For many more details, images and a detailed calculation of how much pressure or soil can this wall retain, see my post: nimblecamper.com/530-tire-retaining-wall/
I like this. Your presentation of how to build and what tools with the costs was very much useful. I plan on building a tire wall my self for the back slope of my property and this is also helpful for building earth ship homes. Wow on the weight in each tire. 😊
Thank you for sharing it was very educational I need to build a retainer wall I learned a lot from your experience it is great on the budget side in the good workout
Thanks and good point! Most of the tires surface is covered by soil and the rest will be covered by evergreen vegetation (the cotoneaster is an evergreen and creates a thick, low layer that won't let any sun through.), so the strongest factors in terms of tire degradation - the sun and wind, will be strongly reduced. Over time, debris, plant remains and fallen soil will cover them even further. landscapeplants.oregonstate.edu/plants/cotoneaster-franchetii#:~:text=Evergreen%20shrub%2C%206%2D8(,white%20to%20pink%2C%20petals%20erect. From my research, a tire takes between 50-100 years to degrade when exposed to the sun, wind and water. When shielded from these elements, it's at least double that if not more. A concrete wall or pretty much any other building material degrades faster than that (think it's 50-100 years for a concrete wall too, also depending on its maintenance). Tires are used in construction more and more, f.e. www.groupeeurec.com/pneusol-pneuresil-travaux-publics/ already since the 80s: www.groupeeurec.com/pneusol-pneuresil-travaux-publics/ pneusol.eu.org/TheseLong/FR/8-ANNEXE.Pneusol.pdf And some tests on their impact: www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S221450952300150X cdnsciencepub.com/doi/10.1139/t99-086 www.researchgate.net/publication/237381469_Tire-reinforced_earthfill_Part_1_Construction_of_a_test_fill_performance_and_retaining_wall_design
Earthworks are ancient reliable and cheap. Better for the environment than concert and if maintained lasts forever, unlike concrete. The tires will reduce that maintenance. Depending on load it can retain it's stuff like this that should be used as evidence for changing mainstream construction methodology. Reusing material for a worthy purpose instead of creating more waste.
Hi! I am impressed! What a size! I have been Earthship weekend workshop a few times in Australia. I live in hot and humid climate place so i am not planning to build typical earthship style house but I am thinking of using tyres to raise the floor. We get big amount of rain in short time during rainy season. Anyway I am still experimenting stage. As we all know, filling tyre with dirt is so much hard work, I cut one side of tyre and fill with drainage rocks. For experiment, I am building a little rooster pen with rammed earth (so I don’t have t hear his voice in the morning) on top of raised tyre floor. I wonder I can build retaining wall with one side cut tyres….
Hi, thanks & yours sounds like a good project too! Cutting the tires will reduce their structural integrity quite a bit - but if you leave the part that touches the road when the tire is in normal use and only cut it from the top (when it's lying down), it should reduce the loss of integrity a bit. Perhaps leave the tires around the edges intact and only cut the ones inside? If you fill them with rocks, probably pick smaller ones as I presume you will have to fill the gaps between the rocks with dirt anyway and tamper it down properly to avoid the whole thing settling down regularly over time. And it depends on how heavy the building/structure on top of these tires will be. But no matter how much you pound and compact the tires, they will settle down - I wouldn't build anything rigid on top of them (concrete etc, stuff that cracks). Wooden structures are more flexible to handle some subsidence. Good luck!
@@LukasCech This is not necessarily true. An architect in NM, Ed Paschich, builds houses "above ground" from tires (unlike Reynolds who does the earthships). In his books he has studies that shows cutting the sidewall of aids in compaction & is just as structurally sound. I don't remember the particulars as it's been a decade since I've read his book "The Tire House Book". Still great job on the wall & video.
Interesting approach! My container cottage only has rainwater, so not an option for me. I'd also worry about how much water you'd have to use for 530 tires - I'm presuming one tire takes a lot of water to make sure the soil settles properly. And jetting the upper rows would flush soil out of the lower rows, to some extent at least?
Did you put any kind of drainage behind the wall? We are wanting to build something similar with old tires but can't decide if we need to add drainage pipe.
I have most of my property covered by the massive veranda roof that is drained away from the wall, so in a way, I have drainage behind it :). The ground is also levelled in an angle so that water doesn't get to the wall that much, except whatever rains directly on top of it. It is not too complicated to put a drainage pipe behind the wall and it will help quite a bit - if you don't have other solutions that already address this, like mine.
I was just looking if I can build a black wall we got hurricane burial in Jamaica just the other day and I get a bad landslide and I don't even have the money to do the wall can you tell me how safe it is to build a tire wall how long can it last because I'm living in a s a n d y place
Hi Beverly, if built properly and fill the tires so that the soil/sand doesn't erode away, it will hold 50+ years easily, if the tires are hidden from direct sunlight and/or wind/rain, then 100+ years. There isn't much data on how long the tires take to fall apart, but direct sun and rain tend to speed up the process significantly, so it's best to cover them with vegetation or anything that will keep the sun and rain off them. Another important thing is how you reinforce the entire wall - it's not enough to just put the tires on top of each other, you need to consider the height of the wall, what is behind the wall, how much water it can soak in as the pressure builds up with water. I would recommend building this with someone who has some basics in construction best practices and understands retaining walls, soil pressure and mechanics involved in building such walls. Doesn't have to have experience with tire walls, just general knowledge. BTW, sand doesn't sound like the best material to fill in as it can trickle away through the smallest gaps. Perhaps a solution would be to close the bottom of every tire completely with a sheet of something that won't rust or rot away quickly. Or to get better soil delivered from somewhere else.
Dry Stones walls are used for thousands of years and last longer! Why put waste in the nature even if they are covered with earth. Is that sustainable in the real sense of the word?
dry stones are certainly better than recycled tires, but do you have any idea how much they cost? (I mean big ones that don't require concrete, as building a retaining wall out of small rocks requires lots of concrete too). plus how are they procured / mined? Half of a mountain is destroyed to get the stones, so they have their disadvantages too. Not to mention the transportation cost + the need to have a crane, they would be even more expensive than concrete. It is commendable to want to be as sustainable as possible, but we also live in a world with budgets and costs and I have to work with what I have.
It depends, we make dry stone walls (that is without cement) with all the small and big stones you find in the field. As people did for thousands of years, you can also use dead branches, wood, anything to make contour structures to keep erosion at bay. Anyway it's just another way of thinking and yes, in the long run everything will decompose, even tires. But anyway it's good that you are working on these things! Like I said it is just another perspective.. @@LukasCech
@@urbanstreetforest5322 This might work for walls that aren't above 1-2meters and don't have to hold tonnes and tonnes of dirt + cars parking on top of that and a road below that. I needed something that will stay put no matter what rain comes, or how many cars park on top of the soil. Plus branches & wood will rot in two years, that doesn't work for me. And I would need several lorries worth of stones, no chance of just finding them around (it's a populated area, I can't take stuff from other peoples fields just like that). But thanks for the tip, I might use the dry stone wall for a smaller wall I need on the side of the property. No rush, so can start collecting stones now, over several years and thethen build :)
@@LukasCech It's common sense. Easy to just google it. Pounding earth in a tire is just a waste of time. Not only that old tires are considered toxic waste.
![How to Build a Tire Wall [Free Tire Retaining Wall]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/ryDSA8QTg0Q/mqdefault.jpg)
![How to Build a Tire Wall [Free Tire Retaining Wall]](/img/tr.png)
For many more details, images and a detailed calculation of how much pressure or soil can this wall retain, see my post: nimblecamper.com/530-tire-retaining-wall/
@@LukasCech thank you for telling thank you so much
Very nice and very good instructions. Thank you.
Glad it's helpful!
I like this. Your presentation of how to build and what tools with the costs was very much useful.
I plan on building a tire wall my self for the back slope of my property and this is also helpful for building earth ship homes. Wow on the weight in each tire. 😊
Glad it is useful and good luck with your project!
Thank you for sharing it was very educational I need to build a retainer wall I learned a lot from your experience it is great on the budget side in the good workout
Great achievement.
What about polution impact of such wall? Don't want to cover the ruber to reduce the degradation of the ruber?
Thanks and good point! Most of the tires surface is covered by soil and the rest will be covered by evergreen vegetation (the cotoneaster is an evergreen and creates a thick, low layer that won't let any sun through.), so the strongest factors in terms of tire degradation - the sun and wind, will be strongly reduced. Over time, debris, plant remains and fallen soil will cover them even further.
landscapeplants.oregonstate.edu/plants/cotoneaster-franchetii#:~:text=Evergreen%20shrub%2C%206%2D8(,white%20to%20pink%2C%20petals%20erect.
From my research, a tire takes between 50-100 years to degrade when exposed to the sun, wind and water. When shielded from these elements, it's at least double that if not more.
A concrete wall or pretty much any other building material degrades faster than that (think it's 50-100 years for a concrete wall too, also depending on its maintenance).
Tires are used in construction more and more, f.e. www.groupeeurec.com/pneusol-pneuresil-travaux-publics/
already since the 80s: www.groupeeurec.com/pneusol-pneuresil-travaux-publics/
pneusol.eu.org/TheseLong/FR/8-ANNEXE.Pneusol.pdf
And some tests on their impact: www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S221450952300150X
cdnsciencepub.com/doi/10.1139/t99-086
www.researchgate.net/publication/237381469_Tire-reinforced_earthfill_Part_1_Construction_of_a_test_fill_performance_and_retaining_wall_design
Earthworks are ancient reliable and cheap. Better for the environment than concert and if maintained lasts forever, unlike concrete. The tires will reduce that maintenance.
Depending on load it can retain it's stuff like this that should be used as evidence for changing mainstream construction methodology. Reusing material for a worthy purpose instead of creating more waste.
Exactly, well written :)
Hi! I am impressed! What a size! I have been Earthship weekend workshop a few times in Australia. I live in hot and humid climate place so i am not planning to build typical earthship style house but I am thinking of using tyres to raise the floor. We get big amount of rain in short time during rainy season. Anyway I am still experimenting stage. As we all know, filling tyre with dirt is so much hard work, I cut one side of tyre and fill with drainage rocks. For experiment, I am building a little rooster pen with rammed earth (so I don’t have t hear his voice in the morning) on top of raised tyre floor. I wonder I can build retaining wall with one side cut tyres….
Hi, thanks & yours sounds like a good project too! Cutting the tires will reduce their structural integrity quite a bit - but if you leave the part that touches the road when the tire is in normal use and only cut it from the top (when it's lying down), it should reduce the loss of integrity a bit. Perhaps leave the tires around the edges intact and only cut the ones inside?
If you fill them with rocks, probably pick smaller ones as I presume you will have to fill the gaps between the rocks with dirt anyway and tamper it down properly to avoid the whole thing settling down regularly over time.
And it depends on how heavy the building/structure on top of these tires will be. But no matter how much you pound and compact the tires, they will settle down - I wouldn't build anything rigid on top of them (concrete etc, stuff that cracks). Wooden structures are more flexible to handle some subsidence.
Good luck!
@@LukasCech
This is not necessarily true.
An architect in NM, Ed Paschich, builds houses "above ground" from tires (unlike Reynolds who does the earthships). In his books he has studies that shows cutting the sidewall of aids in compaction & is just as structurally sound. I don't remember the particulars as it's been a decade since I've read his book "The Tire House Book".
Still great job on the wall & video.
We filled our tires with dirt and jetted it, added lots of water. No pounding with hammers and you get the same result. One row at a time.
Interesting approach! My container cottage only has rainwater, so not an option for me. I'd also worry about how much water you'd have to use for 530 tires - I'm presuming one tire takes a lot of water to make sure the soil settles properly. And jetting the upper rows would flush soil out of the lower rows, to some extent at least?
Did you put any kind of drainage behind the wall? We are wanting to build something similar with old tires but can't decide if we need to add drainage pipe.
I have most of my property covered by the massive veranda roof that is drained away from the wall, so in a way, I have drainage behind it :). The ground is also levelled in an angle so that water doesn't get to the wall that much, except whatever rains directly on top of it. It is not too complicated to put a drainage pipe behind the wall and it will help quite a bit - if you don't have other solutions that already address this, like mine.
I was just looking if I can build a black wall we got hurricane burial in Jamaica just the other day and I get a bad landslide and I don't even have the money to do the wall can you tell me how safe it is to build a tire wall how long can it last because I'm living in a s a n d y place
Hi Beverly, if built properly and fill the tires so that the soil/sand doesn't erode away, it will hold 50+ years easily, if the tires are hidden from direct sunlight and/or wind/rain, then 100+ years. There isn't much data on how long the tires take to fall apart, but direct sun and rain tend to speed up the process significantly, so it's best to cover them with vegetation or anything that will keep the sun and rain off them. Another important thing is how you reinforce the entire wall - it's not enough to just put the tires on top of each other, you need to consider the height of the wall, what is behind the wall, how much water it can soak in as the pressure builds up with water. I would recommend building this with someone who has some basics in construction best practices and understands retaining walls, soil pressure and mechanics involved in building such walls. Doesn't have to have experience with tire walls, just general knowledge.
BTW, sand doesn't sound like the best material to fill in as it can trickle away through the smallest gaps. Perhaps a solution would be to close the bottom of every tire completely with a sheet of something that won't rust or rot away quickly. Or to get better soil delivered from somewhere else.
Dry Stones walls are used for thousands of years and last longer! Why put waste in the nature even if they are covered with earth. Is that sustainable in the real sense of the word?
dry stones are certainly better than recycled tires, but do you have any idea how much they cost? (I mean big ones that don't require concrete, as building a retaining wall out of small rocks requires lots of concrete too). plus how are they procured / mined? Half of a mountain is destroyed to get the stones, so they have their disadvantages too. Not to mention the transportation cost + the need to have a crane, they would be even more expensive than concrete.
It is commendable to want to be as sustainable as possible, but we also live in a world with budgets and costs and I have to work with what I have.
It depends, we make dry stone walls (that is without cement) with all the small and big stones you find in the field. As people did for thousands of years, you can also use dead branches, wood, anything to make contour structures to keep erosion at bay. Anyway it's just another way of thinking and yes, in the long run everything will decompose, even tires. But anyway it's good that you are working on these things! Like I said it is just another perspective.. @@LukasCech
@@urbanstreetforest5322 This might work for walls that aren't above 1-2meters and don't have to hold tonnes and tonnes of dirt + cars parking on top of that and a road below that. I needed something that will stay put no matter what rain comes, or how many cars park on top of the soil.
Plus branches & wood will rot in two years, that doesn't work for me.
And I would need several lorries worth of stones, no chance of just finding them around (it's a populated area, I can't take stuff from other peoples fields just like that).
But thanks for the tip, I might use the dry stone wall for a smaller wall I need on the side of the property. No rush, so can start collecting stones now, over several years and thethen build :)
Rammed earth has been around for many, many years. Pounding earth in a tire is not a good idea.
You might want to elaborate on that, otherwise your comment is fairly useless to other viewers. Why is it not a good idea?
@@LukasCech It's common sense. Easy to just google it. Pounding earth in a tire is just a waste of time. Not only that old tires are considered toxic waste.