Transcript The Recycled Alternative

The Recycled
Alternative:
Rammed Earth
Tires
by Nathan Trachimowicz
• For virtually all of history, our ancestors
lived in shelter fashioned from locally
available materials, especially earth.
Today, approximately half the world's
people still inhabit dwellings made with
soils harvested from the Earth's crust.
• Rammed Earth Tires is a construction
system that combines recyclable materials
(like tires and cardboard).
Americans discard nearly 250
million car tires each year
Rammed Tire
Wall Sketch
How it works..
• Using a pneumatic press or sledge hammer, dirt
combined with a cement binder is packed into
the tire.
• Tires are stacked, normally eight high making a
wall. Walls are then covered with plaster then
framed.
• Tires are not toxic products; they are covered
with soil, plaster, and a sealant, thus they are not
exposed to UV rays, and therefore don't outgas.
Advantages of Tire Homes
• Uses an abundant waste product and local
resources. Tires and Dirt (Free)
• Rammed earth tire construction is cheap
and requires little skilled labor. Just gets
some friends and some beer. Most
estimates put the $$/sq. ft between
$30(owner built)-$65(contracted labor).
• Sturdy, strong walls
Disadvantages of Tire Homes
• It's hard work. Filled tires can weigh up to
300lbs.
• Somewhat restricted to warm dry climates.
• Tire homes tend to have an open design
and can be noisy and less than private.
• Walls tend to gobble up living space.
• Walls need to be waterproofed.