Earthships
January 1, 2025 6:38 AM Subscribe
I love earthships. I lived in Taos for some years and considered living in one but I couldn't get over the tire issues.
posted by falsedmitri at 8:59 AM on January 1 [4 favorites]
posted by falsedmitri at 8:59 AM on January 1 [4 favorites]
Something newish on the self-build scene that also gets creatively curvy and solid is earth-bag construction. But like earthship and adobe the labor is a large input. Straw bales are faster but requires more framing.
posted by Brian B. at 8:59 AM on January 1 [2 favorites]
posted by Brian B. at 8:59 AM on January 1 [2 favorites]
Kaki Hunter of Porky’s fame is into the earthbag scene.
posted by Lemkin at 9:22 AM on January 1 [2 favorites]
posted by Lemkin at 9:22 AM on January 1 [2 favorites]
My college roommate wanted to do things with tires on his property. He turned into MAGA, so haven't talked to him in years. But his idea was pretty much shut down by the state.
posted by Windopaene at 9:37 AM on January 1 [2 favorites]
posted by Windopaene at 9:37 AM on January 1 [2 favorites]
"Each Earthship is outfitted with one or two greenhouses that grow crops year-round, no matter the climate. This means you can feed yourself with only the plants growing inside of your house."This seems rather implausible, to put it mildly.
posted by automatronic at 10:35 AM on January 1 [8 favorites]
As a new first time homeowner (technically condo, but one of a few units in a huge century-old multi-family) I’ve spent a lot of the past couple weeks up in an ancient attic of horrors with a full faceplate gas mask (asthma), monkeysuit + nitrile gloves (fiberglass and probably asbestos), shop vac, and rolls of insulation cleaning up after a 90% completed gut and rebuild that never got a real cleanup pass after the new HVAC and recessed ceiling lights went in.
I’ve been learning a lot the past couple weeks: drywall repair, botched HVAC duct reinstallation, appliance reinstallation, wall vs ceiling insulation, moisture control and vapor barriers, structural loads on the different types of joists. To my extremely inexpert and untrained eye these plans look like unsustainable flooding/moisture/vapor disasters for the long term. If I have one takeaway from the past two weeks it’s that there is always, always a good reason for modern western residential building codes if you really drill down far enough, and it usually has a lot to do with mold, mildew, pests, or frozen pipes.
It’s like the “all regulations are written in blood” truism but instead of blood it’s $100K home maintenance disasters. Show me one of these after fifty years with an even mix of careful and completely negligent maintenance, then we’ll talk.
posted by Ryvar at 10:51 AM on January 1 [5 favorites]
I’ve been learning a lot the past couple weeks: drywall repair, botched HVAC duct reinstallation, appliance reinstallation, wall vs ceiling insulation, moisture control and vapor barriers, structural loads on the different types of joists. To my extremely inexpert and untrained eye these plans look like unsustainable flooding/moisture/vapor disasters for the long term. If I have one takeaway from the past two weeks it’s that there is always, always a good reason for modern western residential building codes if you really drill down far enough, and it usually has a lot to do with mold, mildew, pests, or frozen pipes.
It’s like the “all regulations are written in blood” truism but instead of blood it’s $100K home maintenance disasters. Show me one of these after fifty years with an even mix of careful and completely negligent maintenance, then we’ll talk.
posted by Ryvar at 10:51 AM on January 1 [5 favorites]
Ryvar, there are actually many of these houses that beat the 50-year mark! I would note that many of them are in the southwest where approaches to waterproofing and moisture control may be different than where you live.
The current air-barrier based idea of enclosure (which, for the record, is extremely well proven) is a relatively modern idea as previously you could not achieve the necessary tightness of construction. Of the other methods, mass construction like earthships use a fundamentally different model of vapor migration, where the construction actually absorbs and releases moisture depending on ambient conditions. Masonry, adobe, and mass timber all have a proven record of providing save and comfortable structures provided they’re properly designed for the climate they are in.
You don’t see a lot of mass construction in cold and wet climate zones. But if you’re interested in designing for climate, check out passive house construction, which originated in Germany and Switzerland and works well in similar climates.
posted by q*ben at 11:18 AM on January 1 [7 favorites]
The current air-barrier based idea of enclosure (which, for the record, is extremely well proven) is a relatively modern idea as previously you could not achieve the necessary tightness of construction. Of the other methods, mass construction like earthships use a fundamentally different model of vapor migration, where the construction actually absorbs and releases moisture depending on ambient conditions. Masonry, adobe, and mass timber all have a proven record of providing save and comfortable structures provided they’re properly designed for the climate they are in.
You don’t see a lot of mass construction in cold and wet climate zones. But if you’re interested in designing for climate, check out passive house construction, which originated in Germany and Switzerland and works well in similar climates.
posted by q*ben at 11:18 AM on January 1 [7 favorites]
Obligatory Cy Porter plug. This guy is literally at war with large home builders in Arizona, some of them major corporations. His new build inspections on social media are shocking, as if builders are seeing what they can get away with.
posted by Brian B. at 11:21 AM on January 1 [4 favorites]
posted by Brian B. at 11:21 AM on January 1 [4 favorites]
Most of these links are trash. Anytime you see angled insulated windows, condensation pools at the lower lip, and accelerates failure of the seals. And in most environments, you have oversubscribed to daily sun, and are going to cook the inside. Most homes built like this will have shades installed by the owners, when a vertical row of windows with the right roof overhang will provide the right ratio relative to the latitude and time of year.
I took a class on solar design in the late 90’s at CU Boulder. One part of the class was going around town looking at numerous failed examples that had been built and not maintained.
Passive solar design is achievable, reliable, and maintainable, but it does not and should not look so exotic. Look up the books of Jan Kreider if you want to see the simple rules of success.
posted by nickggully at 11:23 AM on January 1 [7 favorites]
I took a class on solar design in the late 90’s at CU Boulder. One part of the class was going around town looking at numerous failed examples that had been built and not maintained.
Passive solar design is achievable, reliable, and maintainable, but it does not and should not look so exotic. Look up the books of Jan Kreider if you want to see the simple rules of success.
posted by nickggully at 11:23 AM on January 1 [7 favorites]
Most of these links are trash.
Tough crowd.
My main reservation (besides the fact that I like having Developed World amounts of electricity ) is that rooms should ideally have light from two sides.
posted by Lemkin at 11:41 AM on January 1
Tough crowd.
My main reservation (besides the fact that I like having Developed World amounts of electricity ) is that rooms should ideally have light from two sides.
posted by Lemkin at 11:41 AM on January 1
We’re constructing an earth bag (gravel fill) meditation hut in our backyard. It is really labour intensive even with keen young men helping. Hopefully next year we’ll finish the structure and get the cob (plaster) on.
Not sure it would work for a place to live (i.e. with heating and cooling and all that) but we wanted to try it and keep an eye on it before we think about tackling a whole house (probably more along passive house models.)
I liked the links.
posted by warriorqueen at 11:57 AM on January 1 [5 favorites]
Not sure it would work for a place to live (i.e. with heating and cooling and all that) but we wanted to try it and keep an eye on it before we think about tackling a whole house (probably more along passive house models.)
I liked the links.
posted by warriorqueen at 11:57 AM on January 1 [5 favorites]
Love Cy Porter! Had a new build by Taylor Morrison as our first home. During construction, our 3rd party inspector found a doorway instead of a wall, half-sawed support beams, and many other issues. Builders truly don't care unless you force them to.
posted by lock robster at 12:35 PM on January 1 [3 favorites]
posted by lock robster at 12:35 PM on January 1 [3 favorites]
Builders truly don't care unless you force them to.
Yes, and finding the wrong wiring going to a utility room and leaking showers or a dozen dead outlets, for example, usually implies that much more is bad under the surface.
posted by Brian B. at 1:16 PM on January 1 [3 favorites]
Yes, and finding the wrong wiring going to a utility room and leaking showers or a dozen dead outlets, for example, usually implies that much more is bad under the surface.
posted by Brian B. at 1:16 PM on January 1 [3 favorites]
Funny having this conversation right after the building code one… also funny how many of these (extremely entertaining) inspector accounts are from states with mild climates and an allergy to regulation.
posted by q*ben at 1:28 PM on January 1 [3 favorites]
posted by q*ben at 1:28 PM on January 1 [3 favorites]
I'll get to the "how can a greenhouse feed you" at the end.
II give these folks a lot of credit for trying and often succeeding. Most home constructions goal is "resale value steroidal victorian cottage that is bad for occupants and planet". The approaches that try to break from that, more power to you.
I choose cold wet places with seismic and fire hazards so cord-wood, straw bale and even cob are poor fits (even with good hat and boots).
Almost none of what industry builds is fit for purpose, and not ready for climate disasters etc. Earth-bermed above ground masonry domes are probably the best approach to building something that those who survive us can use, and the make very good habitst refuges or barns of last resort.
I agree, people build solar ovens because they want views not function.
posted by No Climate - No Food, No Food - No Future. at 6:04 PM on January 1 [2 favorites]
II give these folks a lot of credit for trying and often succeeding. Most home constructions goal is "resale value steroidal victorian cottage that is bad for occupants and planet". The approaches that try to break from that, more power to you.
I choose cold wet places with seismic and fire hazards so cord-wood, straw bale and even cob are poor fits (even with good hat and boots).
Almost none of what industry builds is fit for purpose, and not ready for climate disasters etc. Earth-bermed above ground masonry domes are probably the best approach to building something that those who survive us can use, and the make very good habitst refuges or barns of last resort.
I agree, people build solar ovens because they want views not function.
posted by No Climate - No Food, No Food - No Future. at 6:04 PM on January 1 [2 favorites]
Greenhouses: Generally a nuisance, however.
you need 8,000 sqft to feed one physically active adult person (100kg) a nutritionally complete diet (sans vit D and B12) based on temperate, 1 grow season. If you have a 12ft tall green house, for shelving 3 layers tall, and 2ft isles with 4ft shelves (so 2/3 floor utilization you can get that to 4,000 square feet. 2 crops a year, 2,000 square feet. 3 crops at 120 with either low latitude or supplemental lighting, ....
But greenhouse year-round in any climate is nonsense. Greenhouses love to overheat and then freeze, they also like to get moldy, and if you aren't transplanting starts but doing a full indoor grow, you are going to either do a lot of plant management or trouble shoot and repair all the equipment that manages to plants. Greenhouses are not set-it and forget it.
Besides, the potato-sunflower-brassica-berry diet means uf any one of those fail, you are SOL. Diversyfing off those means more space needed.
posted by No Climate - No Food, No Food - No Future. at 6:15 PM on January 1 [4 favorites]
you need 8,000 sqft to feed one physically active adult person (100kg) a nutritionally complete diet (sans vit D and B12) based on temperate, 1 grow season. If you have a 12ft tall green house, for shelving 3 layers tall, and 2ft isles with 4ft shelves (so 2/3 floor utilization you can get that to 4,000 square feet. 2 crops a year, 2,000 square feet. 3 crops at 120 with either low latitude or supplemental lighting, ....
But greenhouse year-round in any climate is nonsense. Greenhouses love to overheat and then freeze, they also like to get moldy, and if you aren't transplanting starts but doing a full indoor grow, you are going to either do a lot of plant management or trouble shoot and repair all the equipment that manages to plants. Greenhouses are not set-it and forget it.
Besides, the potato-sunflower-brassica-berry diet means uf any one of those fail, you are SOL. Diversyfing off those means more space needed.
posted by No Climate - No Food, No Food - No Future. at 6:15 PM on January 1 [4 favorites]
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Alas, I am a firmly established city person. The idea of living more than a block away from businesses and strangers getting up to ridiculousness does not sit right with me fundamentally. Otherwise I’d be out in the hills digging and mixing up cob. Oh who am I kidding - I’d pay other people to do that part and hop in when it came to stained glass and wall murals. Earthships make me really happy and I hope they keep getting iterated upon and lived in for a long time.
posted by Mizu at 7:34 AM on January 1 [8 favorites]