a
model or draw a floor plan. “The very first
thing I did,” Christina remembers, “was to
build a miniature model of my design—it was a
winter project. I remember using charcoal briquettes
for the tires, and tying straw into tiny straw bales.
I needed to build the model to visualize what I would
be creating.”
It’s a
good idea to check out your plans with a
professional. An architect friend gave Christina
input. “He said my design needed more
windows,” she remembers, “and had me change
some things to make it more structurally sound.
Be sure to
think through all the systems-not just the outer
walls. Incorporate earth-friendly alternatives
wherever you can (e.g., passive solar heating, solar
power, greywater systems, etc .
The Earthship
is the most labor intensive of the sustainable
building methods. Christina managed to finish hers
because she kept it small, and her design simple. By
designing small you will simplify your building
process and may find your life “lightened”
as well.
“Building
the house”, says Christina, “was like
running my own construction job. Each day I’d
start my morning by looking at what I had to do the
following day and making a list (of people to have
work with me, how many bags of cement to pick up,
etc). Then I’d set about doing what I had
planned (the day before) to accomplish that day.
Budgeting
money and time is a challenge. It’s easy to get
caught up in details and fall behind on the basics.
“Remember that,” as Christina points out,
“once you are in your house, you can do the
smaller projects on your own schedule. I built a
stovepipe into my wall, and built the fireplace
later. The trick is to realize what you can do with
the resources you have so you don’t wind up with
an enchanting house but no financing for the roof.
I’ve seen that happen.” Christina also
warns against buying all the materials in advance.
“On my house there was no waste of materials,
because I purchased as I went. I’ve seen people
buy all their materials at the beginning and then not
use half of them or have them get ruined.”
Finally, use
the people resources all around you — to get
ongoing advice, to help with building, or for
professional input. You might want to hire someone
with experience to help with part of the project.
Whatever you decide, follow Christina’s example:
“I asked many questions. I had to understand
everything before I did it, and I picked up lots of
tricks from others (like things to do so you
don’t have leaks in your roof).
It takes
enormous commitment to build a home. And, says
Christina, “determination, pride, a strong ego,
and craving a home space.” The focus this kind
of project takes is amazing. “I pretty much
lived the house for an entire year. I was completely
obsessed. I dreamt about it at night, then would wake
up and make changes. It was a test of mettle, for
sure, and it definitely made me stronger.”
Designing and
building a sustainable shelter for yourself is one of
life’s unforgettable journeys. In the end, the
experience of building and the friendships that
happen in the process may well be as important as the
home you create. As Christina says, “Everyone is
going to learn in their own way; everyone will
approach building a house differently. The only
guarantee is that there will be hard times, and there
will be beautiful times and, in the end, it will
change your life. I mean, what an achievement, to
build your own house!”
Becky Kemery is a carpenter, cook and
freelance writer focusing on sustainable building.
She currently is in the mountains of north Idaho
working on a book about yurts. If you have
interesting yurt stories or pictures, please send
them to beckykemery@hotmail.com.
