7th course

We are now starting the seventh course of tires. We'll likely do eight courses. We also need to do probably two courses along the front to support the windows in the south-facing wall. We've had so much rain over the last few days that we can't do much at the moment, but if we get some sun and things dry out, we should be done tire pounding in two weeks or sooner!

300 tires pounded!

We've reached the 300 tire mark and have just started the 6th course. We've got enough 235's to do the 6th and 7th courses. Whatever sized vehicle they go on must be pretty popular around here. The updated tire count on June 18th was 210 tires, so we've done 90 tires in just four days---that's just over 22 tires a day! It's supposed to rain on the weekend though, which will decrease our average.

Updated tire count

We've extended the wings a bit and added another course. Count so far (210 tires total):
First course (size: 265): 51 tires so far
Second course (size: 265): 50 tires so far
Third course (size:245): 49 tires so far
Fourth course (size:235): 47 tires so far
Fifth course (size:235): 13 tires so far

A lot of earth was moved today

We need lots of clay for pounding tires and backfilling. We're sourcing the clay from a spot on our property. Our pond/lake just keeps getting bigger and bigger. Hope to raise some trout in there next summer. 

Cisterns

Ever wonder what $10,000 looks like? Well, I've got your answer:

Three 2,000 gallon cisterns.

Space on either side of the 4" rigid foam insulation being filled with clay.

Tire Count

How many tires so far? 146. We are using fairly large tires so each one takes a while to get pounded. But, using larger tires means we will need less of them.

First course (size: 265): 48 tires so far
Second course (size: 265): 46 tires so far
Third course (size:245): 48 tires so far (more than second course because they are smaller)
Fourth course (size:235): 4 tires so far

Still need to extend the side wings a good amount, so no course is officially "done" yet.

Weeping Tile

The weeping tile and gravel is in. It goes along the first course of the back wall and out along the sides to help mitigate any water accumulation that might occur. Culverts have been placed in the second row of tires, and we're currently working on the third row of tires, extending the wing walls of the first and second course as we go. 

 

The join of the two lengths of porous pipes.