I have plans to build an earth ship home and need some help earth ramming tires, digging, carpentry and everything that goes with it. Am an older fit lady who can work hard and need some friends who want to exist in a laid back, no pressure, fun atmosphere and help me make some progress.Not sure when the process will start but hopefully in the next 6 months. Great weather, not much zoning or traffic, lots of peace and nature, near a town (15 min) and a Walmart, no pump and dump on site so that would have to be in town, No loose dogs or cats due to rattle snake prone area not yet cleared, please hit me up if interested, about 60 miles south of Albuquerque, lots of room.
Camp spot for a few weeksor longer in exchange for help w earth ship build, New Mexic
- Thread starter pollycoop
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PECVD2
Well-known member
Hello, sounds like a great project.
My home base is a few miles north of ABQ so I could certainly donate a weekend here and there to help when you get things going.
Keep us posted
My home base is a few miles north of ABQ so I could certainly donate a weekend here and there to help when you get things going.
Keep us posted
My thinking as well.....Would not expect anyone including me to work in blazing hot sun. But it is not a time sensitive project and will get started and done when it gets there. So i will play it by ear as the next steps unfold. When would you think the weather would be most friendly for this type of building?slow2day said:
You might want to tackle that brush clearing project right away. Just rent a tractor with a brush blade on it. That way the job can be done in a day's time versus the risk of trying to do it by hand while standing at the same level as the snakes. You would not want to have volunteers at high risk. They will also need camp sites cleared to park on. Then get the first helpers to build some shade structures. Set aside some of the cleared brush material for a traditional style of shade shelter roofing. Of course you will also need a water tank right away so that is a high priority and it will also need a cleared area and hopefully some shade for it to protect the tank from UV damage over the years.pollycoop said:
The national weather service tracks the daily temperature history by regional geographic locations. You can look it up online, keyword for the search "NOAA"
I am very familiar with NOAA, was a sailboat sailor for many years. I have now added the weather ap on my phone for that area and can see the weather for myself daily. Could I ask, have you done this sort of thing before? I think I would only clear the area I plan to work in with a small amount surrounding it for camping out of the way of all the dust, just because it will grow back by the time i do any more work on the rest. I wonder if an immediate greenhouse set up (poles and tough plastic cover,)might be the answer for some shade as that is a fairly quick shelter and shade answer. Can protect the water source as well.maki2 said:
Research with these keywords...."native American remada" . This is how it was done long before there was plastic.
A green house is great for cold weather as it accumulates heat, in fact it does that accumulating of heat that is higher then the outside temperature all year around so you can imagine what will happen when it is full on summer time. It will become an intolerable oven.
Heat rises and you want it to be able to escape through the roofing material that is providing shade. You want the air to move across and up through overhead shade materials that are on the structure. Plastic covering, will only make everyone miserable when it is hot outside. Shade cloth with an open weave or a covering made of small branches for the roof and the south and west sides during the hot moths work because the air can move through and help remove the heat.
Plastic or glass is OK for cold winter time warmth accumulation from the sun during the day time but to hold it at night time you need a heat sink. Basic principle for living in the desert.
You can also watch Bob Wells videos reviews on the various types of shade cloths to help reduce heat for van living when it is hot outside. As you will be living out of your vehicle while you build, as will your helpers, you need to know this stuff.
A green house is great for cold weather as it accumulates heat, in fact it does that accumulating of heat that is higher then the outside temperature all year around so you can imagine what will happen when it is full on summer time. It will become an intolerable oven.
Heat rises and you want it to be able to escape through the roofing material that is providing shade. You want the air to move across and up through overhead shade materials that are on the structure. Plastic covering, will only make everyone miserable when it is hot outside. Shade cloth with an open weave or a covering made of small branches for the roof and the south and west sides during the hot moths work because the air can move through and help remove the heat.
Plastic or glass is OK for cold winter time warmth accumulation from the sun during the day time but to hold it at night time you need a heat sink. Basic principle for living in the desert.
You can also watch Bob Wells videos reviews on the various types of shade cloths to help reduce heat for van living when it is hot outside. As you will be living out of your vehicle while you build, as will your helpers, you need to know this stuff.
DannyB1954
Well-known member
I helped build an earthen dome using plastic tubes and barbed wire. To be honest it is hard labor for those thinking about it. The deal I had with the guy I was helping was we would build one on his property, then build one on mine. By the time we finished his, I wanted nothing to do with building another one.
These structures are for places that have a village full of people with nothing better to do. Offering a free place to park in exchange for hard labor is a great deal for someone.
These structures are for places that have a village full of people with nothing better to do. Offering a free place to park in exchange for hard labor is a great deal for someone.
If that is your dream home then have a go at making it come true. Of course it will be hard and tedious work to pack dirt into old tires, back breaking work. But packing tires is not the only option and if it does not work out for you there are other eco friendly methods of building to try.
My back and hands will not tolerate such work as packing tires, lots of bending and lifting.
But If I am in the area I can stop by and pitch in with other stuff. There is always a wide variety of things that need doing on any type of building project. I do know how to sharpen shovel edges to reduce the effort needed.
While you are getting prepared if you have not done so take the time to review "mechanical advantage" meaning the use of ropes, pulleys, levers and inclines and how to hold tools to take advantage of the way they are designed to give you a mechanical advantage. How you hold a shovel handle to dig and to lift with less effort and less physical damage to your body is not always intuitive. A lot of people don't even know how to hold a hammer properly to drive a nail with a lot less effort. You will need that kind of an assistance daily, especially when you are working on your own.
My back and hands will not tolerate such work as packing tires, lots of bending and lifting.
But If I am in the area I can stop by and pitch in with other stuff. There is always a wide variety of things that need doing on any type of building project. I do know how to sharpen shovel edges to reduce the effort needed.
While you are getting prepared if you have not done so take the time to review "mechanical advantage" meaning the use of ropes, pulleys, levers and inclines and how to hold tools to take advantage of the way they are designed to give you a mechanical advantage. How you hold a shovel handle to dig and to lift with less effort and less physical damage to your body is not always intuitive. A lot of people don't even know how to hold a hammer properly to drive a nail with a lot less effort. You will need that kind of an assistance daily, especially when you are working on your own.
How to shovel with less effort and damage to your body. You will need to teach your unskilled labor how to do this. You will get more work done in less time if they know what they are doing.
"learn to shovel like a boss"
Another good one you might need to teach to your helpers be it putting in a nail or using a sledge hammer:
"How to hammer like a pro"
"learn to shovel like a boss"
Another good one you might need to teach to your helpers be it putting in a nail or using a sledge hammer:
"How to hammer like a pro"
Thanks for that. I actually had a bus that I converted to a tiny home with solar and composting toilet and running water and got a good taste of what you are talking about in the various places I visited. I also was a canvas maker for boats for about 30 years so can buy and fabricate if necessary, a shade cloth to fit the titanic...LOL So happy for this forum. Thanks againmaki2 said:
pollycoop said:
Sept/October? Snowbirds start heading south in Oct or so and and you might snag a few heading to AZ,CA that might lend a hand for the experience.
The summer months would be iffy unless there are large shade trees to park rigs under.
highest_vision
Well-known member
If you are where I think you are, my home base isn't too far away either. I come and go, but would be interested to help if possible. Depending on exactly where you are 60 miles south of ABQ, it will likely be incredibly hot in the summertime. I forded the Rio Grande on foot around Dec 1 near Socorro about a year ago and wasn't cold. Probably 110+ in the summer daytime. Near Jornada del Muerto.
It's beautiful country! Chihuahuan desert.
It's beautiful country! Chihuahuan desert.
maki2 said:
How earth ships often handle the heat gain issue is by putting the greenhouse windows at a steep angle. The sun is very high in the sky in the summer, and very low in the sky in the winter. So by putting the windows at steep angle ([font=Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif]and pointin[/font][font=Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif]g them south)[/font], you can only get heat gain from them with the sun is low in the winter months.
Also, if you put two layers of structure (like a room within a room), so the living space is in the center and the growing space is in the outside layer, you can ventilate the outside layer in the summer so the heat doesn't make it into the inside layer. Also, if you put the inside layer underground to take advantage of the natural consistency of ground temperatures, it will further accomplish making the inside layer a consistent temperature.
If you look at the pictures and videos of earthships, you'll see both of these concepts in use.
Cammalu
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I’ve loved the earthships forever and went thru a few many years ago. I know that in the early days they were swinging sledgehammers but I thought there was a tool to make that a bit easier nowadays. Since each tires needs 200-300lbs of dirt (or something like that I can’t recall) that’s some very serious labor there. I don’t know too many people that can swing a sledgehammer for very long. Do you have the tool?
