This type of building SHOULD be Florida’s code building because of people coming together, eco friendly, sustainability, protection from hurricanes and termites, reducing waste, and not to mention an aesthetically look and feel. I want one. This is my dream for my retirement. For me, this will help me live without much money because my Social Security benefits will not be much. My Earthship home will be smaller because I don’t need too much space. I want one, so bad. I live in Florida.
No defenetly no, the "automobile tires" are health hazard that makes this build stupid, there are many parts that are great but the tires are horrible idea. The cans and Glass bottles are just stuck in this build and you cant recycle them like in Germany 98% of bottles are recycle. Its better to re use stuff than put it in your house wall and take it out of sycle. By using all cans and bottles + tiers you just make need to create more cans bottles and tiers because you dont recycle them.
Government needs to stop telling people what they are/are not "allowed" to do. Get government out of the way and innovation will flourish. #SmashTheState
@@arkadiuszlee407 There's a couple things here. Number 1 with the tires: I was thinking this too RE: them being a health hazard. The rubbing of tires on the roads creates aerosol particles that are really dangerous for your health. But if you're using tires to build like this and they end up encased in cement or clay, there is really no impact on health, no? I mean, we use fiberglass insulation in buildings and even though it is also a health hazard, when it's behind drywall and plaster, it's really a non-issue. I imagine tires are the same way. 2. About the recycling: Glass is really made from just sand which is abundant and therefore renewable. The only environmental impact worth mentioning is the energy in heat required to melt the glass but you'd run into the same problem when melting down old bottles when recycling. Same is true with aluminum cans. Plastic is just about the material worthwhile to recycle, if not do away with altogether.
@@kameljoe21 i understood it the way, that the guy giving the interview has worked on earthships in general for 13 years, not on this one particular, or am i wrong?
@@mastas7 This earthship is on going for the better part of 2 decades, From other comments and google search this has gone thru a couple of owners when they either have gone broke or just gave up, There is a lot of problems with the design and construction of it. A lot of stuff they did or were doing has either been found to be the wrong way to do it, or there is a far better method of doing it.
I plan to return there as soon as I can. I wanted to go earlier this year when I was in Florida but the pandemic hit and I wasn't able to make it. The owner says that they have finished, so it should be a good video and maybe some of the questions from this comment section can be answered.
I was expecting to hear a thorough explanation of how they are dealing with Florida's high humidity, the lack of which leaves me highly suspicious. I would really appreciate a follow-up video from Hardcore Sustainable. Pangeabuilders has a lot of experience, and they deserve the chance to explain their engineering.
sam newcome nope... there is 100% humidity in all the air around. And those tubes did Not dry the air. My grandfather did the same system in 1980 in Brantley County GA. Even Made the local Newspaper. By 1988 they added the A/C For the Humidity Problem.
This man knows his stuff! I am a huge fan of earth ships..... have been and always will be....this should be... the future of home building. More folks .....could live a great life if they built like this. I have watched this building style....since 1980.... getting better every year.
I am so interested in earthship building...but, I have also lived in Florida. I really cannot see how they will sustain this building in Florida...too MUCH humidity. So, I would use a lot of solar powered dehumidifiers there.
Me and my partner decided that Florida will be the place we want to settle in. We want to build an off grid earth ship home, so this video is perfect! Thank you!!!!
Caution. The Earthship success stories you see all relied on free labor. Notice this guy in the video says he's going to finish this project by bringing in a bunch of volunteers. Can you get 30 volunteers to work for you? If no, dont attempt building an earth ship. You'll never finish it.
Dude! Thank you I live in Barbados and have been looking for information dealing with earthships in the Caribbean as our needs, construction materials and seasons are completely different than in larger countries. This video answered a few of those questions.
As an HVAC engineer in Tampa I’m going to follow this build and see how fast the owners will grow mushrooms 🍄 in that “house”. I’m all for eco friendly builds, but mister builder with all the answers, can you please provide a thermodynamic analysis that proves that he moisture will be removed properly ? there is a reason why geothermal isn’t popular in the sunshine state...
I would think that desiccation would be the primary solution for that. I've been looking into liquid desiccant systems that can be recharged with the kinds of temperature that you get from solar thermal systems. There were some recent experiments working with a non-compressor AC. The final design cooled and desiccated incoming air with what amounted to a swamp cooler that used a potassium chloride solution in place of pure water. The rest of the system was there to recharge and drive off humidity that the desiccant grabed and then cool down the heated desiccant before running it through more incoming air. Video here: ua-cam.com/video/7w4rg3UcsgI/v-deo.html IF it's possible to get most of the needed heat to perform the recharge from a solar thermal system, then it seems likely that you could run a desiccant tower outside the culvert entrances and dry out incoming air before chilling it in the berm. If you wanted to be really extra about it, you could run tubing through another section of the berm to cool the desiccant back down from its recharge temperature.
@@Alex-uo4qq Dehumidifier would work only in a space with low ventilation and surrounded by a a vapor barrier. The existing heating and cooling system would be disabled. More costly to operate.
Hi Dan, thanks for posting this video. Earth ship building is quite interesting and it's great to see how the builder has adapted for the Florida environment. As always, you have lots of great information to share.
Without a doubt, this concept is the exact right move for our uncertain future. It solves all the outstanding issues for future life and prosperity off the doomed grid.
Yeah I want an update too, I subscribed. We live in North Texas and want to do a permaculture property and earth ship. Glad to find these builders so we have someone to call when it's time !
I love how the energy feels when you first walk into the home! So much connectedness! You just don't get that with conventionally constructed homes. You can never go wrong living in harmony with nature!
There is a way to automate the collection of rainwater from roof runoff. You have a y value that lets the first water run down into the lower leg and fill it up with the amount of water it takes to get to clean water. Then the rest of the water goes up the second leg and into the holding tank. The lower leg has a small bleed line that empties the lower leg after the rain stops. I have a 35 year old house and designed it so that I can leave it for months at a time. It can be done.
yes, I think the humidity is going to wreck this house. it will rust those galvanized tubes, it will grow mold on the walls. The only way to deal with humidity is to have constant and thorough air movement with active dehumidification.
They are making a. Lot of adaptions to the traditional earthship design for humidity. I agree they may need some AC or dehumidifiers running to dry out the building. They already are not using Cob because they know it will never dry in Florida humidity. But it’s why I am following this closely to see if this works in Florida.
I live in Jacksonville, Fl. I would love to know how they're dealing with the humidity, especially since they're just south of St. Pete (which gets hotter and more humid than Jax). Great video. I'm happy to see earthships have made it to Florida!
Back in 74 or 75, there was one along A1A between Jax and St Augustine. Just south of Saw Grass. Let me know if you find it. I was living in Jax Bch. Seattle Born Now live in 4 seasons Idaho.
I think you're thinking of the castle like structure, The Myakka City Earthship is the only one build so far that I know of, Ive heard someone in Jacksonville has one but yet to meet them.
They need to build a community of these around the area. These are hard to sell if there is no one around who knows how to operate one. Also, address mold, and flooding. I think it needs a certain rise above ground level, a dry moat, and more ventilation. Access to local breezes. Maybe some kind of naturally powered fan.
Yeah, I think mold is going to be a problem. If they coated the interior walls with lime plaster that would help control mold. Also, last time I heard someone talk about a convection cooling tunnel like that, it had to be shut down because of mold inside the tunnels.
Andrea Wisner I think you are right. In this climate, it kind of reminds me of a bomb shelter; something to use in bad weather or emergencies, but it might not be healthy to live in full time.
Man I'm a roofer in st.pete and do alot of eco building and they should really do a silicone system on the roof it would drop interior temps by a few degrees.
The roof system is what ultimately stopped this project shortly after this video was filmed. The amalgamation of roofing techniques didn't end up working very well in Florida and water pours into the building with each rain. The New Mexico crew also being unfamiliar with Florida codes skipped a few anchoring steps that triggered a stop work order by the building department.
I'm designing my own eco house at the moment, One concern I have is with the earth tubes, especially connected straight into the living space, in such a high humidity environment, I think that would cause A lot of moisture problems. Those tubes do not look long enough to really change the air temperature, and would condense A ton of water in the pipe. I've watched a ton of videos on people doing earth tubes, it seems like the best is to have a steep angle with a smooth plastic pipe so any water that does condense drips right back to the intake. My guess is that that air, will smell very musty and could cause respiratory issues. Also from the research i've done it's almost always recommended that earth tubes be done only in arid environments, by doing this is such a high humid climate, I would think you would need an active filtration system to have healthy air. Can anyone that has 1st hand experience chime in, I would like to hear other thoughts on this?
The only way I can see the tubes working is if it is an enclosed circuit going from inside the house out under the dirt and back inside, fan forced. Other than that, a dehumidifier draining into the botanical cell is the ONLY solution I can see working.
You are quite correct, the original builder of the structure had buried a manifold of 4 - 4" tubes, 60' long buried 15' underground (a total of 16 tubes). Those earth air tubes had close to a 20 degree temperature change. The crew in this video decided to close those off and install the short culverts above ground; as it turned out the new metal tubes actually added heat to the air coming into the building. Systems that work in New Mexico, don't necessarily do well in a tropical Florida.
There needs to be a contractor developer for Earth homes and domes, totally specialist engineers and architects. To progress and create the demand for everyone interested in them all.
I love it when people get all starry eyed and say 'I am gonna live in an EARTHSHIP!!!1'. Then after 12 years they are still not living in their earthship. Pound 3-4 wheelbarrows of dirt into one tire before deciding if you want to go on this particular journey ;)
@FacePuncher/ futurecare IKR...The snakes, rats, and myriad of other burrowing animals are salivating to get in the hovel...it's nice to see so many others in the comments realizing how foolish this sort of structure is.
You don't have to use the tires. The principals or thermal insulation, water catchment and treatment, year round food production and solar harvesting, can be utilized with almost any structural material. I am planning on building one with formed filled foam-crete and flagstone walls. It will take a lot less physical effort, but I will lose the earthquake proofing from the 'give' in the tires. You can also build them out of bales of straw coated in adobe/cement with a cement foundation under the straw. This method requires more solid 'framing' than if you built with tires.
@@HeatherNaturaly The basic principles are sound, don't get me wrong. I even like their aesthetic, their commitment to recycling waste materials, the idea of integrating a house into the earth. All of that is great. People just underestimate how much bloody work goes into making one of these structures when going with the original recipe. I meant it when I say you should try to pound 3-4 wheelbarrows of dirt into one tire. I have done that, it takes a few hours and then you have one tire. Then imagine multiplying that by a couple thousand.
@FacePuncher 'eco-friendly' building goes beyond the building materials. Earthsips are designed to be sustaining with no reliance on outside power(from coal or other fossil fuels) or water. That is what makes them so much more 'eco-friendly'. "plastics which come off the construction site can be melted into other stuff".... contractors don't do this. It goes in the trash and goes to the landfill. "concrete is reusable"....concrete is not reused. It is also no eco-friendly to produce or get rid of. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_impact_of_concrete
That's a beautiful ship, I love to see when the design meets the environment. However, with all the earthships I've seen, my permaculture head screams at them for letting all that hot air out of the top vents without putting a small turbine there to scavenge a bit of power from that heat engine instead of just letting it fly out untapped.
Let’s start an Earthship sitting website. They have house sitters and pet sitters. I would like to have an Esrthship sitters website so people can travel etc. without worries.
Are there enough earthships that go unoccupied to make that work? That's the thing though, like Ron talks about in this video, an earthship has to be maintained all the time, so you really have to know what you are doing to live in one and be able to keep it up. There's a house at Dancing Rabbit that has a lot of sustainable systems. It's now a rental, but the tenants complain about it because it requires so much knowledge to maintain and they just want the convenience they are used to in the mainstream. You need some special people who aren't just there for the view.
This was a really great video with Ron explaining everything in detail, but because this particular earth ship is so different from others it would've been nice to do a walk around and show us what it looks like.
Caution. Earthships always rely on free labor. They are so labor intensive they cannot be built without it. You cannot build one yourself, and unless you're famous enough to scam 30 volunteers into a "workshop" with you, you're going to have to pay a lot of people for a lot of hours.
Well, if people are willing to volunteer to learn about building what's the problem. They aren't chained to the site or "scammed". I'm sure if they weren't happy doing it they'd leave, right? I've done some natural building and that is a lot of work too. It just takes more time, but a couple people could build one. Maybe not one this big, but we are so used to using fossil fuel as our cheap labor and building disposable houses out of crap material. Putting in some work is what it takes to build more sustainably.
@@HardcoreSustainable It isnt sustainable if you're relying on unsustainable labor sources. Thats why earthships never caught on. They cost too much labor. And that's also why the volunteers are not getting anything useful out of these workshops- they will never get to use the skills to build their home the way they hope to.
@@piratepartyftw I guess I wouldn't be able to determine that without some kind of research into cause and effect. It could very well be, but competing with fossil fuel and also being able to adapt them to climates other than deserts are other big contributing factors to cost prohibition. Strawbale houses don't cost any less to build than conventional houses, though you might not think so because the bales and sand and clay are pretty cheap, but it takes a lot of labor to build them.
@R V ---- crowsneststpete.com/2016/01/11/floridas-first-earthship-incomplete-up-for-sale/ --- The original owners explain why they had to sell their incomplete Earthship , too much like work to build it . Doing a "Weekend Workshop " gives lazy people something to do on a weekend but most people won't even do that . In the above video the Pangea Builders even makes the statement of "Volunteer" laborers for a "Workshop" so that they could gain this type of building experience and in the link I shared from 2011 the Pfalzers explain that the labor and cost was just more than they could afford . Truth is if you don't mind doing all of the work by yourself , you could very much build 1 of these single handed BUT YOU had best be MOTIVATED and capable of working by yourself because they are a "Job and 1/2 to complete".( Most people CAN'T build 1 of these by themselves )....
It requires a community, that's a part of the whole idea. Sustainability requires cooperation. Even including helping others out for no other reason than to help.
Yeah, he talked about this structure 'laughing' at hurricanes but didn't talk about the glass atrium... If they don't seal the building well (which they clearly did not) and install an ERV then the humidity will be quite bad.
Galvanized culverts are corrugated. As the hot humid air will hit them, the water vapor will condensate on the metal sides and collect in the corrugation. I hope they thought about this and integrated a drainage system. Otherwise it will be mold bonanza in there.
This video is from 2019, now in 2023 has it been completed? I've visited Taos many years ago and saw the original earthships. Building one in FW Florida has immense challenges compared to Taos environment. I live in Ft Myers, not far Myakka and would love to visit this.
I see some obvious flaws here with this house. First though the Earthship is a neat alternative but still as expensive as building a modern home but with inferior products. The labor is so intensive that you need alot of free labor. The 5 flaws that I see are during hurricanes or heavy rain water and wind. 1. Intake air is set on the ground. Rain water will flow into pipe and be covered with debris. The Pipe should be around 6 foot high and accomplish the same thing without water. Also, this should not be a simple 8th grade woodworking box. It should be a U Shaped pipe that angles downward with the screen to prevent rain water from wind blowing from entering. A curious note: For the interior 30ft pipe, run metal pipe or cladding that is attached to the 30 foot pipe and string that around the interior and into every room to keep constant temperature even more regulated. Another thing that is not taken into full account is that the pipe flows into the house...what about all those people with allergies? A new system that takes the air, blows the air into a filtered area and a blower that uses low electricity could distribute air by ducts to prevent the mold, allergens, etc from the outside. Also the screen is so light weight critters can chew threw it and get a direct line into your home!!! This is only in its infancy right now and needs totally reworked. 2. The skylights during a hurricane will be ripped off and also if heat rises and the venting happens. A manual or electronic closing button should be installed that during adverse weather the vent is locked in place and rubber gaskets to prevent leaking. 3. The roof using curvature looks like something a child would have built or myself. LOL. An angular design that looks more professional would have been better, gutters or drains should have a top filtering basket. Has the system been tested? 4. I would not have used bottles at all. I would have squared off the interior to make a design that supported normal furniture. Most of the interior space with circles means extreme loss of square footage and spartan settings. 5. The Solar panels...wow...what a haphazard view. In an hurricane your off grid panels will be jerked off the roof being higher up. They are laid out haphazardly and that is the Earthship norm that I have seen in all their homes. Placing the solar panels 100ft away from the house or 50ft and having a battery house and putting a small fence around the solar panels would have been better and more efficient. you could then put up treated wood around the outside of the chain link fence to break up hurricane winds and rain and protect your solar panels. The chainlink fence and wood walls would need to be around 15 feet away from panels to take in shadow. A simple 10KW system with battery backup, and whole home standby generator running natural gas would be ideal for all power needs. I know this sounds harsh but it is meant to be thorough. I like the idea but not the total execution. The earthship idea is still to hippie-fied to look professional and they need to step up their work I think to really be considered 1st rate business venture.
@@kelleymariejones6388 Thank you. This is just simple observations between a normal house and these hippie sub-standard homes. When the homes are made of earth for inside the home it can take years to dry and the smell of earth seems awful. What about bugs crawling through. I like the idea but for this type of home to become normal they need to go from 8th grade woodshop skills to getting real architects and designers involved. This is something I could see the old pioneers of the 18th Century building. Not for me.
The original builder was using more Florida-accepted building methodologies. The crew in this video build primarily in arid regions without the threat of hurricanes. It was their not-so-Florida-friendly building methodologies that ultimately got the building department to put a stop to the project for many of the reasons you outlined.
I have a dream and have filed for a federal grant and think these would be perfect for the veterans village I want to do . It solves the homeless vet and the save the earth aspects it's a win win for my little hippie heart. Thank you for this incredible video. Much love to ya
@@HardcoreSustainable if anyone wants to take this idea and do it as well that's great the more the better the goal isn't credit for me the goal is getting vets off the street that's what's important not who does it or where the idea came from as long as it gets done the more the merrier 😉
I'm legally blind and I have always dreamed of living self sustainably off the grid, but it isn't plausible for somebody like me, so I am trying to find a compromise that will make it so I can live that dream to a small extent. So far the best thing I have found is an apartment in a small town next to a lake and a river. Right now I am living in Kansas but later on, I will be moving back to my home state Oklahoma where I am going to try to find my permanent residence, a place I will live for the rest of my life. I am 38 and don't want to move around anymore. I want to settle down somewhere and live the best I can in harmony with nature. Got any tips or recommendations? Also, Earthships are so cool!
Check out permaculture gardening/farming and look for solar possibilities in that area since that will be your most abundant natural energy supply. Maybe shoot for buying a small plot of land at some point and finding eco-developers to help construct something simple and efficient to run/manage. Good luck!
That sounds very interesting. I'm trying to find a buyer right now for my estate that's perfect for earthship building from our natural resources here in an ancient ocean basin in eastern North Carolina, sitting on sand and clay beside a pond. This place is so unbelievably cool it's kind of hard to imagine. I have 12 fully rented cabin style homes, commutable to Raleigh NC, on a horse estate, 10 horses grazing all around, 7 + pastures with run ins, 9-stall stable plus Very complete horse facilities including trails, show ring, lunge pen, dry lot/covered riding area, community center clubhouse, 18 acres already on septic and well water, perfect spot for tiny homes, earthships and permaculture. Boats, fishing, pool. Too much to list. Already have a community garden. Spirit is leading me to the right buyer. I'd like to actually stay with this project until I die. I live across the pond from it. All my retirement is wrapped up in it so it's time for me to step away let the strong young people guide it. If Spirit leads you to want to know more, talk to my real estate agent, Jim O'Malley at 919-584-7070, listing today August 20th 2021 at one and a half million with 6.3 cap rate I believe. I might make that partnership or deal at a work site like this, and I'm now looking for the opportunity to do it :-)
@@wendywhite2642Just saw what might be your estate on your agent’s site. It looks absolutely stunning! I wish I could put in an offer, but it’s out of my buying-power league. I hope you find the right buyer who will utilize the property the way you wish it 🙏🏻!
The roof system as built triggered a stop work order from the building department shortly after this video was filmed. The original owner sold the property shortly after that.
I appreciate how he mentions the unique climate of the area. As someone who's not from Taos NM or Portland OR, a lot of sustainability content just isn't transferable or relatable for me. It's nice to see different areas represented.
The original builder installed a series of 4" PVC air tubes that were buried 15' underground and each room had tubing in the concrete flooring that circulated cool well water. The builders featured in this video abandoned those efforts in favor of a more desert-style earthship system.
I love earthships but i live in tropical climate so what I'm going to do is just build my house with concrete and I'll use the basic concepts of earthship like Using solar power, Rainwater harvesting, a big kitchen garden, Greywater system, composting waste, recycling, reusing and I'm also thinking about buying electric vehicles but they're so expensive.
I'll tell you why he might not want to tie into grid. Next door neighbor put in solar. She gets credit towards her bill...but no credit for any power she generates over and above her needs at the moment. So she will be basically supplying power company with free power all winter long.
That sucks. But there is a hopeful seeming blockchain solution: Power Ledger or POW is a way for small renewable power producers to trade their excess power with others on the grid who need it. POW kind of creates an invisible ecosystem of power production and power users that trades automatically in the background. It requires a somewhat smarter grid but it could really revolutionize energy. (disclosure, I got excited by their proposal and invested a little)
The rules on selling back power varies from power company to power company.. each state has different laws and each utility has different policies based on those laws. Many utilities have power buy back rates per kwh in excess of what you use. Many however, dont credit you as mentioned. Long story short: do your own research to learn about your utilities policies
Funny how every area and home use vastly different amounts of power. Some areas the cost of power is still very cheap so it does not pay to sell the power back. Other areas they charge so much for power is makes zero sense not to sell the power back. With an earth ship most find the power usage tends to be lower with reduction from heat and cooling that amount to around 70% for most people who would live in a traditional house with what is common HVAC. I did note that they put in much larger earth tubes than one sees in N. M. Still in Florida the amount of heat or cooling is not really substantial due to the physics of how they perform. They also will do NOTHING when it comes to humidity.. which is why he was talking about you cannot close up an earth ship there in florida.. Can you say mold? Big time. So the earth tubes are really there for fresh air ventilation.
Well, solar cells are hard on the grid, because they aren't producing predictably. So you may have energy coming in, but no where for it to go, and that can damage the grid. So you need to adjust your reliable resources to produce less, etc.
I love this and have been watching as many builds as I can. If ever I had the money I would like to build an ecovillege of my own. It would take me winning the lottery but I can think of no better way to spend a few million dollars than to save a large property and lots of families than to show people how simple and enjoyable life can be if you plan it right. U fortunately I am basically wheelchair bound otherwise I would be looking into land for my new home I would build
I'm sorry to hear that you have a disability to contend with. There are ecovillages already going and some that are in cities where mobility can be much easier than in the country where we are.
Just think, these types of houses are on one level. You may have kids who like lofts but one floor. I am trying to get out of my chair. I walk at a tilt, short steps lengthening every day and a walker for the long walks. Check with Habitat for Humanity for some help on your disability needs.
I am serious about visiting Taos to learn to build these incredible homes. South Africa has a major house shortage and power shortage and this is a solution
I started to go that direction here in Mississippi. Then I ran into a law. If you have more than something like five tires on your property you're operating a tire dump and the EPA in this state will fine the hell out of you for it. It turns out that people would start a tire dump on their property here and then about the time they were running out of room there would be an 'accidental fire'. Then they suddenly had room again. When I asked about setting one of these up they said I could get a special dispensation, but they'd have to inspect it regularly. I told them to shove it and have moved on to earthbags instead.
Yeah, too bad that we have to pay the price for the ignorance of others. Burning tires is a horrible use for them and horrible for the environment. There are so many regulations made to keep stupid people from doing stupid things that then prevent smart people from doing good things. And usually the motivation for the stupidity is saving or making a buck. I was just reading a story about a moonshiner from Appalachia who was always being sent to jail for moonshining. He made really high quality hooch, but he bought some hooch from someone else who used old lead battery casings to ferment his mash in. He nearly died after drinking the moonshine. The regulations are for the guy who'd use lead battery casings, and, although most people are ignorant of history and hate regulations, we should be grateful distilleries have regulations. Back in the early days before food regulations companies would put rocks in bags of flour and sometimes sand or potatoes to bulk up the weight of the flour, which was obviously worth more than rocks, sand, or potatoes. I wish for the earthships they could make an exception. It might just take a lot more people pressuring them to change the regs. It's worked for straw bale houses.
The original builder spent several months dealing with this exact issue. It was through a significant amount of documentation and building a relationship with the local EPA office they were able to find a resolution and get around the "landfill law".
@@HardcoreSustainable I'll get around all of this like I said. Thanks for the response by the way. Here I am watching this two years later and I remembered something about that manual valve for after the roof is cleaned off. People in the old days used to use a bucket hanging off of a chain that caught the first flood of water and then redirected it automatically into the cistern. Sorry only remembered it tonight. LOL
Not a single word how they solve the high humidity air ?! This whole structure will rot in mold eventually in high humid Florida !!! Try to sleep in 85F/ 85% RH in summer nights in South Florida, then you will know what I'm talking about.
Well that's answered my question that I've been wondering about for sometime now . That has changed my mind on doing a home this way . He said it I don't want to be stuck at home all the time and can't take off weeks at a time. Nope I'll stay with my other thoughts making a dream home.
Great video. Just a note that more recent peer reviewed journal papers have shown that concrete is carbon neutral over a 50 year period. So technically there isn't anything wrong with using this material. Also mix crushed glass in to make a better composite with better thermal insulation properties for screeds shows some benefit.
I'd love to know how concrete could possibly be carbon neutral. "Over a 50 year period" doesn't even make sense. And all those highways are somehow eating up the carbon in the atmosphere. Got a link to a source?
How do you keep condensation from pooling in the culvert pipes? And how do you keep the humidity out of the home if you are pulling air directly from outside?
I would guess that some of the pipe is perf and since the moisture in the hot air would condense upon entering the cool earth-bermed pipe, it would remove a lot of the humidity and run into the ground. That is just a guess though.
I think even if the pipe was perforated or not, it still would have lots of constant moisture in the pipes. My guess is that it would smell musty very quickly. Better to use smooth plastic pipe that was angled steeply down so the water could excape. Culvert pipes although strong, would literally just trap tons of water in it. Just my two cents I would never do earth tubes unless you live in the desert, too much issues with air quality.
@@wiseandfunfox You are absolutely correct. The original builders on this particular project had installed earth air tubes consisting of clusters of 4 - 4" PVC pipes, 15' below the ground, 60' long. There was a manifold of 4 going into each of the 4 corner circular rooms. The builders in this video blocked those pipes off and installed the short galvanized pipes you see in the video. As it turned out, the short galvanized pipes actually increased the air temperature and did nothing for the humidity. Building in the desert is a different ballgame than the tropics.
Notice how they said it was 13 years in the making. I dont know if it is still the original owners but i remember following this years ago when it was just tires and atrium. They spent a couple hundred thousand by that point in time on the stupid ass city,county and state building offices cause city oridnance wont recognize any of yhe building practices. Just more bullshit to get more money and also if everyone was using natural and recycled materials that would be a huge lose for such a large industry of building supplies.
@@ryanhorne6906 I must of not hear the 13 yr. Construction time line. That alone would make you get poor fast. I'd think most for that time was lost in trial/error and having to stack tires for years to do the job. Somewhere, somehow,someone will have to pay something for them eventually. I agree it would be just like when we went through the change of automated/hands on assembly lines like auto manufacturing? 1 industry of newer inovations takes over the others being knocked out of their jobs? That alone destroyed many of lives. The uneployment doubled within 3yrs. From like 7% to 13%. Now it's not nearly that fast, but it's happening and never gonna end till we work out a way out of our own nessasery existence!
These buildings are super strong and durable. The only thing stronger would be a buried structure like a bunker or earth sheltered home. Much stronger than any stick built home.
Henry Badd it is also possible that there are no codes since it is off grid. Many states don’t have codes for buildings outside of municipalities. The codes come from tying into public utilities. Want water utility you have to have plumbing inspections. You want to have electricity then you have to have electrical inspection. But no framing or concrete inspections in those states. It varies from state to state.
@@kamurray67 Someone pointed out something I missed in the video,we need also to consider . Mentioned was the construction started 13 yrs ago.LOL. I personally have built a house in Florida gust before this. No permits at all, but this was just before Google Earth started their spying campaign. So that construction site was grandfathered in. The comment made by the other person brought something else to mind as well. If this was allowed it would kill many of businesses. Lumber which would actually help our environment of course, but many tradesmen would be out of work fast. Sorta like the change in the auto industries massive layoffs, due to automation assembly as apposed to hands on workers. Once we got nano tech. Industry after industry have been falling like dominos. Raising unemployment rate almost double. Just from the Auto industry alone made it go from around 7% to 13% within 3 yrs. Many had to return to schooling for a new line of work. Now on another note. 13yrs of working the same site? If your not doing this by yourself. you payed enough in labor to build a mansion. I can't even fathom a group of friends doing this for free that long. Somehow they're eating. Not to mention ,you have to scrounge up all those tires or your paying for them. Do you also recall them saying " you can not leave it unattended for much longer then 3 months. Can you picture yourself having to restucco everything all the time forever and at the age of 70? I really thought the concept was to save money and the environment. Just 3 months on a normal build site the run off of gray warter from any cement/Portland product is bad for our water supply. Then you have the issues of gathering enough stuff to start working with. I'm all in for saving the environment and time is money. It would appear this route is wrong in so many ways. I do like working with recycled woods and such. But for some reason. I do think we should be able to have a strong enough structure that can be moved but far more solid then a mobile and can be packed up and ready to be moved within days. That being said I can only come up with shipping containers. Your house is already packed up. You may have to rearrange and secure may things but axles can be placed on in a few hrs. And your out of the way of a cat 5 within 4 days assuming the funds are there to do so.. however if it ever became legal a little more funds added to insurance could insure that. Them containers themselves are very sturdy already and in most cases can take a hell of a beaten in a hurricane. I live in Florida and seen it with my own eyes. A house reduced to stick and trash but on the very same property they've had shipping containers for tool storage not moved or just tipped over and only moved a few inches. I think if placed on a concrete slab with anchor bolts set in along with underground rough ins would secure that thing down. A 2 x 4 at 130 mph may punch through a few inches but thats just the steal its self. I'm sure you'll have some insulation, framing and may be a siding. Man I have tons of ideas on this and am very confident I can design something of this sort. I was in the top of my class when I took up Mech. Drafting. Enjoy your thoughts and mostly the comments coming from multiple sources. I was a project manager for a Mech. Firm and listened to the men working the job. Collectively we resolves problems much faster. But a must is someone in the background being a so called Na Sayer. They bring the, what if issues into focus that many other may not have thought through the whole idea. Offering very valuable redundancy. Keep it coming.
The warm (and humid) air is drawn into the tubes where some of the moisture settles onto the galvanized tubing which will eventually rust, but in the meantime will provide a habitat for mold, and all his friends. The air then enters the house where much of the remaining moisture will condense onto the walls, furniture, clothing and anything else. Either he's not explaining it very well, or there's going to be active dehumidification not mentioned, or the house will be a superfund site in a few years.
He doesn't really explain the humidity issue, but I would guess the tubes are sloped upward the house allowing the condensation to drain off. Going through 30 ft of cool earth would definitely strip a lot of the moisture out of the air, I imagine. I'm not sure if the tubing is corrugated, which would probably impede drainage. Depending on how thick the tubing is it could last a long time. I did edit the video down and don't remember if he addressed the humidity issue more thoroughly. Pretty much every house in Florida has to deal with high humidity and they usually do that with fossil fuel and air conditioning, something that's incredibly unsustainable. But the jury is still out on whether this house performs because they rain into some snags with approval and the land ended up being sold to someone who isn't even using the house.
![Earthship | New Solutions [Guide]](/img/n.gif)
This type of building SHOULD be Florida’s code building because of people coming together, eco friendly, sustainability, protection from hurricanes and termites, reducing waste, and not to mention an aesthetically look and feel. I want one. This is my dream for my retirement. For me, this will help me live without much money because my Social Security benefits will not be much. My Earthship home will be smaller because I don’t need too much space. I want one, so bad. I live in Florida.
No defenetly no, the "automobile tires" are health hazard that makes this build stupid, there are many parts that are great but the tires are horrible idea.
The cans and Glass bottles are just stuck in this build and you cant recycle them like in Germany 98% of bottles are recycle.
Its better to re use stuff than put it in your house wall and take it out of sycle.
By using all cans and bottles + tiers you just make need to create more cans bottles and tiers because you dont recycle them.
Problems is cost
Me too, blessings for your dream to come true.
Government needs to stop telling people what they are/are not "allowed" to do.
Get government out of the way and innovation will flourish.
#SmashTheState
@@arkadiuszlee407 There's a couple things here. Number 1 with the tires: I was thinking this too RE: them being a health hazard. The rubbing of tires on the roads creates aerosol particles that are really dangerous for your health. But if you're using tires to build like this and they end up encased in cement or clay, there is really no impact on health, no? I mean, we use fiberglass insulation in buildings and even though it is also a health hazard, when it's behind drywall and plaster, it's really a non-issue. I imagine tires are the same way.
2. About the recycling: Glass is really made from just sand which is abundant and therefore renewable. The only environmental impact worth mentioning is the energy in heat required to melt the glass but you'd run into the same problem when melting down old bottles when recycling. Same is true with aluminum cans. Plastic is just about the material worthwhile to recycle, if not do away with altogether.
I would appreciate a return to this property after they finish.
Doubt that will ever happen, They have been working on it for 13 years! I do not even think its the same owner!
In like a 100 years ? 12 years and that's all they have to show ?
@@kameljoe21 i understood it the way, that the guy giving the interview has worked on earthships in general for 13 years, not on this one particular, or am i wrong?
@@mastas7 This earthship is on going for the better part of 2 decades, From other comments and google search this has gone thru a couple of owners when they either have gone broke or just gave up, There is a lot of problems with the design and construction of it. A lot of stuff they did or were doing has either been found to be the wrong way to do it, or there is a far better method of doing it.
I plan to return there as soon as I can. I wanted to go earlier this year when I was in Florida but the pandemic hit and I wasn't able to make it. The owner says that they have finished, so it should be a good video and maybe some of the questions from this comment section can be answered.
I'm glad Florida is finally getting its first Earthship and I look forward to the update
I want to build one here in Alabama!
Thank you, good wishes with the Earthship.
I was expecting to hear a thorough explanation of how they are dealing with Florida's high humidity, the lack of which leaves me highly suspicious. I would really appreciate a follow-up video from Hardcore Sustainable. Pangeabuilders has a lot of experience, and they deserve the chance to explain their engineering.
The cool air from the galvanized pipes is drier that the warm air.
@@lilsammich8252 Condensation.
@@themartianway Dehumidifiers are very common in the south but yes that would be an issue in the swamp.
sam newcome nope... there is 100% humidity in all the air around. And those tubes did Not dry the air. My grandfather did the same system in 1980 in Brantley County GA. Even Made the local Newspaper. By 1988 they added the A/C For the Humidity Problem.
sam newcome though his “Underground House” was Very energy efficient.
When it's 100deg 100% humidity 24/7 in July-Sept, those cool tubes are not gonna cut it.
This man knows his stuff! I am a huge fan of earth ships..... have been and always will be....this should be... the future of home building. More folks .....could live a great life if they built like this. I have watched this building style....since 1980.... getting better every year.
I am so interested in earthship building...but, I have also lived in Florida. I really cannot see how they will sustain this building in Florida...too MUCH humidity. So, I would use a lot of solar powered dehumidifiers there.
Me and my partner decided that Florida will be the place we want to settle in. We want to build an off grid earth ship home, so this video is perfect! Thank you!!!!
Thanks for uploading this. Your videos and earth ships are 2 great tastes that go great together.
I am building my earth-ship this spring. I toured Taos in June of this year and I have gotten some great ideas. Thanks 👍🏻
Caution. The Earthship success stories you see all relied on free labor.
Notice this guy in the video says he's going to finish this project by bringing in a bunch of volunteers. Can you get 30 volunteers to work for you? If no, dont attempt building an earth ship. You'll never finish it.
I have at least 25 willing to help. Taos is in New Mexico
Laura Rufener PLEASE VIDEO RECORD and upload to UA-cam !
Checkout my videos. Helped to build the Earthship Six Nations in Ontario Canada in 2016
Where are You going to build Your earthship ?
john howard in Ohio.
Dude! Thank you I live in Barbados and have been looking for information dealing with earthships in the Caribbean as our needs, construction materials and seasons are completely different than in larger countries. This video answered a few of those questions.
Are you going or started an earthship?
Man Ron’s the man! I watched him demonstrate how to pound the tires with dirt about 10 years ago, beast! Great video 👌🏽
As an HVAC engineer in Tampa I’m going to follow this build and see how fast the owners will grow mushrooms 🍄 in that “house”. I’m all for eco friendly builds, but mister builder with all the answers, can you please provide a thermodynamic analysis that proves that he moisture will be removed properly ?
there is a reason why geothermal isn’t popular in the sunshine state...
I would think that desiccation would be the primary solution for that. I've been looking into liquid desiccant systems that can be recharged with the kinds of temperature that you get from solar thermal systems. There were some recent experiments working with a non-compressor AC. The final design cooled and desiccated incoming air with what amounted to a swamp cooler that used a potassium chloride solution in place of pure water. The rest of the system was there to recharge and drive off humidity that the desiccant grabed and then cool down the heated desiccant before running it through more incoming air. Video here: ua-cam.com/video/7w4rg3UcsgI/v-deo.html
IF it's possible to get most of the needed heat to perform the recharge from a solar thermal system, then it seems likely that you could run a desiccant tower outside the culvert entrances and dry out incoming air before chilling it in the berm. If you wanted to be really extra about it, you could run tubing through another section of the berm to cool the desiccant back down from its recharge temperature.
Wonder how much of the humidity gets removed in the fresh air pipes in the ground?
Just run a dehumidifier if it really comes to that.
@@Alex-uo4qq Dehumidifier would work only in a space with low ventilation and surrounded by a a vapor barrier. The existing heating and cooling system would be disabled. More costly to operate.
@@oj5218 As air is cooled R H would increase. Condensation is expected when air is wet to start with.
Hi Dan, thanks for posting this video. Earth ship building is quite interesting and it's great to see how the builder has adapted for the Florida environment. As always, you have lots of great information to share.
Thanks Dianne. Nice to hear from you!
This man is awesome! He says he does not build wealthy peoples second houses and that is the kind of attitude we need. Great job.
Without a doubt, this concept is the exact right move for our uncertain future. It solves all the outstanding issues for future life and prosperity off the doomed grid.
Yeah I want an update too, I subscribed. We live in North Texas and want to do a permaculture property and earth ship. Glad to find these builders so we have someone to call when it's time !
I love how the energy feels when you first walk into the home! So much connectedness!
You just don't get that with conventionally constructed homes. You can never go wrong living in harmony with nature!
It's VERY connected to the environment! So much so that it literally rains inside when it's raining outside.
I want a small version of this house!! I love the self sufficiency of it. ❣️❣️❣️❣️❣️
me too.
There is a way to automate the collection of rainwater from roof runoff. You have a y value that lets the first water run down into the lower leg and fill it up with the amount of water it takes to get to clean water. Then the rest of the water goes up the second leg and into the holding tank. The lower leg has a small bleed line that empties the lower leg after the rain stops.
I have a 35 year old house and designed it so that I can leave it for months at a time. It can be done.
I have that kind of setup for my rainwater collection system too.
yes, I think the humidity is going to wreck this house. it will rust those galvanized tubes, it will grow mold on the walls. The only way to deal with humidity is to have constant and thorough air movement with active dehumidification.
Maybe a membrane that would turn it back into water?
They are making a. Lot of adaptions to the traditional earthship design for humidity. I agree they may need some AC or dehumidifiers running to dry out the building. They already are not using Cob because they know it will never dry in Florida humidity. But it’s why I am following this closely to see if this works in Florida.
I'd be keen to see an update in future.
I live in Jacksonville, Fl. I would love to know how they're dealing with the humidity, especially since they're just south of St. Pete (which gets hotter and more humid than Jax). Great video. I'm happy to see earthships have made it to Florida!
Back in 74 or 75, there was one along A1A between Jax and St Augustine. Just south of Saw Grass. Let me know if you find it. I was living in Jax Bch. Seattle Born Now live in 4 seasons Idaho.
@@RANDOG1951 What side of the road the beach side or intercoastal side?
I think you're thinking of the castle like structure, The Myakka City Earthship is the only one build so far that I know of, Ive heard someone in Jacksonville has one but yet to meet them.
They need to build a community of these around the area. These are hard to sell if there is no one around who knows how to operate one.
Also, address mold, and flooding. I think it needs a certain rise above ground level, a dry moat, and more ventilation. Access to local breezes. Maybe some kind of naturally powered fan.
Yeah, I think mold is going to be a problem. If they coated the interior walls with lime plaster that would help control mold.
Also, last time I heard someone talk about a convection cooling tunnel like that, it had to be shut down because of mold inside the tunnels.
Andrea Wisner
I think you are right. In this climate, it kind of reminds me of a bomb shelter; something to use in bad weather or emergencies, but it might not be healthy to live in full time.
Find out whether it works before building more.
We have a hybrid in S. Co. Tire bales, with a bit of pounded tires...not complete but all livable...
This one will be cool, is cool thou!
Man I'm a roofer in st.pete and do alot of eco building and they should really do a silicone system on the roof it would drop interior temps by a few degrees.
The roof system is what ultimately stopped this project shortly after this video was filmed. The amalgamation of roofing techniques didn't end up working very well in Florida and water pours into the building with each rain. The New Mexico crew also being unfamiliar with Florida codes skipped a few anchoring steps that triggered a stop work order by the building department.
Thank you! Finally an earthship for our Tropical Climate here in the Philippines!
I hope to see Earthship communities not just in Florida, but around the world as well. Humans should be living in harmony with nature, not against it.
💖🍀🌱🌱🌱🌎🌏 i cant wait to build mine!! So happy to see this home.
Ron you are the man
I'm designing my own eco house at the moment, One concern I have is with the earth tubes, especially connected straight into the living space, in such a high humidity environment, I think that would cause A lot of moisture problems. Those tubes do not look long enough to really change the air temperature, and would condense A ton of water in the pipe. I've watched a ton of videos on people doing earth tubes, it seems like the best is to have a steep angle with a smooth plastic pipe so any water that does condense drips right back to the intake. My guess is that that air, will smell very musty and could cause respiratory issues. Also from the research i've done it's almost always recommended that earth tubes be done only in arid environments, by doing this is such a high humid climate, I would think you would need an active filtration system to have healthy air. Can anyone that has 1st hand experience chime in, I would like to hear other thoughts on this?
wiseandfunfox see my comment about two days before yours. Earth tubes are a bad idea in such a humid environment.
The only way I can see the tubes working is if it is an enclosed circuit going from inside the house out under the dirt and back inside, fan forced. Other than that, a dehumidifier draining into the botanical cell is the ONLY solution I can see working.
look at termites and their ventilation towers ;)
Maybe use dehumidifiers in line , would eat up energy.but should solve the moisture problem.
You are quite correct, the original builder of the structure had buried a manifold of 4 - 4" tubes, 60' long buried 15' underground (a total of 16 tubes). Those earth air tubes had close to a 20 degree temperature change. The crew in this video decided to close those off and install the short culverts above ground; as it turned out the new metal tubes actually added heat to the air coming into the building. Systems that work in New Mexico, don't necessarily do well in a tropical Florida.
Wow great functional designs here! From the outside, it looks dominating!
There needs to be a contractor developer for Earth homes and domes, totally specialist engineers and architects. To progress and create the demand for everyone interested in them all.
I love the idea of selling the power back to FPL.
I love it when people get all starry eyed and say 'I am gonna live in an EARTHSHIP!!!1'. Then after 12 years they are still not living in their earthship.
Pound 3-4 wheelbarrows of dirt into one tire before deciding if you want to go on this particular journey ;)
@FacePuncher/ futurecare IKR...The snakes, rats, and myriad of other burrowing animals are salivating to get in the hovel...it's nice to see so many others in the comments realizing how foolish this sort of structure is.
@FacePuncher Exactly!
You don't have to use the tires. The principals or thermal insulation, water catchment and treatment, year round food production and solar harvesting, can be utilized with almost any structural material.
I am planning on building one with formed filled foam-crete and flagstone walls. It will take a lot less physical effort, but I will lose the earthquake proofing from the 'give' in the tires. You can also build them out of bales of straw coated in adobe/cement with a cement foundation under the straw. This method requires more solid 'framing' than if you built with tires.
@@HeatherNaturaly The basic principles are sound, don't get me wrong. I even like their aesthetic, their commitment to recycling waste materials, the idea of integrating a house into the earth. All of that is great.
People just underestimate how much bloody work goes into making one of these structures when going with the original recipe.
I meant it when I say you should try to pound 3-4 wheelbarrows of dirt into one tire. I have done that, it takes a few hours and then you have one tire. Then imagine multiplying that by a couple thousand.
@FacePuncher 'eco-friendly' building goes beyond the building materials. Earthsips are designed to be sustaining with no reliance on outside power(from coal or other fossil fuels) or water. That is what makes them so much more 'eco-friendly'.
"plastics which come off the construction site can be melted into other stuff".... contractors don't do this. It goes in the trash and goes to the landfill.
"concrete is reusable"....concrete is not reused. It is also no eco-friendly to produce or get rid of.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_impact_of_concrete
Terrific and good luck .
That's a beautiful ship, I love to see when the design meets the environment. However, with all the earthships I've seen, my permaculture head screams at them for letting all that hot air out of the top vents without putting a small turbine there to scavenge a bit of power from that heat engine instead of just letting it fly out untapped.
After 100+ years of needless waste, we're gonna need a few minutes to get up to speed. That's assuming we have a minute before we F up it all!
Build one yourself and add that feature. There are a lot of options. But, yes I see things all the time like that. So I understand what u r saying.?
Cool idea! I shall try this myself!
Appreciate what y'all do man, great stuff
This is exelent thanks for sharing
Let’s start an Earthship sitting website. They have house sitters and pet sitters. I would like to have an Esrthship sitters website so people can travel etc. without worries.
Are there enough earthships that go unoccupied to make that work? That's the thing though, like Ron talks about in this video, an earthship has to be maintained all the time, so you really have to know what you are doing to live in one and be able to keep it up. There's a house at Dancing Rabbit that has a lot of sustainable systems. It's now a rental, but the tenants complain about it because it requires so much knowledge to maintain and they just want the convenience they are used to in the mainstream. You need some special people who aren't just there for the view.
This was a really great video with Ron explaining everything in detail, but because this particular earth ship is so different from others it would've been nice to do a walk around and show us what it looks like.
Caution. Earthships always rely on free labor. They are so labor intensive they cannot be built without it.
You cannot build one yourself, and unless you're famous enough to scam 30 volunteers into a "workshop" with you, you're going to have to pay a lot of people for a lot of hours.
Well, if people are willing to volunteer to learn about building what's the problem. They aren't chained to the site or "scammed". I'm sure if they weren't happy doing it they'd leave, right? I've done some natural building and that is a lot of work too. It just takes more time, but a couple people could build one. Maybe not one this big, but we are so used to using fossil fuel as our cheap labor and building disposable houses out of crap material. Putting in some work is what it takes to build more sustainably.
@@HardcoreSustainable It isnt sustainable if you're relying on unsustainable labor sources. Thats why earthships never caught on. They cost too much labor. And that's also why the volunteers are not getting anything useful out of these workshops- they will never get to use the skills to build their home the way they hope to.
@@piratepartyftw I guess I wouldn't be able to determine that without some kind of research into cause and effect. It could very well be, but competing with fossil fuel and also being able to adapt them to climates other than deserts are other big contributing factors to cost prohibition. Strawbale houses don't cost any less to build than conventional houses, though you might not think so because the bales and sand and clay are pretty cheap, but it takes a lot of labor to build them.
@R V ---- crowsneststpete.com/2016/01/11/floridas-first-earthship-incomplete-up-for-sale/ --- The original owners explain why they had to sell their incomplete Earthship , too much like work to build it . Doing a "Weekend Workshop " gives lazy people something to do on a weekend but most people won't even do that . In the above video the Pangea Builders even makes the statement of "Volunteer" laborers for a "Workshop" so that they could gain this type of building experience and in the link I shared from 2011 the Pfalzers explain that the labor and cost was just more than they could afford . Truth is if you don't mind doing all of the work by yourself , you could very much build 1 of these single handed BUT YOU had best be MOTIVATED and capable of working by yourself because they are a "Job and 1/2 to complete".( Most people CAN'T build 1 of these by themselves )....
It requires a community, that's a part of the whole idea. Sustainability requires cooperation. Even including helping others out for no other reason than to help.
Love it so much. Planning on building one up here in Montana.
A lot of spin from the “master builder.” The humidity and moisture issues were not addressed. The interviewer should have questioned this.
Yeah, he talked about this structure 'laughing' at hurricanes but didn't talk about the glass atrium... If they don't seal the building well (which they clearly did not) and install an ERV then the humidity will be quite bad.
I'd love too see what it looks like when it's completely finished.
Nice torquise in the back 😎
Galvanized culverts are corrugated. As the hot humid air will hit them, the water vapor will condensate on the metal sides and collect in the corrugation. I hope they thought about this and integrated a drainage system. Otherwise it will be mold bonanza in there.
Mathieu Lamaure ooooo you just saved me some headache on my build! Thanks!
thank you for educational video
This video is from 2019, now in 2023 has it been completed? I've visited Taos many years ago and saw the original earthships. Building one in FW Florida has immense challenges compared to Taos environment. I live in Ft Myers, not far Myakka and would love to visit this.
Definitely , learn something New . I'm very interested in this and will love to the finished product. Wow , Cave man had the right ideas an
Oops sorry , knew how to survive . Think how long ago that was . I will definitely keep up with the progress of this earth house project .
Love love these homes
I see some obvious flaws here with this house. First though the Earthship is a neat alternative but still as expensive as building a modern home but with inferior products. The labor is so intensive that you need alot of free labor. The 5 flaws that I see are during hurricanes or heavy rain water and wind.
1. Intake air is set on the ground. Rain water will flow into pipe and be covered with debris. The Pipe should be around 6 foot high and accomplish the same thing without water. Also, this should not be a simple 8th grade woodworking box. It should be a U Shaped pipe that angles downward with the screen to prevent rain water from wind blowing from entering. A curious note: For the interior 30ft pipe, run metal pipe or cladding that is attached to the 30 foot pipe and string that around the interior and into every room to keep constant temperature even more regulated. Another thing that is not taken into full account is that the pipe flows into the house...what about all those people with allergies? A new system that takes the air, blows the air into a filtered area and a blower that uses low electricity could distribute air by ducts to prevent the mold, allergens, etc from the outside. Also the screen is so light weight critters can chew threw it and get a direct line into your home!!! This is only in its infancy right now and needs totally reworked.
2. The skylights during a hurricane will be ripped off and also if heat rises and the venting happens. A manual or electronic closing button should be installed that during adverse weather the vent is locked in place and rubber gaskets to prevent leaking.
3. The roof using curvature looks like something a child would have built or myself. LOL. An angular design that looks more professional would have been better, gutters or drains should have a top filtering basket. Has the system been tested?
4. I would not have used bottles at all. I would have squared off the interior to make a design that supported normal furniture. Most of the interior space with circles means extreme loss of square footage and spartan settings.
5. The Solar panels...wow...what a haphazard view. In an hurricane your off grid panels will be jerked off the roof being higher up. They are laid out haphazardly and that is the Earthship norm that I have seen in all their homes. Placing the solar panels 100ft away from the house or 50ft and having a battery house and putting a small fence around the solar panels would have been better and more efficient. you could then put up treated wood around the outside of the chain link fence to break up hurricane winds and rain and protect your solar panels. The chainlink fence and wood walls would need to be around 15 feet away from panels to take in shadow. A simple 10KW system with battery backup, and whole home standby generator running natural gas would be ideal for all power needs.
I know this sounds harsh but it is meant to be thorough. I like the idea but not the total execution. The earthship idea is still to hippie-fied to look professional and they need to step up their work I think to really be considered 1st rate business venture.
K Smith I have never lived there but you definitely seem to know what goes on there. It makes sense what you are saying.
@@kelleymariejones6388 Thank you. This is just simple observations between a normal house and these hippie sub-standard homes. When the homes are made of earth for inside the home it can take years to dry and the smell of earth seems awful. What about bugs crawling through. I like the idea but for this type of home to become normal they need to go from 8th grade woodshop skills to getting real architects and designers involved. This is something I could see the old pioneers of the 18th Century building. Not for me.
The original builder was using more Florida-accepted building methodologies. The crew in this video build primarily in arid regions without the threat of hurricanes. It was their not-so-Florida-friendly building methodologies that ultimately got the building department to put a stop to the project for many of the reasons you outlined.
Amazing!
I have a dream and have filed for a federal grant and think these would be perfect for the veterans village I want to do . It solves the homeless vet and the save the earth aspects it's a win win for my little hippie heart. Thank you for this incredible video. Much love to ya
Great idea
@@HardcoreSustainable if anyone wants to take this idea and do it as well that's great the more the better the goal isn't credit for me the goal is getting vets off the street that's what's important not who does it or where the idea came from as long as it gets done the more the merrier 😉
I'm a vet and I want to build earth ships... I love your idea!
I'm legally blind and I have always dreamed of living self sustainably off the grid, but it isn't plausible for somebody like me, so I am trying to find a compromise that will make it so I can live that dream to a small extent. So far the best thing I have found is an apartment in a small town next to a lake and a river. Right now I am living in Kansas but later on, I will be moving back to my home state Oklahoma where I am going to try to find my permanent residence, a place I will live for the rest of my life. I am 38 and don't want to move around anymore. I want to settle down somewhere and live the best I can in harmony with nature. Got any tips or recommendations?
Also, Earthships are so cool!
All the best to You!
Check out permaculture gardening/farming and look for solar possibilities in that area since that will be your most abundant natural energy supply. Maybe shoot for buying a small plot of land at some point and finding eco-developers to help construct something simple and efficient to run/manage. Good luck!
That sounds very interesting. I'm trying to find a buyer right now for my estate that's perfect for earthship building from our natural resources here in an ancient ocean basin in eastern North Carolina, sitting on sand and clay beside a pond. This place is so unbelievably cool it's kind of hard to imagine. I have 12 fully rented cabin style homes, commutable to Raleigh NC, on a horse estate, 10 horses grazing all around, 7 + pastures with run ins, 9-stall stable plus Very complete horse facilities including trails, show ring, lunge pen, dry lot/covered riding area, community center clubhouse, 18 acres already on septic and well water, perfect spot for tiny homes, earthships and permaculture. Boats, fishing, pool. Too much to list. Already have a community garden. Spirit is leading me to the right buyer. I'd like to actually stay with this project until I die. I live across the pond from it. All my retirement is wrapped up in it so it's time for me to step away let the strong young people guide it. If Spirit leads you to want to know more, talk to my real estate agent, Jim O'Malley at 919-584-7070, listing today August 20th 2021 at one and a half million with 6.3 cap rate I believe. I might make that partnership or deal at a work site like this, and I'm now looking for the opportunity to do it :-)
@@wendywhite2642Just saw what might be your estate on your agent’s site. It looks absolutely stunning! I wish I could put in an offer, but it’s out of my buying-power league. I hope you find the right buyer who will utilize the property the way you wish it 🙏🏻!
@@BogoEN I feel so blessed by your kind reply! 😁❤️🌄🧘♀️
Thankyou. I live in Florida and wondered if this was possible
Great video full of important info! Had this project been finished yet? I live in Florida and I love that earth ships are coming down south 👏🏼👏🏼
Super awesome, wow what a project. Cool beans.
That flat roof looks like it’s a problem
The roof system as built triggered a stop work order from the building department shortly after this video was filmed. The original owner sold the property shortly after that.
I appreciate how he mentions the unique climate of the area. As someone who's not from Taos NM or Portland OR, a lot of sustainability content just isn't transferable or relatable for me. It's nice to see different areas represented.
Congratulations on 13th anniversary
😊
That was very informative, thank you!
You are eco gurus. Nice to see eco gurus know how to compromise when it makes sense!
Great analogy for a great structure. 👍
Thank you for sharing!!!
Use giant compressed earth blocks rather than tires. This uses MUCH less concrete and takes only a day to put up the walls.
What a wonderful idea to build a place to have and enjoy thanks for sharing the video
Thanks ron
Good job
Seems like you could put some kind of water based chiller in those air tubes. Like a radiator or something, using caught rain water.
The original builder installed a series of 4" PVC air tubes that were buried 15' underground and each room had tubing in the concrete flooring that circulated cool well water. The builders featured in this video abandoned those efforts in favor of a more desert-style earthship system.
I love earthships but i live in tropical climate so what I'm going to do is just build my house with concrete and I'll use the basic concepts of earthship like Using solar power, Rainwater harvesting, a big kitchen garden, Greywater system, composting waste, recycling, reusing and I'm also thinking about buying electric vehicles but they're so expensive.
Good idea
I'll tell you why he might not want to tie into grid. Next door neighbor put in solar. She gets credit towards her bill...but no credit for any power she generates over and above her needs at the moment. So she will be basically supplying power company with free power all winter long.
That sucks. But there is a hopeful seeming blockchain solution: Power Ledger or POW is a way for small renewable power producers to trade their excess power with others on the grid who need it. POW kind of creates an invisible ecosystem of power production and power users that trades automatically in the background. It requires a somewhat smarter grid but it could really revolutionize energy. (disclosure, I got excited by their proposal and invested a little)
The rules on selling back power varies from power company to power company.. each state has different laws and each utility has different policies based on those laws. Many utilities have power buy back rates per kwh in excess of what you use. Many however, dont credit you as mentioned. Long story short: do your own research to learn about your utilities policies
Funny how every area and home use vastly different amounts of power. Some areas the cost of power is still very cheap so it does not pay to sell the power back. Other areas they charge so much for power is makes zero sense not to sell the power back. With an earth ship most find the power usage tends to be lower with reduction from heat and cooling that amount to around 70% for most people who would live in a traditional house with what is common HVAC. I did note that they put in much larger earth tubes than one sees in N. M. Still in Florida the amount of heat or cooling is not really substantial due to the physics of how they perform. They also will do NOTHING when it comes to humidity.. which is why he was talking about you cannot close up an earth ship there in florida.. Can you say mold? Big time. So the earth tubes are really there for fresh air ventilation.
Well, solar cells are hard on the grid, because they aren't producing predictably. So you may have energy coming in, but no where for it to go, and that can damage the grid. So you need to adjust your reliable resources to produce less, etc.
Also add a filtration for your dark water and have it sealed. And use plant to filter it
Love ,love you Ron!!
Your whole description of the process.
I want to build one, and ha ve some ideas for a community.
I love this and have been watching as many builds as I can. If ever I had the money I would like to build an ecovillege of my own. It would take me winning the lottery but I can think of no better way to spend a few million dollars than to save a large property and lots of families than to show people how simple and enjoyable life can be if you plan it right. U fortunately I am basically wheelchair bound otherwise I would be looking into land for my new home I would build
I'm sorry to hear that you have a disability to contend with. There are ecovillages already going and some that are in cities where mobility can be much easier than in the country where we are.
Just think, these types of houses are on one level. You may have kids who like lofts but one floor. I am trying to get out of my chair. I walk at a tilt, short steps lengthening every day and a walker for the long walks. Check with Habitat for Humanity for some help on your disability needs.
Great vid! I'm just surprised you got it passed in Florida! Seems like they don't like off grid anything
Thank you!
I am serious about visiting Taos to learn to build these incredible homes. South Africa has a major house shortage and power shortage and this is a solution
It seems like it could work in South Africa because it is drier there.
The mosquitos must be having a feast
I started to go that direction here in Mississippi. Then I ran into a law. If you have more than something like five tires on your property you're operating a tire dump and the EPA in this state will fine the hell out of you for it. It turns out that people would start a tire dump on their property here and then about the time they were running out of room there would be an 'accidental fire'. Then they suddenly had room again. When I asked about setting one of these up they said I could get a special dispensation, but they'd have to inspect it regularly. I told them to shove it and have moved on to earthbags instead.
Yeah, too bad that we have to pay the price for the ignorance of others. Burning tires is a horrible use for them and horrible for the environment. There are so many regulations made to keep stupid people from doing stupid things that then prevent smart people from doing good things. And usually the motivation for the stupidity is saving or making a buck.
I was just reading a story about a moonshiner from Appalachia who was always being sent to jail for moonshining. He made really high quality hooch, but he bought some hooch from someone else who used old lead battery casings to ferment his mash in. He nearly died after drinking the moonshine. The regulations are for the guy who'd use lead battery casings, and, although most people are ignorant of history and hate regulations, we should be grateful distilleries have regulations. Back in the early days before food regulations companies would put rocks in bags of flour and sometimes sand or potatoes to bulk up the weight of the flour, which was obviously worth more than rocks, sand, or potatoes.
I wish for the earthships they could make an exception. It might just take a lot more people pressuring them to change the regs. It's worked for straw bale houses.
The original builder spent several months dealing with this exact issue. It was through a significant amount of documentation and building a relationship with the local EPA office they were able to find a resolution and get around the "landfill law".
@@HardcoreSustainable I'll get around all of this like I said. Thanks for the response by the way. Here I am watching this two years later and I remembered something about that manual valve for after the roof is cleaned off. People in the old days used to use a bucket hanging off of a chain that caught the first flood of water and then redirected it automatically into the cistern. Sorry only remembered it tonight. LOL
I kinda figured hot, humid region earthships would rely on roof ponds.
Not a single word how they solve the high humidity air ?! This whole structure will rot in mold eventually in high humid Florida !!! Try to sleep in 85F/ 85% RH in summer nights in South Florida, then you will know what I'm talking about.
Well that's answered my question that I've been wondering about for sometime now . That has changed my mind on doing a home this way . He said it I don't want to be stuck at home all the time and can't take off weeks at a time. Nope I'll stay with my other thoughts making a dream home.
Great video. Just a note that more recent peer reviewed journal papers have shown that concrete is carbon neutral over a 50 year period. So technically there isn't anything wrong with using this material. Also mix crushed glass in to make a better composite with better thermal insulation properties for screeds shows some benefit.
I'd love to know how concrete could possibly be carbon neutral. "Over a 50 year period" doesn't even make sense. And all those highways are somehow eating up the carbon in the atmosphere. Got a link to a source?
How do you keep condensation from pooling in the culvert pipes? And how do you keep the humidity out of the home if you are pulling air directly from outside?
In most air based ground source systems like this one should drill holes in the tubing so that it’s absorbed back in the earth.
I would guess that some of the pipe is perf and since the moisture in the hot air would condense upon entering the cool earth-bermed pipe, it would remove a lot of the humidity and run into the ground. That is just a guess though.
I think even if the pipe was perforated or not, it still would have lots of constant moisture in the pipes. My guess is that it would smell musty very quickly. Better to use smooth plastic pipe that was angled steeply down so the water could excape. Culvert pipes although strong, would literally just trap tons of water in it. Just my two cents I would never do earth tubes unless you live in the desert, too much issues with air quality.
@@wiseandfunfox You are absolutely correct. The original builders on this particular project had installed earth air tubes consisting of clusters of 4 - 4" PVC pipes, 15' below the ground, 60' long. There was a manifold of 4 going into each of the 4 corner circular rooms. The builders in this video blocked those pipes off and installed the short galvanized pipes you see in the video. As it turned out, the short galvanized pipes actually increased the air temperature and did nothing for the humidity. Building in the desert is a different ballgame than the tropics.
I think this is awesome !!! I want one , I'm interested to do one in Porto Rico 🤔
I find it hard to believe that those skylights and atrium glass will survive a hurricane
The local building department felt the same...This project received a stop work order for the roofing system shortly after this video was made.
I would love to see how this goes. Definitely do a follow up in a year or two. Janice
Would be nice for a follow up and also when he talking about the details it would be nice to see it while he discusses it.
LOVE the video! Please post return trip video. Would love to see finished build.
I'm working on contacting the owner to ask about another video. We'll see, but I want to do it while I'm here this winter.
How is this passing any county and state codes in Florida?
Notice how they said it was 13 years in the making. I dont know if it is still the original owners but i remember following this years ago when it was just tires and atrium. They spent a couple hundred thousand by that point in time on the stupid ass city,county and state building offices cause city oridnance wont recognize any of yhe building practices. Just more bullshit to get more money and also if everyone was using natural and recycled materials that would be a huge lose for such a large industry of building supplies.
@@ryanhorne6906 I must of not hear the 13 yr. Construction time line. That alone would make you get poor fast. I'd think most for that time was lost in trial/error and having to stack tires for years to do the job. Somewhere, somehow,someone will have to pay something for them eventually. I agree it would be just like when we went through the change of automated/hands on assembly lines like auto manufacturing? 1 industry of newer inovations takes over the others being knocked out of their jobs? That alone destroyed many of lives. The uneployment doubled within 3yrs. From like 7% to 13%. Now it's not nearly that fast, but it's happening and never gonna end till we work out a way out of our own nessasery existence!
These buildings are super strong and durable. The only thing stronger would be a buried structure like a bunker or earth sheltered home. Much stronger than any stick built home.
Henry Badd it is also possible that there are no codes since it is off grid. Many states don’t have codes for buildings outside of municipalities. The codes come from tying into public utilities. Want water utility you have to have plumbing inspections. You want to have electricity then you have to have electrical inspection. But no framing or concrete inspections in those states. It varies from state to state.
@@kamurray67 Someone pointed out something I missed in the video,we need also to consider . Mentioned was the construction started 13 yrs ago.LOL. I personally have built a house in Florida gust before this. No permits at all, but this was just before Google Earth started their spying campaign. So that construction site was grandfathered in.
The comment made by the other person brought something else to mind as well. If this was allowed it would kill many of businesses. Lumber which would actually help our environment of course, but many tradesmen would be out of work fast. Sorta like the change in the auto industries massive layoffs, due to automation assembly as apposed to hands on workers. Once we got nano tech. Industry after industry have been falling like dominos. Raising unemployment rate almost double. Just from the Auto industry alone made it go from around 7% to 13% within 3 yrs. Many had to return to schooling for a new line of work.
Now on another note. 13yrs of working the same site? If your not doing this by yourself. you payed enough in labor to build a mansion. I can't even fathom a group of friends doing this for free that long. Somehow they're eating. Not to mention ,you have to scrounge up all those tires or your paying for them.
Do you also recall them saying " you can not leave it unattended for much longer then 3 months. Can you picture yourself having to restucco everything all the time forever and at the age of 70? I really thought the concept was to save money and the environment. Just 3 months on a normal build site the run off of gray warter from any cement/Portland product is bad for our water supply.
Then you have the issues of gathering enough stuff to start working with.
I'm all in for saving the environment and time is money. It would appear this route is wrong in so many ways. I do like working with recycled woods and such. But for some reason. I do think we should be able to have a strong enough structure that can be moved but far more solid then a mobile and can be packed up and ready to be moved within days. That being said I can only come up with shipping containers. Your house is already packed up. You may have to rearrange and secure may things but axles can be placed on in a few hrs. And your out of the way of a cat 5 within 4 days assuming the funds are there to do so.. however if it ever became legal a little more funds added to insurance could insure that. Them containers themselves are very sturdy already and in most cases can take a hell of a beaten in a hurricane. I live in Florida and seen it with my own eyes.
A house reduced to stick and trash but on the very same property they've had shipping containers for tool storage not moved or just tipped over and only moved a few inches.
I think if placed on a concrete slab with anchor bolts set in along with underground rough ins would secure that thing down. A 2 x 4 at 130 mph may punch through a few inches but thats just the steal its self. I'm sure you'll have some insulation, framing and may be a siding. Man I have tons of ideas on this and am very confident I can design something of this sort. I was in the top of my class when I took up Mech. Drafting. Enjoy your thoughts and mostly the comments coming from multiple sources. I was a project manager for a Mech. Firm and listened to the men working the job. Collectively we resolves problems much faster. But a must is someone in the background being a so called Na Sayer. They bring the, what if issues into focus that many other may not have thought through the whole idea. Offering very valuable redundancy. Keep it coming.
The warm (and humid) air is drawn into the tubes where some of the moisture settles onto the galvanized tubing which will eventually rust, but in the meantime will provide a habitat for mold, and all his friends. The air then enters the house where much of the remaining moisture will condense onto the walls, furniture, clothing and anything else.
Either he's not explaining it very well, or there's going to be active dehumidification not mentioned, or the house will be a superfund site in a few years.
He doesn't really explain the humidity issue, but I would guess the tubes are sloped upward the house allowing the condensation to drain off. Going through 30 ft of cool earth would definitely strip a lot of the moisture out of the air, I imagine. I'm not sure if the tubing is corrugated, which would probably impede drainage. Depending on how thick the tubing is it could last a long time. I did edit the video down and don't remember if he addressed the humidity issue more thoroughly.
Pretty much every house in Florida has to deal with high humidity and they usually do that with fossil fuel and air conditioning, something that's incredibly unsustainable.
But the jury is still out on whether this house performs because they rain into some snags with approval and the land ended up being sold to someone who isn't even using the house.
I hope they get to the point its no longer a baby and you can go on vacation. Good work!
I live in a very windy part of the northwest and when the wind blows I always wonder why my house is sticking way up in the air getting smacked.
Keep up the good work 🙏❤️
Great video will be nice to see the follow up on it. Would love to have one of these homes 😊😊😊
Will see when Mother Nature puts it to the test.
Love earthships