Sunday, 31 May 2015
First tire row...
The radon and septic pipes still haven't been layed, but in the meantime we can get started on the back wall, since the pipes are all near the front. Here's some pics of Tom getting started. The first row takes a lot of time because all the measurements have to be bang on.
The excavators flattened a platform of dirt for our home to go on, and made a huge pile of dirt next to it to fill the tires with.
Now to call the fire commissioner so she can come out and inspect. The municipality knows it's going to be a long-term project, but they want to make sure we break ground this summer.
Saturday, 23 May 2015
Start date
Lots of people have been asking when we'll get started pounding tires. The excavation crew is nearly done; radon pipes and septic pipe will be going in this week, and then it looks like we can get started on the fun stuff this coming weekend (May 30-31)! Anyone interested in volunteering please email me at sarah.plosker@gmail.com :)
Excavation work
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| Brand spanking new road going into our property. |
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| They used clay from on-site, so I guess we get a new dugout too ;P |
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| New road, looking the other direction (dugout on left). |
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| Platform for our home! |
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| Flags marking the outline of the building, and where to put septic pipe. |
Thursday, 30 April 2015
Still can't pound tires quite yet...
The ground is 99% thawed out so excavation work can start soon...wish we
could've gotten that done last summer. We're doing small projects until
they finish: building/hanging some bat houses so we can get bats to eat
all the mosquitoes, finishing up building a storage shed, etc. Likely
we'll start pounding tires in mid to late May. Can't wait!
Tuesday, 31 March 2015
Lots more tires
I got
an email on Monday from the owners of Minnedosa Auto Wreckers saying they saw our
article in the Brandon Sun and offering us their tires. Tom got a good
150 tires from them the last two days. Cleaned them right out!
Today I got an email from the owners of Neepawa Tire Ltd. Same deal. Read our article in the Brandon Sun and want to give us tires. Woohoo!
Do you think maybe the city of Brandon might open up their landfill gates to us? :P
Today I got an email from the owners of Neepawa Tire Ltd. Same deal. Read our article in the Brandon Sun and want to give us tires. Woohoo!
Do you think maybe the city of Brandon might open up their landfill gates to us? :P
Sunday, 29 March 2015
Brandon Sun Article
Our story has been featured in the Saturday, March 28, 2015 issue of the Brandon Sun!
You can read it here if you have a subscription. I imagine they'll take down the subscription requirement once it's "old news" (maybe a week?) but I'm not sure. In the meantime, there's the Everything Elphinstone article discussed in the previous post to keep you entertained.
Everything Elphinstone Article
Our story has been featured in a small, local newsletter. Click here for their facebook group where you can download the April Everything Elphinstone newsletter.I've copy-pasted the article below.
If you haven’t heard of them before, earthships are off-grid, earth-sheltered homes. The design of an earthship as an all-in-one, sustainable home is the brainchild of Mike Reynolds, an architect based in New Mexico. Many of the ideas incorporated into the design can be found in “green” architecture books from the ‘60s and ‘70s. Earthships are popping up all over Canada (including one in Petersfield, MB) and yes, they can withstand the harsh Prairie winters.
Most earthships are similarly designed: there is a long, glass wall facing South-South-East, with the glass angled to catch the winter sun to allow for passive solar gain in the winter (why pay to heat your house when you can make the sun do it for free?). The other three walls are made of tires rammed with earth and stacked like bricks. The difference between these three-foot thick walls and the walls of conventional homes is often compared to the difference between a cast iron skillet and a Teflon frying pan: the Teflon frying pan may heat up quick, but it loses heat almost immediately once the burner is turned off; in contrast, a cast iron skillet stays hot and radiates its heat to its surroundings for much longer. These tire walls are also back-buried to create almost a cave-like effect, meaning a nice, cool house in the summertime.
Energy for this type of home comes from solar panels, and rainwater runs down the sloped metal roof into cisterns where it is collected, filtered, used in sinks and the shower, used a second time as “greywater” to water planters in the greenhouse, then used to flush the toilet, and finally it leaves the house as “blackwater” where it goes to a septic tank or septic field. Building an earthship is extremely labor intensive but the end result is beautiful, practical, and best of all, no utility bills!
Sarah Plosker and Tom Gustin bought 10 acres of land near Rivers, MB two years ago with the hope of building their dreamhome on the land. The building permit has been approved and they will start their build this summer (as soon as the snow melts---possibly by the end of the month!) Anyone wishing to volunteer can email sarah.plosker@gmail.com for further information.Many people see volunteering as a great way to learn about sustainable architecture, meet like-minded people, and force their teenagers to build some character! For more information please visit http://earthshelteredhomebrandon.blogspot.ca/ or join the Manitoba Earthships Facebook group.
If you haven’t heard of them before, earthships are off-grid, earth-sheltered homes. The design of an earthship as an all-in-one, sustainable home is the brainchild of Mike Reynolds, an architect based in New Mexico. Many of the ideas incorporated into the design can be found in “green” architecture books from the ‘60s and ‘70s. Earthships are popping up all over Canada (including one in Petersfield, MB) and yes, they can withstand the harsh Prairie winters.
Most earthships are similarly designed: there is a long, glass wall facing South-South-East, with the glass angled to catch the winter sun to allow for passive solar gain in the winter (why pay to heat your house when you can make the sun do it for free?). The other three walls are made of tires rammed with earth and stacked like bricks. The difference between these three-foot thick walls and the walls of conventional homes is often compared to the difference between a cast iron skillet and a Teflon frying pan: the Teflon frying pan may heat up quick, but it loses heat almost immediately once the burner is turned off; in contrast, a cast iron skillet stays hot and radiates its heat to its surroundings for much longer. These tire walls are also back-buried to create almost a cave-like effect, meaning a nice, cool house in the summertime.
Energy for this type of home comes from solar panels, and rainwater runs down the sloped metal roof into cisterns where it is collected, filtered, used in sinks and the shower, used a second time as “greywater” to water planters in the greenhouse, then used to flush the toilet, and finally it leaves the house as “blackwater” where it goes to a septic tank or septic field. Building an earthship is extremely labor intensive but the end result is beautiful, practical, and best of all, no utility bills!
Sarah Plosker and Tom Gustin bought 10 acres of land near Rivers, MB two years ago with the hope of building their dreamhome on the land. The building permit has been approved and they will start their build this summer (as soon as the snow melts---possibly by the end of the month!) Anyone wishing to volunteer can email sarah.plosker@gmail.com for further information.Many people see volunteering as a great way to learn about sustainable architecture, meet like-minded people, and force their teenagers to build some character! For more information please visit http://earthshelteredhomebrandon.blogspot.ca/ or join the Manitoba Earthships Facebook group.
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