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3 Ingenious Ways To Build An Off-Grid Home For Next To Nothing
Greetings,
3 Ingenious Ways To Build An Off-Grid Home For Next To Nothing
The off-grid and homesteading lifestyle has a tremendous amount of appeal for many. In a time of seemingly ever-increasing instability in our world, the idea of living in a truly self-reliant and sustainable way is more attractive than ever.
With that spark of enthusiasm, visions of silver solar panels, white wind turbines, and a sprawling timber home are often not far behind.
The reality for most, though, is that building a traditionally constructed home on our land is both time and financially prohibitive.
This is where non-traditional construction methods and materials enter. By non-traditional, we simply mean homes that are not primarily constructed of new lumber, bricks or stone. In their place, homebuilders utilize low-cost eco-friendly or reclaimed materials, and the construction time and skill required is most often greatly diminished.
In this article, we have gathered three of the most predominantly used, non-traditional building materials people are creating homes with. They are elegantly simple and unique in shape, character and function.
So without further comment, welcome to this episode of “This Weird House.”
1. Tires: getting traction in construction
Strictly from an environmental perspective, used vehicles tires can be a bit troublesome. Although not exactly the longest in regards to decomposition time (50-80 years), they are plentiful, unsightly and a haven for mosquito breeding.
Fortunately, many companies have recognized these mountains of rubber as a commodity and have begun “upcycling” them. Typically, you will find them shredded into pieces and used as mulch at playgrounds and pavement material for running tracks and the like.
Given as most tire dealers were paying around $2 and up for used tire disposal, it was just a matter of time when someone would see this endless supply of free resources as an asset worth working with in the way of homebuilding.
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The usage of tires as a construction material can likely be credited to the “earthship” movement which started approximately 40 years ago. Today, these earthships utilize tires, which are rammed inside and between with compacted earth, to make up the outside and structural walls of the structure. Stacked flat and in courses much like masonry bricks, it is a construction technique that literally anyone can perform and virtually free of cost.
The other variation to this method is the usage of “tire bales.” What is a tire bale, you ask? A tire bale is simply a huge block of 90-120 tires which have been compressed. The bales are usually around 60 inches long, 50 inches wide, and 30 inches tall. Each bale weighs in at an impressive 1 ton and has an astonishing insulation value of R-186!
Despite their heavy nature, these bales make for quick construction and amazing heating/cooling efficiency. Having been used in the past for construction sites, retaining walls and windbreaks, they are now coming into prominence as a homebuilding material….More Here
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