Earthship by Michael E. Reynolds (1990, Paperback)

CHECK IT OUT AT YOUR LIBRARY FIRST...

Yes, earthberming does help regulate temps, but serious design flaws limit effectiveness and livability, ie: Poor roof ventilation leads to condensation leaks, slant windows lead to overheating, no external insulation to prevent heat from being drawn out of house into earth in winter, gray water in toliet stinks, flat roof leaks, dangerous outgassing from the tires, dormer windows too small for effective ventilation, and on and on.

Reynolds, (I've met, been in his and several others) revises plans in later issues to correct problems, but often the corrections create their own problems. Not to mention the high probability of getting a hernia pounding dirt into and lifting the thousand or so tires needed.

So grab the few good ideas presented and incorporate them into a better designed house, like one with ICF walls and floors, slanted insulated metal roofs, and forget about the slanted windows, it's overkill.

The Earthship flagship, the late Dennis Weaver's home in Ridgway, CO (my brother lives there) which is supposed to be the shining example of self-sufficiency is connected to the grid and a well. It also reportedly had leaks in the walls, and has other structural issues and is for sale (and was before Dennis died). Look it up at www.dennisweaver.com/earthshipforsale.htm

Awsome book !! Packed full of information for anyone that is interested in building an extremely energy efficient home out of old tires. Very detailed and very informative. Michael Reynolds is a genius to come up with with this. Definitely a responsible way of home construction that lasts forever and has a very high resale value on the market......should anyone ever decide to sell one. It is simply amazing that you can build an extremely strong and environmentally friendly home from discarded tires that people will even pay you to take off of their hands......FREE building material or even get paid for picking tires up !!!! I highly recommend this book and hopefully it will open people's eyes to alternative construction techniques and a more sensible way of life.

I love the whole idea behind the Earthship..having the complete volume is just such a nice addition to any environmentalist's collection.