Montana Earthship Build, Day 3
The progress made on this project in a single day is mind blowing. There are about a dozen official Earthship crew members and then about another dozen interns. Two factors make things go so fast and smooth. One is that building an Earthship is not rocket science, anyone can do it. The construction process was designed that way. So when a bunch of interns show up on the job site, the official crew doesn’t have to train them. They spend about 10 minutes showing them how to do a task, then they just go off and do it. Simple as that. There is little to no micro-management and hand holding. The other reason is that the official crew members are self proclaimed crazy people and work harder and 10x faster than any union contractor in existence, which inspires the rest of us to attempt to keep up. And if inspiration is not enough, friendly competition takes care of the rest.
But I digress. Today the tire wall was completed! The installation of the cisterns was also started. The cisterns are used to store water collected from the runoff from the roof. This water is used for drinking, bathing, toilets, washing and all the plants. Before it’s used, the water is primarily filtered through gravel, but there may be more to it than that, but I’m not too versed on the water system yet. McCleasy and I spent a large part of the day working more on the thermal barrier, which I explained in yesterday’s post. A lot more got done, check out the photos and videos!
The cisterns just got delivered
View from the back. The cisterns are going to be buried right behind the thermal barrier.
Two of the cisterns in place behind the house.
The fittings for the stem wall which will seperate the living space from the greenhouse.
The tire wall is complete!
Get the Flash Player to see this player.
Get the Flash Player to see this player.
Awesome chronicle - thanks for sharing this. We are going to start our Earthship in Sweet Grass County in September with Mike and the crew. I am truly amazed at how fast y’all are moving! Can’t wait to see days 4 and 5.
You may have already answered this but who is this earthship being built for? Is that person or family part of the building process? What is a cost of a earthship home?
@Brianne
i don’t think i did answer that so thanks for asking. it’s being built for a couple that live in miles city montana. they own the local health food store. anyone can hire the crew to build one. the costs vary just like a normal house depending on size. if you want the crew to build it for you 100%, i think it probably starts around 100-150k and goes up from there. It is relatively easy to build it yourself though and some people do that. You can probably do it for under 50k if you go that route. You can hire the Earthship crew for however much or little you want. They can come in as just consultants to guide you.