/diy/ - Do It Yourself

[Anonymous No.286724]

I have a Plan, a grand plan. A plan I wish to commense soon.

I wish to build an earthship. A home with walls of tires, water collection and 4 times used before returning to the earth. I want my lights to shine because the wind blows and the sun is out. I want the food I eat be sown and grown by my own hands. I want my self in my control and not some one else's that just sends me bills.

Planning on buying 5 acres with my buddy. He's an older man in his 50's, me in my 20. His family owns land out in the country and owns every tool and vehicle needed to reshape the earth into our own personal heaven.

Sadly today I've hit a bump in my plans. Where would one obtain no longer useable tires in the quantity of 500-1000. I know there are laws so that tires are properly recycled, but shouldn't building a home that would last 100+ years count as properly recycling?

[Anonymous No.286725]

why dont you just use rammed earth or compressed earth blocks or adobe or sod or cob or any of the other tried and true building techniques that dont involve loads of pointless trash in the construction?

[Anonymous No.286728]

>>286725
I see the point of ignoring the use of tires, but I love the idea of taking something seen as useless and being.constructive with it. Burning tires or just throwing them out is a total waste, why not build homes instead of piles? Also from what I've gathered the tires actually help with keeping the inside temperature optimal.

[Anonymous No.286730]

>>286724

So you're going to use every tool and vehicle using gas or electricity that was manufactured by someone else.

I understand wanting to live "off of the grid" but thinking that you're going to be self sustaining without outside help or production is simply nuts.

2 people? An older man and a younger man? What are you going to be cooking meth?

You're going to need money, period. You're in 2012 and living like that will only end badly the first time you get any debilitating disease you'll go to a hospital and then all the years you spent out there were for nothing. You can't self sustain like that unless you're ready to die out there in the dark, miserable, "natural world."

<3

[Anonymous No.286731]

>Where would one obtain no longer useable tires in the quantity of 500-1000
Craigslist, Gumtree, or whatever's popular in your country. That's where I'd start.

[Anonymous No.286732]

>>286728
>Burning tires or just throwing them out is a total waste

pretty sure thats not what they do with tires when you recycle them. Its good to set goals for yourself and try to do incredible things but any construction project is full of compromises and, frankly, cut corners. You are going to have to do what works and is pragmatic rather than what is ideologically fulfilling. Which is my nicer was of saying what >>286730 said

[Anonymous No.286752]

>>286732
I see. I realise that corners may need to be cut, but I have the will to make this happen. See, I live and grew up in the u.s. but I'm reaching an age where the stress of daily life seems way overwhelming. It may sound stupid to you, but in my eyes something as simple as drinking a glass of tap water without owing anyone. Every time I turn on a light or a fan it feels like some one is grabbing money out of my pocket and squeezing my balls so I know I'm their bitch. I know the up front cost of sustainable housing is daunting but it seems worth it.

[Anonymous No.286756]

>building a house of vulcanized rubber tires
There are better building materials.

I know its not "green" and "thrice reused" but concrete, good olde concrete.

The rest of your earthship can be green materials but insisting on rubber tires is just silly

[Anonymous No.286758]

>>286728
Tires are already recycled into gym mats and playground rubber chips.

You're not a saint for using rubber tires.

[Dr Faget !YgQRHAJqRA No.286759]

>>286752
I think you're going to face a bit of backlash here, since /diy/ gets so many people with shit ideas of living off the grid on public land / squatting / creating a farm with 0 skills etc that they're kind of sick of it. Honestly unless you really, really want this you will still be connected / dependent in some way. Land taxes, medical bills, poor harvest or w / e, you will need a backup plan (and a hell of a lot more money than you think) . I grew up on a farm and I wouldn't even consider doing this shit unless I had savings of several hundred thousand as a- an emergency fund and b- a source of income (dividends / interest) to pay for the many bills / supplies you can't avoid with even the best intentions.

Scrap tires are very cheap, but you need the source to be local. Used to buy shit useable ones for $20, so totally fucked ones won't be more than a few bucks each ( ~$30 per square meter whole, maybe $2?) Ask around at junkyards, tips, tire supplier etc, won't be hard to find. Just do some research and make sure they don't leach chemicals that cause ass cancer or something. No idea why you want tire when as >>286725 said there are many other methods that are cheap, sustainable and insulate well but w/e.

No idea why I typed this shit, GL with all this anyway

[Anonymous No.286761]

>>286752

They way I look at it, its like the rent vs own dichotomy. Sometimes, depending on your circumstances, its better to rent than own.

Take your tap water issue. If you had a well and pump and all that jazz, yeah, your tap water wouldn't cost you anything per month but would it be worth it and how far would you go for it? If your equipment lasted 30 years would you make your money back vs paying your city however much they charge for water every month? What about filtering? Testing for contamination? What if something breaks? Your on the hook for all that. Heck, you might spend all the money to get it and then find out it tastes like donkey ass or that its so hard it clogs pipes over time.

This applies to everything. With community infrastructure, yeah, you gotta pay the piper but its long term cost and overall quality is extremely competitive in many cases. If you live out in the boondocks on a sizable plot of land you'll probably need your own infrastructure regardless. That shit wont fly in a larger town, let alone a city. Your costs would greatly outweigh the benefits and you'd need to hold down a job just to play your property taxes anyway.

Basically, you really have to weigh your options here. Its nice to try and get out from under the thumb of civilization or have the smallest impact on the earth, etc but it is only feasible is a limited set of circumstances if you live in the first world.

This is why all these survival nuts live in places like Montana and Colorado. The land is cheap, the infrastructure is either terrible or non-existent and there is no one looking over their shoulders making sure they're not dumping their shit in the rivers or burning their garbage in a pile behind the house.

[Anonymous No.286763]

>>286759
I have a full time job 9$ an hour ( not great, I know), which I plan to keep. I have about 3 grand saved to buy the land ( going halvies with the other guy) and plan on clearing the land during fall and winter while I save up more. The true goal of the house is if something in my life goes wrong financially some guy won't come knocking on my door telling me to gtfo out or the power and water go out.

[Anonymous No.286764]

>>286761
I see. And these are all good things to consider . Currently I live in pensacola, voted worst water in America. The land I'm looking at is northwest in the gooch of Alabama. Pretty cheap around there. I want the pride of living in a house I built. I don't want to be told the only way to live is by the system. Derp

[Dr Faget !YgQRHAJqRA No.286767]

>>286763
>$9 an hour
Holy shit this should be illegal. What we're trying to say is that this situation actually makes you more vulnerable- if a water pump breaks, generator fails, you break a bone etc, you are absolutely fucked without someone to bail you out. What kind of timeframe are you planning before you move in?

[Anonymous No.286771]

>>286767
two years, max. This isn't something to be rushed. This spring I will try and start farming on it, however.
It's a lot of work, but I've spent to much of my life on the internet, i need to go outside.

If a pump breaks? i'll fix it.
I don't plan on having a generator (at least i don't think I'll need one)
And I wont break my leg. Negative thoughts produce negative results.
If something happens I'll find a way to deal with it.
An ounce of caution is a pound of prevention.

And no, no one will bail me out. I will be responsible for my own well being.

[Anonymous No.286777]

>thinking you aren't someones bitch when you build a house of tires

Energy providing companies will adjust their prices to make a profit. You consume less energy? The price will go up steadily until the end of time because energy demands are bigger every day.

You think hurr I can get solar panels durr... but the price will go up for everyone making the manufacture expensive making the product expensive.

You can just move to Romania, buy 200 year old eco-hut made out of straw and clay, have your own water well with pure mountain water and be "off-the-grid, independent, system-free" guy and live a happy life. Your 9 dollars is worth a lot there so you will be also rich and wouldn't have to work at all.

OP is a 12 year old.

[Anonymous No.286792]

You really must ask yourself if this older man is expecting sexual favors in exchange for living with him.

And you must consider your own sex life. How do you expect to meet anyone when you are living in the middle of nowhere in a house made out of trash? And even if you did, they almost certainly would not share your lifestyle.

[Anonymous No.286811]

>>286724
>Where would one obtain no longer useable tires in the quantity of 500-1000

in most countries of the european union you have to have permission to store that quantity of tyres as they are a serious fire risk and the fire is hard to extinguish.
I believe the USA also has laws regarding the storage and usage of tyres.
You would need approval from the fire safety regulatory body and several other agencies including environmental health etc.
Tyres are actually an immensely unsafe and damaging product to use as building materials I doubt you will get far with the project

[Anonymous No.286817]

>>286811

Hes doing all this in Alabama. They could give two shits about stuff like this. You could make your house out a dead animal carcases, roof it with asbestos and waterproof it with rocket fuel and they'll give you the thumbs up as long as you promise to love Jesus and have your sister back from make out point before 2am.

[Anonymous No.286955]

>>286817
Op here.
This is very true and I chuckled
>>286811
But it's okay to grind them up and let our kids play on them
>>286792
Farmersonly.com
>city folk just don't get it

[Anonymous No.286956]

Also, half the land will double as my private disc golf course. Ever play? Fun as Fuck

[Anonymous No.286987]

tl;dr entire thread but the idea of using tires is that the builder had access to lots of them. the idea is to reuse shit you have access to. if you have to go out of your way to find and buy a specific thing then the cost/benefits of using that material will quickly fall out of your favor.

it's like trying to build something out of recycled brick in the north west as opposed to recycled wood or something. use something native to where you live and it may not be lots of used tires.

[Anonymous No.286995]

>>286987
Exactly, Ill start looking around for other more available materials.

[Anonymous No.287000]

>>286955
>Farmersonly.com

So, you're basing your entire sexual life on a website that looks like it's straight out of the 90s overrun by males?

If you're a homosexual and into older guys that's your thing, but at least be honest considering you're anonymous here.

[Anonymous No.287011]

>>287000
I was making a joke, sarcasm isn't translated in text.

Right now I'm basically a shut in right now any way. I work, go home, laugh at pictures on 4chan, go to bed, work the next day rinse and repeat.

My current house is right over the airport and next to the interstate so noise is always a problem here. I went to a city meeting to have sound walls installed for the interstate and the best thing I got out of it was lol maybe in 4 years.

I still want to work, ( love my job ) but when I go home I want piece of mind.

[Anonymous No.287027]

Try local auto garages for used tires, most have to pay to get used tires disposed of properly. Not what I would choose to build my house with, but hey whatever floats your boat.

[Anonymous No.287029]

Strongly consider leaving the united states for either Canada or mexico. Property tax will be 1/50, in Mexico, and the.government in general doesn't give a fuck in general. The US is not too good a country for your plan.

[Anonymous No.287909]

Try this OP:

>Go to nigger infested ghetto
>Stop at a tire/rim shop
>Buy all there used up tires for pennies on the dollar
>???????
>PROFIT!


Just do it over and over until you have what you need or you ran out of ghetto tire/rim shop

[Anonymous No.287936]

Hi OP. over here in the UK we have a tv show called Grand Designs (people building crazy eco dream houses). Here's an episode where a couple build a recycled house in Brittanny. It's called a "groundhouse", where the tyres make up half of the building slotted into a hillside to conserve heat. google 'grand designs groundhouse brittanny'.

the main problem they ran into was that the tyre wall needed to be packed with earth. every.single.tyre was packed, by hand, with dirt. they finished the inside wall of the house with some sort of hippy/ medieval mud cladding.

short youtube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tFJa2aHgN4

[Anonymous No.287946]

OP, don't forget to build a rocket stove in your earthship. Good luck with your ideas.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocket_stove

[Anonymous No.287956]

I predict this ending with OP chained up in an underground mud cellar and being fed on roadkill and the remains of hikers the other guy catches.

[Anonymous No.287957]

>>287936
That is an Earthship. The tires must have earth rammed into them and it is called rammed earth. You have to use a sledge hammer to do it properly. Shit sucks if you ask me.

The cladding inside is a typical earthen plaster, fyi

[Anonymous No.287962]

>>286724
I have an aunt and uncle that did this.
To get the tires, just go to the tire stores around town once a week and ask to see the tires that they are throwing away. They have to pay someone to dispose of them so you coming and taking they for free is a win/win. Just keep in mind some places will say no. and don't forget to go scrounge at junk yards. Also you might need a permit to pick up the tires from the stores. I know my uncle had to get a permit from the state (georgiafag).

>>286730
There are some organizations out there that will help you build these things for the cost of food pretty much. My uncle had like 20 ppl helping him build this last summer and near as i could tell all he had to do was feed them. Not cheep, but still...