I used to test soil compaction on construction sites. And before that I was doing the actual construction and in an area just like this. Y'all could work more efficiently if the dirt had moisture worked in. It would compact better and take less effort. And as the inspections get more strict over the years they are eventually going to make you do it anyway so you really ought to consider this. You may not notice the first day but if you have a hoe or mini-ex to work water into the soil in a prep area or have one guy on a hose spraying over four guys on the tires it will get more compacted in less time with less effort. BTW I really love what y'all are doing out there. Keep up the good work.
rudy adair It's hard to say for sure. The air gaps that you may get from the soil not filling in around the angular chunks of block may reduce the density more than the chunks themselves. That is why is is so important to use water. It is literally a lubricant that allows the particles to move into the gaps. If you break them down to marble size I would not think it would be problem. There is a measurement called a proctor that you can do if you want to get really accurate. You may want to look it up as I'm not sure I remember the exact procedure but the idea is to get a measurement of lbs. per cubic Ft. The following should be close enough to get you within reasonable accuracy. It's a pain in the ass but there is no other way I know of... 1. Get a steal cylinder with a known volume.(maybe 3 inch diameter and 4 inches high.) 2. Get your sample of your cinder block mix and a sample of what you want to compare it to. 3. Then you need what amounts to a slide hammer with a weight on it that will compact the dirt into the cylinder. 4. Over fill the cylinder with one of the samples and drop the weight on it an exact number of times, from a specific height every time. ...say 15 times or whatever it takes to pack the shit out if it...within reason. If the cylinder is not flush with dirt, keep filling and repeat. 5. Once the cylinder is full and compacted, cut the dirt off flush, then dig the dirt out and weigh all of it. 6. Then take it off the scale, add a little water but keep track of the amount and repeat all these steps until you see a drop in the weight.(A little more soil should be required each time if you are doing it right but not as much when you are close to completion.) Once you see a drop in the wieght this means that the last or highest measurement is the maximum soil density and approximate water content to get that density for that sample. If you don't have a scale that measures in grams or better then you will need a large cylinder to compensate. you should be able to do your two samples in under tree hours. Now... Don't even ask me how to tell how close you are in the final project if you don't have access to a nuclear density gauge. you don't want to know! Just take what you learned from the proctor and guesstimate. I hope that helps.
Exactly my thought when I saw what happens to beating on dry dirt. It's like a never ending compaction process. Also. I have a few Ponds and if you mixed dry clay in that tires with dirt , then spray with water , watch what happens. Time is drastically cut down on filling tires. Experiment and try dry clay mixed with dry dirt and see for yourself. Peace
I was wondering about mixing sand, aggregate and water into a not quite as wet concrete-like mixture and just pouring it in. You would have to allow some drying time I imagine but you would get a single course done much faster. Possibly drilling some holes in the tires to allow it to breath? I'm gonna mess around with that. Where I live I get paid $1.25 per tire that I take from the recycling center.
Built a barn with tires. No pounding. I filled thetire walls with large rock to prevent compression then put very large rock in and buried it with dirt mixed with small stones. These wall have been up 11years. I also leveled the line where tbe tires go. My next project , I will did down about three in. and then fill. 8-10 inches is actually best. Here its extremely rocky (monster rocks) . Hope this helps someone. Enjoy!
@@rinchhensherpa6972 I am looking at using a pressure washer .. move a lot of dirt with as little water as possible. But yes... water will settle the dirt naturally.
I'm thinking about building my first home. I just to tell you thank you for showing us how to get this done. Please keep it up. Please post as many videos as you can to help those less fortunate who want to do it themselves. Thanks, really appreciated.
I will be doing this. I'm disable due to Parkinson. I started living not completely of the grid but cut my expenses from $1,000 down to $300.00 per month. I grow 80% of my own food. I will like to build 2 of these one for a underground green house another for a 2nd bug out location on my farm. It will take me a while but I thank that I can do it.
Just beginning my tire wall extension to my off grid house went to the local garbage tip and they said they have to pay to have them shredded so I could have as many as I wanted,am using dirt from my opal mine good texture and adding a few handfuls of cement into a dry dirt mix with just a little water,find it easier to completely fill the tire walls when pounding.Three walls one back over 54ft and two side walls 15ft each and nine feet high.Rafters and joists will be from cyprus pine which grows around this area and costs only my time and a chainsaw to get,then corrugated iron roof guttered to collect rainwater to two 20gallon catchment tanks.Job started one month ago completion date 6 months.Cost in total only the corrugated iron roofing, guttering and downpipes approx $500.Using only my own labor so the project though labor intensive is more than affordable and when the project is finished I can look at it and know it was worth the hours I will put in.
Ya if you really wanted to do it and make a couple bucks you could ask some local tire shops what they pay to have them hauled off and beat it it's a win for everyone they spend less and you make a little because you are going to be working your ass off
I love earthships, but they are so labor intensive. I get a heat induced migraine just watching this video. If I won the lottery, this is the type of home I would have and could afford to pay someone to build it.
Thanks! I got them all from local tire shoes in Taos, NM. Pretty much any tire shop is happy to give away tires because it saves them the money to dispose of them.
Hi, that video was awesome! Thank heaps. We are literally 2 weeks away from having our own Earthship build approved and your videos have been really helpful, I can't wait to get starred on it all.
2words also ..zero money lol. these guys inspired me to get of my backside and get going. im 50 yr old one woman army doing a wall so I can get my horses on my land before I build a house. I have no electric, water on site, but i'll get there..eventually.(moaning about time, coz I'm not getting younger)
Excellent step by step video. First one I've seen showing that level of detailed information. Thanks for sharing every tip one needs to know about building the tire wall.
True it takes more time but you are building a solid structure, a wall over two feet thick with free materials that are also helping to reduce landfill waste. That looks like a couple tons of tires; imagine how many tires would be put to good use building just 100 of these homes.
Tires do not end up on landfills they all go to recycling centers You get fined trying to throw them away and the landfills and dumps get fined if they are caught with them during inspections.
why don't you use water to compact the dirt naturally, instead of pounding dry dirt into the tire? i know once it's dry the mud will shrink, but just add more dirt afterwards. then continue the next layer. seems like it would be a lot less work. more time, but less labor. ???
A pro construction person recommends using some water, too. (In some comments above this.) He probably just hadn't heard of it. Now I want a video on how to do it! Idk how much water is too much or too little.
Trying to uber green and all that is great but seriously, could this. Be done with straight cinder blocks or cement 2ton block? Straight pour mortar in them tires or something.
The important thing is that after they are pounded, they all are level with each other. You can get away with using similar sized tires next to each other but that usually means more work with either pounding or leveling, so it's best to keep them the same size. I also used different sized tires, sometimes drastically to fill spaces in the tirewall without having to pour a concrete block.
Got some great tips on pounding tires from this video. Hadn't thought of using the pick axe and kicking method before. Hopefully this will help our project in Kyrgyzstan go quicker when we start our build. Thanks!
I want to build a retaining wall before I install my above ground pool do I need to add a french drain to take the water away from the bottom where the first run of tires are
Hi OGB, thanks very much for sharing. I was wondering if the aspect ratio of the tires is important. I can see you are using 75% on the cicenatti project. Could 65, 55% or less be acceptable? My project is to put up 7 courses of tires and than a ferrocement dome on top. If you have any advise on the size of tires, please let me know! Keep calm, and pound a tire!
juju megan auto repair and tire shops actually have to pay money to have somebody come pick up and dispose of old tires. Go to just about any auto repair shop and they will happily let you take them. I’m currently building a tire wall and this is how I get my tires
I've begun doing research on off-gird/alternative building methods and I haven't really found an answer to a couple questions: Why use the tire method when the earth bag method seems to be less labor intensive and has the same thermal advantages? Are there any examples of the 'earthship' style (self-contained) house using the bags instead of the tires?
Wouldn't you need to build a retaining wall with earthbags ? With tyres, you just arrange them in a U shape and that is enough to support the surrounding earth
Awesome video, I subscribed. Question, I would like to make a smaller structure, a little camping cabin. Can I just tamp down the existing soil for the foundation, or do I have to make a rubble trench or something of that nature for a foundation? Thank you.
Thank you so much. I got this idea ( I thought bc I was creative and smart😂) after the 2016 Louisiana flood. Knowing I was going to need to eventually build some kind of retaining wall. Everywhere we drove after getting back in our house there were tires. Guess what? 7 years later they are still there. We’ve picked up 25 just that we see on the way to and from school everyday. We are going to need hundreds if not a thousand or more. At least we helped clean up some of our city. Your video is the best I’ve seen on an in detail explanation of what to do when and why. One question. Tires will supposedly rise though the earth after 10 years if buried 5 feet. We are going way higher than that total, our will be terraced off, but the area does flood periodically when the river rises which is a couple times of year. Our creek is directly connected to the river. About a mile as the crow flies. How do we make sure they won’t float up?
I just want to build the 1 "U" for myself, and then I can add later if I want to. I have access to 500 tires or so and they are willing to pay me $2 per tire including delivery. Many of the tires are larger truck tires (18", 17"), and there are mostly 16 " truck tires which I think are almost as good as 15" tires. They have phased out 15" tires for some reason, and they don't make many 14" tires anymore either. Are these other sizes just as good to use? I know that they are bigger so they will require more dirt.
Is there any advantage to adding portland cement to the earth fill material in order to make the final effect more rigid? Great video, very clear, very sequential presentation. MingDiaz
ok on the 1inch and a half you talked about do u go 1 1/2 out on top of the first set of tires then an 1 1/2 (in) on the third set of tires all the way up or are you just going in 1 1/2 out all the way up the wall cause that don't sound right
I would like to know when u get started. Will you video tape your progress? Yeah, i have 8 grown children, but they have all moved out and don't get as excited about building their own abode, as i do. Look forward to hearing from u again. Take Care.
GREAT JOB GUYS AND THANKS FOR ALL OF YOUR HARD WORK AND EXPLANATION ON EACH STEP. I do have one question concerning screwing the tires together with the 1" screws and I apologize if I missed it if you mentioned this but besides just screwing the current tires down to the previous rows as you mentioned, wouldn't it also help some to also use a couple of this same 1" screws and screw the side (which in this case would be through the tread) to the tire on each side to also help hold it in place while all of the filling and packing is taking place? Just a thought! Thanks again and keep up the great job. looking forward to seeing it all finished as this is the same type structure my girlfriend and I are planning to use!
The upside is these tires are very cheap. Once you get your concrete estimate you're going to reconsider something cheaper. The pro to earthships that I see is , no excuse to be homeless if you can afford a small piece of land. Just start piling tires.
Geez, that's very labor and time intensive. Sounds like a great idea, but not many people have months to build just the tire wall for a project like this.
Hello.So I'm curious.IF the finished interior will be either cemented insulated etc etc.Is the purpose for packing the tires to be a low cost bunker of sorts? "Framing"out the structure and basically filling the space for weight then the completed structure to be cemented.The extra packing not necessary. That for just a fence like wall A home like wall I see it helps with strength and support but in short it's similar to a CMU block build?.?.
+zander cross go to any automotive tire replacement company such as les schwabb or tire discounters and ask them for their old tires.They will give them up gladly for free. Companies like that usually have to pay for disposal and if you are willing to take them off their hands...im sure you can figure the rest out
What about using a compactor or concrete vibrator, the type that compacts a dirt surface, it would vibrate the soil causing it to fill in faster and tighter.
I have never worked in Canada, but Earthship Biotecture has done a couple builds there. There is also an Earthship being built in Manitoba right now by some friends of mine. Search for it, they have a website.
Great video! I am looking to build either a cob home or earthship and for the earthship I can see your videos will help a lot! I have 2 questions if you're able to answer those: 1. Do you have a foundation under your tire wall? 2. Once you get the hang of it, how long does each tire take? Thanks!
Hi +OGB, Thanks for the reply! It's pretty amazing no foundations are needed! I will take that as it will take me 30 at least :D I'm going to start with making the base of a greenhouse in the back garden of tires to get the practice in. Thanks again!
It is a lot of work per tire, but goes quicker than you might expect if you're working with other people. Add a pneumatic tamper or two into the mix (requires a beefy compressor), and you can cut it down from 20-30 minutes per tire to 5-10. Quite the back saver.
Awesome video! We are so doing this, but I really want to try completely recycled, non-biodegradable materials.. Other than cardboard, could you use something less biodegradable? Like plastic bags or bottles before packing them, you think that would work??
I'm assuming your using standardized matching size tires? I know there's quite a few different sizes. Also, after fine tuning your technique, how many were you able to complete in a typical workday?
I have seen some others do that pounding with a air powered tamper b/4 too! More money for equipment rental/fuel I know, but quite a bit faster and maybe a little less tiring. Just a thought, thanks for the informative video.
I think you can have a reference tire on each end if 2 people are pounding tires, and both working towards the middle, and then you can squeeze a filler tire into a small space to complete a level. I like the idea of using 4 screws to hold tire in place before packing.
Question? on the raining days....? that wall of tires will filter inside the house???? i having that question on it? for long time can somebody answer how will stop for water not to get inside in the house???
Excellent video, very informative! Lots of detailed explanation compared to other videos on tire pounding. I just have one question. When you do the final fill and tamper, doesn't that undo the leveling you just did? Do you need to check the level again at the very end?
Fantastic explaination! The idea of pounding tires scared me with my slieght physical limitaions, (back & wrist). But this video was super inspiring! Lol, Tire pounding deosn't look so scary anymore. Some other video's make it look brutal.
Spray foam is an insulator, not a good solid mass object. This area is supposed to resonate heat THROUGH it's thermal mass into the home, therefore no.
Well yes you could but it would be a lot less efficient. The dirt helps heat you home in the winter and cool it in the summer. Insulation like foam won't do that. Also filling them with dirt makes them a strong retaining wall. And well.... dirt is free.
I have a very high water table here! So need to create soak away pits. Following the previous owners ideas! DIg (what feels like) an enormous hole big enough for at least 3 for tyres laid flat, stick in tyres. dont bother with back filling or infill. At present a bit of old door over the top. Will probably cast a slab over the top...time and inclination permitting! I have actually pumped water for the garden out of the existing (previous owners) one! Possibly creating underground cisterns? Comments, please. Climate here is up to 40deg C summer , minus 15deg C winter.
I think a much better idea is a sod house, plastered on the inside and out. See Roger Welsch's book on soddies for ideas--some of the houses he pictures are extraordinary. They'd be less work than tire-packing (but still take a lot of labor) and a lot faster to put up. Their insulative capacity (two-foot thick walls) would also be excellent.
![How to Build a Tire Wall [Free Tire Retaining Wall]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/ryDSA8QTg0Q/mqdefault.jpg)
I used to test soil compaction on construction sites. And before that I was doing the actual construction and in an area just like this. Y'all could work more efficiently if the dirt had moisture worked in. It would compact better and take less effort. And as the inspections get more strict over the years they are eventually going to make you do it anyway so you really ought to consider this.
You may not notice the first day but if you have a hoe or mini-ex to work water into the soil in a prep area or have one guy on a hose spraying over four guys on the tires it will get more compacted in less time with less effort.
BTW I really love what y'all are doing out there. Keep up the good work.
rudy adair
It's hard to say for sure. The air gaps that you may get from the soil not filling in around the angular chunks of block may reduce the density more than the chunks themselves. That is why is is so important to use water. It is literally a lubricant that allows the particles to move into the gaps. If you break them down to marble size I would not think it would be problem.
There is a measurement called a proctor that you can do if you want to get really accurate. You may want to look it up as I'm not sure I remember the exact procedure but the idea is to get a measurement of lbs. per cubic Ft. The following should be close enough to get you within reasonable accuracy. It's a pain in the ass but there is no other way I know of...
1. Get a steal cylinder with a known volume.(maybe 3 inch diameter and 4 inches high.)
2. Get your sample of your cinder block mix and a sample of what you want to compare it to.
3. Then you need what amounts to a slide hammer with a weight on it that will compact the dirt into the cylinder.
4. Over fill the cylinder with one of the samples and drop the weight on it an exact number of times, from a specific height every time. ...say 15 times or whatever it takes to pack the shit out if it...within reason. If the cylinder is not flush with dirt, keep filling and repeat.
5. Once the cylinder is full and compacted, cut the dirt off flush, then dig the dirt out and weigh all of it.
6. Then take it off the scale, add a little water but keep track of the amount and repeat all these steps until you see a drop in the weight.(A little more soil should be required each time if you are doing it right but not as much when you are close to completion.)
Once you see a drop in the wieght this means that the last or highest measurement is the maximum soil density and approximate water content to get that density for that sample.
If you don't have a scale that measures in grams or better then you will need a large cylinder to compensate.
you should be able to do your two samples in under tree hours.
Now... Don't even ask me how to tell how close you are in the final project if you don't have access to a nuclear density gauge. you don't want to know!
Just take what you learned from the proctor and guesstimate.
I hope that helps.
rudy adair If they are broken to 1/2" or less pieces not so much of issue. smaller would be better of course.
Exactly my thought when I saw what happens to beating on dry dirt. It's like a never ending compaction process. Also. I have a few Ponds and if you mixed dry clay in that tires with dirt , then spray with water , watch what happens. Time is drastically cut down on filling tires. Experiment and try dry clay mixed with dry dirt and see for yourself.
Peace
I was wondering about mixing sand, aggregate and water into a not quite as wet concrete-like mixture and just pouring it in. You would have to allow some drying time I imagine but you would get a single course done much faster. Possibly drilling some holes in the tires to allow it to breath?
I'm gonna mess around with that. Where I live I get paid $1.25 per tire that I take from the recycling center.
Sean Woody ONeill Where do you live that they pay you to take tires?
Built a barn with tires.
No pounding. I filled thetire walls with large rock to prevent compression then put very large rock in and buried it with dirt mixed with small stones.
These wall have been up 11years.
I also leveled the line where tbe tires go.
My next project , I will did down about three in. and then fill.
8-10 inches is actually best.
Here its extremely rocky (monster rocks) .
Hope this helps someone.
Enjoy!
Perfect. 14 minutes, one tire down, 700 more to go.
i think it is a lot more than 700 x 14 minutes… i am going cobe :)
how about adding water? water compacts dirt naturally. Lol just thinking of ways to avoid the pounding much as possible 😂
😁😂🤣
@@rinchhensherpa6972 I am looking at using a pressure washer .. move a lot of dirt with as little water as possible. But yes... water will settle the dirt naturally.
I think he would have needed a third of this time at most if he didn't explain everything
I'm thinking about building my first home. I just to tell you thank you for showing us how to get this done. Please keep it up. Please post as many videos as you can to help those less fortunate who want to do it themselves. Thanks, really appreciated.
+MrTamendez that means a lot thank you
I will be doing this. I'm disable due to Parkinson. I started living not completely of the grid but cut my expenses from $1,000 down to $300.00 per month.
I grow 80% of my own food.
I will like to build 2 of these one for a underground green house another for a 2nd bug out location on my farm.
It will take me a while but I thank that I can do it.
Good luck and I'm sure you can do it.
altha2008 You can do it! It's amazing what you have already done!! I admire you and I think you will be able to accomplish anything you want. :-)
.
+altha2008 Having people help you would be great. I work on an organic farm and there are plenty of us who would love to work on such a project.
Denise Ward Good for you guys, very nice
offer.
forms...concrete...all that leveling...geez louise....going insane just watching this dude!
Just beginning my tire wall extension to my off grid house went to the local garbage tip and they said they have to pay to have them shredded so I could have as many as I wanted,am using dirt from my opal mine good texture and adding a few handfuls of cement into a dry dirt mix with just a little water,find it easier to completely fill the tire walls when pounding.Three walls one back over 54ft and two side walls 15ft each and nine feet high.Rafters and joists will be from cyprus pine which grows around this area and costs only my time and a chainsaw to get,then corrugated iron roof guttered to collect rainwater to two 20gallon catchment tanks.Job started one month ago completion date 6 months.Cost in total only the corrugated iron roofing, guttering and downpipes approx $500.Using only my own labor so the project though labor intensive is more than affordable and when the project is finished I can look at it and know it was worth the hours I will put in.
Ya if you really wanted to do it and make a couple bucks you could ask some local tire shops what they pay to have them hauled off and beat it it's a win for everyone they spend less and you make a little because you are going to be working your ass off
I love earthships, but they are so labor intensive. I get a heat induced migraine just watching this video. If I won the lottery, this is the type of home I would have and could afford to pay someone to build it.
ya tire walls are a bitch. but you'd be surprised how reasonable tire pounding feels after you get used to it. its like long distance running.
Thanks! I got them all from local tire shoes in Taos, NM. Pretty much any tire shop is happy to give away tires because it saves them the money to dispose of them.
Is the cardboard from the boxes of gloves?
Hi, that video was awesome! Thank heaps. We are literally 2 weeks away from having our own Earthship build approved and your videos have been really helpful, I can't wait to get starred on it all.
For those complaining about time, two words: Pneumatic tamper.
2words also ..zero money lol. these guys inspired me to get of my backside and get going. im 50 yr old one woman army doing a wall so I can get my horses on my land before I build a house. I have no electric, water on site, but i'll get there..eventually.(moaning about time, coz I'm not getting younger)
@@martysmosaic Any good news ?
Do only get tires whose dimensions match and if not, how far off from each other can they be?
Excellent step by step video. First one I've seen showing that level of detailed information. Thanks for sharing every tip one needs to know about building the tire wall.
True it takes more time but you are building a solid structure, a wall over two feet thick with free materials that are also helping to reduce landfill waste. That looks like a couple tons of tires; imagine how many tires would be put to good use building just 100 of these homes.
Tires do not end up on landfills they all go to recycling centers You get fined trying to throw them away and the landfills and dumps get fined if they are caught with them during inspections.
Behr Palomo True ....I think my truck bedliner is made out of old tire rubber and a lot of today!s shoe soles are too.
They are making a landfill
why don't you use water to compact the dirt naturally, instead of pounding dry dirt into the tire? i know once it's dry the mud will shrink, but just add more dirt afterwards. then continue the next layer. seems like it would be a lot less work. more time, but less labor. ???
Adding water does not "compact the dirt." The ground doesn't get harder and harder with every rain. The beaches don't turn to sandstone.
A pro construction person recommends using some water, too. (In some comments above this.) He probably just hadn't heard of it. Now I want a video on how to do it! Idk how much water is too much or too little.
My ground is more stone than dirt, swing a pick at it and it won’t stick in. Would love to do something like this, but doubt it’s possible
Would you use rebar for more vertical stability? What affects would water have on the dirt? Wet dirt easier or harder to pound?
+HeuristicDev no need for rebar. The weight makes it sturdy. Wet dirt = no no
Ok. So you'd need to keep it covered from rain.
yes
Trying to uber green and all that is great but seriously, could this. Be done with straight cinder blocks or cement 2ton block? Straight pour mortar in them tires or something.
sure, no need for tires actually. mass is mass.
The important thing is that after they are pounded, they all are level with each other. You can get away with using similar sized tires next to each other but that usually means more work with either pounding or leveling, so it's best to keep them the same size. I also used different sized tires, sometimes drastically to fill spaces in the tirewall without having to pour a concrete block.
Was curious how you placed that cooling duct in the wall. I'm assuming you remove a tire and build a small form in place?
Got some great tips on pounding tires from this video. Hadn't thought of using the pick axe and kicking method before. Hopefully this will help our project in Kyrgyzstan go quicker when we start our build. Thanks!
I want to build a retaining wall before I install my above ground pool do I need to add a french drain to take the water away from the bottom where the first run of tires are
Hi OGB, thanks very much for sharing. I was wondering if the aspect ratio of the tires is important. I can see you are using 75% on the cicenatti project. Could 65, 55% or less be acceptable? My project is to put up 7 courses of tires and than a ferrocement dome on top.
If you have any advise on the size of tires, please let me know!
Keep calm, and pound a tire!
How do you compensate for different size tires?
add water to the dirt in the tire?
stupid question, but could you use a concrete vibrator tool to do the initial sidewall fill as a way to save time?
Tirewalls act as the foundation and all you need is level ground tamped to 98% compaction. It's best to build your tire wall on undisturbed ground.
Can you explain please in basic language please 🙏 what do you mean?
Great tutorial! Where do you get all of these tires?
juju megan auto repair and tire shops actually have to pay money to have somebody come pick up and dispose of old tires. Go to just about any auto repair shop and they will happily let you take them.
I’m currently building a tire wall and this is how I get my tires
I've begun doing research on off-gird/alternative building methods and I haven't really found an answer to a couple questions:
Why use the tire method when the earth bag method seems to be less labor intensive and has the same thermal advantages?
Are there any examples of the 'earthship' style (self-contained) house using the bags instead of the tires?
Wouldn't you need to build a retaining wall with earthbags ? With tyres, you just arrange them in a U shape and that is enough to support the surrounding earth
Earthbag works great for a freestanding wall, but this wall will be backfilled and needs to be far stronger as it is below ground.
Awesome video, I subscribed. Question, I would like to make a smaller structure, a little camping cabin. Can I just tamp down the existing soil for the foundation, or do I have to make a rubble trench or something of that nature for a foundation? Thank you.
I do have a question for you, how do you do the endcaps of the wall?
Thank you so much. I got this idea ( I thought bc I was creative and smart😂) after the 2016 Louisiana flood. Knowing I was going to need to eventually build some kind of retaining wall. Everywhere we drove after getting back in our house there were tires. Guess what? 7 years later they are still there. We’ve picked up 25 just that we see on the way to and from school everyday. We are going to need hundreds if not a thousand or more. At least we helped clean up some of our city. Your video is the best I’ve seen on an in detail explanation of what to do when and why. One question. Tires will supposedly rise though the earth after 10 years if buried 5 feet. We are going way higher than that total, our will be terraced off, but the area does flood periodically when the river rises which is a couple times of year. Our creek is directly connected to the river. About a mile as the crow flies. How do we make sure they won’t float up?
I just want to build the 1 "U" for myself, and then I can add later if I want to. I have access to 500 tires or so and they are willing to pay me $2 per tire including delivery. Many of the tires are larger truck tires (18", 17"), and there are mostly 16 " truck tires which I think are almost as good as 15" tires. They have phased out 15" tires for some reason, and they don't make many 14" tires anymore either. Are these other sizes just as good to use? I know that they are bigger so they will require more dirt.
It takes a lot of time but it’s worth, not just beautiful but also u help the world clean by recycling
Is there any advantage to adding portland cement to the earth fill material in order to make the final effect more rigid? Great video, very clear, very sequential presentation. MingDiaz
ok on the 1inch and a half you talked about do u go 1 1/2 out on top of the first set of tires then an 1 1/2 (in) on the third set of tires all the way up or are you just going in 1 1/2 out all the way up the wall cause that don't sound right
I would like to know when u get started. Will you video tape your progress? Yeah, i have 8 grown children, but they have all moved out and don't get as excited about building their own abode, as i do. Look forward to hearing from u again. Take Care.
GREAT JOB GUYS AND THANKS FOR ALL OF YOUR HARD WORK AND EXPLANATION ON EACH STEP. I do have one question concerning screwing the tires together with the 1" screws and I apologize if I missed it if you mentioned this but besides just screwing the current tires down to the previous rows as you mentioned, wouldn't it also help some to also use a couple of this same 1" screws and screw the side (which in this case would be through the tread) to the tire on each side to also help hold it in place while all of the filling and packing is taking place? Just a thought! Thanks again and keep up the great job. looking forward to seeing it all finished as this is the same type structure my girlfriend and I are planning to use!
Why not use concrete in the tires?
My god all the work per tire, I applaud your work ethic but F that!! lol.
I agree, ridiculous effort needed. There must be more efficient methods
The upside is these tires are very cheap. Once you get your concrete estimate you're going to reconsider something cheaper.
The pro to earthships that I see is , no excuse to be homeless if you can afford a small piece of land.
Just start piling tires.
Very labor intensive and long and drawn out inefficient process. Get a job working half the time and pay for a better wall ... win/win.
@@garypulliam3740 You missed the point. Rich people also build earthships.
It's not a poor man's home.
Ha ha you said but f.
So do they also have to use tires all the same width?
does it works with pneumatic hammer for ramming the dirt?
it's allowed to use it?
saludos y gracias
I wonder how you prep the ground underneath the Tire wall. Just level some dirt?... Do you get a soil report completed?
That is a ton of work per tire!!
10 minutes per tire?
My range is going to be 150 yards long and I want 15' high berms.
What else could I do?
Question do the tirer need to be same size
Geez, that's very labor and time intensive. Sounds like a great idea, but not many people have months to build just the tire wall for a project like this.
on the corners that i put the screws in im having trouble finding the corner on a circle
I may have giggled as I read your post
You will have a hard life...
@OGB. I am going to ask what may appear to be a dumb question. Do the tires all have to be the same exact size for the wall? Thanks!!
Could you theoretically do this with an air compressor tool?
+Elle Kelsheimer I've seen it done on another video on youtube
Hello.So I'm curious.IF the finished interior will be either cemented insulated etc etc.Is the purpose for packing the tires to be a low cost bunker of sorts?
"Framing"out the structure and basically filling the space for weight then the completed structure to be cemented.The extra packing not necessary.
That for just a fence like wall A home like wall I see it helps with strength and support but in short it's similar to a CMU block build?.?.
They are usually covered with cob or adobe
I did 450 tires in about 2 months with an average of me and one other person per day.
Aside from all the chemicals in the rubber. Did you ever calculate the labor costs?
Very informative! I like that you explained how to use the tools.
love this, will be using this tech if i find enough tires to build the main walls for my storage area.
+zander cross go to any automotive tire replacement company such as les schwabb or tire discounters and ask them for their old tires.They will give them up gladly for free. Companies like that usually have to pay for disposal and if you are willing to take them off their hands...im sure you can figure the rest out
thanks so much for the info
No Problem, I'm glad I could help
Must be really satisfying to see your wall grow. I was thinking you could use a two by four for a gauge for setback
could this make sense for an internal wall in a normal flat? And is this sound isolating as well? Thanks and sorry for the ignorance...
What do you do on the ends when the tires are staggered? Cut a tire in half?
hi there. im in uk and its wet so do you think i could kind of wash wet mud into the tires instead?
Is it possible to build a tyre wall without a berm behind it? What would you have to do differently to make it structurally sound?
Is it effective in water ,I want to do it in a pond,plz suggest me.
What about using a compactor or concrete vibrator, the type that compacts a dirt surface, it would vibrate the soil causing it to fill in faster and tighter.
I have never worked in Canada, but Earthship Biotecture has done a couple builds there. There is also an Earthship being built in Manitoba right now by some friends of mine. Search for it, they have a website.
Nice design Brother. Great work! ROLL ON!!
Great video! I am looking to build either a cob home or earthship and for the earthship I can see your videos will help a lot!
I have 2 questions if you're able to answer those:
1. Do you have a foundation under your tire wall?
2. Once you get the hang of it, how long does each tire take?
Thanks!
+nvanwensen 1) nope 2) 15-25 minutes for mortals. Real pros can do it in 10 or less
make sure your bottom courses are big enough tires though. there is a science to it
Hi +OGB, Thanks for the reply! It's pretty amazing no foundations are needed!
I will take that as it will take me 30 at least :D
I'm going to start with making the base of a greenhouse in the back garden of tires to get the practice in.
Thanks again!
anytime
It is a lot of work per tire, but goes quicker than you might expect if you're working with other people. Add a pneumatic tamper or two into the mix (requires a beefy compressor), and you can cut it down from 20-30 minutes per tire to 5-10. Quite the back saver.
Awesome video! We are so doing this, but I really want to try completely recycled, non-biodegradable materials.. Other than cardboard, could you use something less biodegradable? Like plastic bags or bottles before packing them, you think that would work??
I'm assuming your using standardized matching size tires? I know there's quite a few different sizes. Also, after fine tuning your technique, how many were you able to complete in a typical workday?
I have seen some others do that pounding with a air powered tamper b/4 too! More money for equipment rental/fuel I know, but quite a bit faster and maybe a little less tiring. Just a thought, thanks for the informative video.
Great video,,,just now found it. I use tires also, to stop trash from getting into ocean
I think you can have a reference tire on each end if 2 people are pounding tires, and both working towards the middle, and then you can squeeze a filler tire into a small space to complete a level. I like the idea of using 4 screws to hold tire in place before packing.
But does it also work with kind of wet clay earth like in europe?
Question?
on the raining days....?
that wall of tires will filter inside the house????
i having that question on it? for long time
can somebody answer how will stop for water not to get inside in the house???
It will be covered in adobe plaster
any kind of soil is suitable for that process? tnx
When you fill the tires with dirt, have you thought of using water to help pound the dirt in and stay in?
That much work for one tire, has convinced me to go with the container house now.
good luck, they are an insane amount of work as well
Its interesting that we think this is a new discovery. In upstate ny, i have seen 2 walls older thet 50 years.
ive seen youcomment on another vid have you done your shed yet? im hoping to do one too but like you im pretty much on my own :)
Wishing you well with your build!
How about the red the clay we have in South Carolina? Would it work?
Thanks for the detailed information. Keep up the great work your doing.
Cant wait to watch more. Thanks
How do you find people to help you build it? Is there a group that can be hired?
I wanna know how you built the roof for your "otg tire house"?
Excellent video, very informative! Lots of detailed explanation compared to other videos on tire pounding.
I just have one question. When you do the final fill and tamper, doesn't that undo the leveling you just did? Do you need to check the level again at the very end?
filling with concrete work?
Great details. I didn't know exactly how it was done. Thanks for video.
Fantastic explaination! The idea of pounding tires scared me with my slieght physical limitaions, (back & wrist). But this video was super inspiring! Lol, Tire pounding deosn't look so scary anymore. Some other video's make it look brutal.
? Could you fill the side walls with spray foam to save all that time packing the side walls then just fill the center of the tire and stomp it?
Spray foam is an insulator, not a good solid mass object. This area is supposed to resonate heat THROUGH it's thermal mass into the home, therefore no.
Well yes you could but it would be a lot less efficient. The dirt helps heat you home in the winter and cool it in the summer. Insulation like foam won't do that. Also filling them with dirt makes them a strong retaining wall. And well.... dirt is free.
Do you need a French drain system behind the walls?
+Darryel Sanders no
The reason I asked about the french drain system cause Im going to actually have a hillside that has trees where Im going to build my Earthship home.
in that case, then maybe yes
What is the best size tires to use?
Great vid showing the real nitty gritty of how to do it. But it must take forever to build a wall..??🤔
All I want is an earthship in the middle of nowhere :(
The Modern Hermeticist yes!!
Hard to do if there are no roads. How do you get all the building supplies delivered there?
@@jonothandoeser I saw a guy use a bike and a makeshift trailer. He'd ride for hours hauling stuff from town back to his place. Water, bricks, manure.
is it possible to built a 13ft wall?
thank you for taking the time to do this, really helps!!!!
On average, how long does one tire take to completely finish and move on to the next one? Thanks, subbed and liked.
That is correct, the wall "leans" back into the berm.
Great video! Nice work on that wall. Learned alot :)
How do you stop critters and animals getting through the air vents?
Rather the cooling tube?
Window screen mesh and chicken wire. Saw it in a video tour.
What is the overall function of the tire wall? and why not just a concrete wall?
do these tire all have to be the same size?
no, bigger at the bottom, smaller at the top
I have a very high water table here! So need to create soak away pits.
Following the previous owners ideas!
DIg (what feels like) an enormous hole big enough for at least 3 for tyres laid flat, stick in tyres. dont bother with back filling or infill. At present a bit of old door over the top. Will probably cast a slab over the top...time and inclination permitting!
I have actually pumped water for the garden out of the existing (previous owners) one!
Possibly creating underground cisterns? Comments, please.
Climate here is up to 40deg C summer , minus 15deg C winter.
I think a much better idea is a sod house, plastered on the inside and out. See Roger Welsch's book on soddies for ideas--some of the houses he pictures are extraordinary. They'd be less work than tire-packing (but still take a lot of labor) and a lot faster to put up. Their insulative capacity (two-foot thick walls) would also be excellent.