where to find a lot of old tires

[Susan]

I have 5 old tires. Orchidland. Call seven one three. Eight seven 5 zero six 7 five. We are up seriously early. In the morning. Free if you want them.

[unknownjulie]

I did a little research on these building procedures. I'll try and remember what I had found out. The first thing is that the base would have to be concrete. It is just way too wet here. So, you'd have to bulldoze with a D9 a large flat area. Then you'd have to have a decent driveway in there also, so that the cement truck could get in there. If you did get a base poured, then I was thinking something along the lines of framing in with some kind of painted metal, metal lightweight roof, and possibly earthbag lower walls, with mostly screening in for the upper areas. I was hoping to reduce the danger from the earthquakes, but also ventilation is a really big deal here. The other problem that i was having, was just figuring out cost wise and logistically how to coat the earthbags with a good coating. Anything organic will mold and degrade. It sort of has to be cement based (IMO). IF you stop and add up -cost of clearing and driveway, cement base, cinder to fill the bags, labor, metal framing, roof and then coating on the bags---- It ended up being pretty expensive IMO! You may have some other ideas, but make sure you research thoroughly! GL!

[MarkP]

I didn't mean to be a 'Debbie Downer" on earthbag or earthship construction although I do think there is considerable hype on the internet that overstates or misrepresents the merits of both. I live in a shipping container and I can tell you that what is written on the internet about them does not translate well to real life.

One of the big selling points about earthships is the high thermal mass. I read a study about building in Australia and the conclusion they got to was that lots of thermal mass was of no special benefit in tropical climates. Thermal mass is something that is not well understood by the general public, not surprisingly since it is heavily oversold on the internet. So there's that if you believe my vague reference to an un-cited study, but frankly it made sense to me. Another major selling point is that apart from the tires the majority of the building material comes from on site. Well, not in MY neighborhood (Eden Roc). As for resistance to earthquakes, I just don't know. The Incas did not use cement and their stoneworks have stood for centuries in earthquake prone areas. The explanation I think is that the buildings, being composed of individual stones, actually flex quite a bit. The real secret is that the stones are so carefully cut and fitted that they represent the best fit. When displaced slightly by an earthquake they would rather fall back together than fall over. After the tires settle and conform to each other that might be true of an earthship as well. Keep in mind that a bad enough earthquake would knock anything over. At that point the manner of failure becomes important. Having the walls sort of melt down in place would be much better than having a 10' wall fall over on you in one piece or having the roof go into free-fall.

I assume that you would forego permits. I have read of one earthship project in Hawaii and the location was not mentioned beyond being in Puna. It was implied that the authorities would not approve. In general this is true. Codes would certainly require a design by an architect or engineer. Are there such that would sign off on an earthship? I don't know. Seems I read somewhere about a permitted earthbag house.

My thoughts often drift back to some form of stone construction. Any stone construction that would satisfy the powers that be would require a lot of cement and steel reinforcement, enough in fact to stand alone, with the stone being decorative. Adding the stone would call for even more cement and rebar because now the cement wall must be strong enough to carry the decorative stone. I think it is very deceptive how much cement a stone house requires. You might be better off going straight to a ferrocement house. It would use the least cement and be the strongest against seismic loads because it has the best strength to weight ratio. Well, studs and plywood would have the best strength to weight ratio but has its own set of drawbacks. A pure stacked stone wall would last until the next major earthquake. That could be a century away and all that while you would be thinking you had made the right choice or it could happen tomorrow and if you weren't killed you would spend the rest of your life sleeping outside. Apparently that is common in Haiti. Granted the level of poverty and corruption in Haiti is so great that cement is not used properly, which caused lots of cement buildings to fall down on people and now they don't trust them. Properly built they would be among the most safe buildings. Improperly built they are among the least safe.

[Rene Siracusa]

Someone dumped a whole ****load of tires on the back of my property years ago. I recycled some, but there are still plenty for the taking - all sizes. email me to arrange: renesiracusa@hotmail.com.

[ericlp]

should have told me. I just switched my tires at costco for a new set. They were still in good shape, just past the wear bars Probably had a good 10K miles left. Just wanted to get them swapped out. I am sure if you asked firestone or lessbrodie they might be able to help you out. Now that I think about it! The planter idea is pretty awesome. It would need a few bags of soil to fill up a tire but to me you could grow some nice fruiting trees like limes or orange trees in a tire. One would think you wouldn't even need to dig a hole. Tho, I dunno. The neighbors might not think it would be too attractive seeing a row of tires for planters. Anyone try growing fruit trees?

[Obie]

There are some pretty strict laws regarding used tires.

If you advertise that you want tires,you need to have a recycling license.

The EPA forced the state to enact enough laws that I don't think you will be able to get any tires !!

[rawvegan]

wow so many people trying to discourage us. anyways i will get all the tires i want for free without said license. Second there is no need to pour concrete foundation when building with tires. Third the structure will be permitted. Fourth it is more seismic proof than probably 90% or more of what i've seen built. Fifth we are working with an engineer and i myself went to school for architecture. tires do not have to be used in the form of "earthship". Earthships are designed for dry high desert. Yes there is an "earthship" on the island somewhere but i can guarantee you it is built for the climate. there are a few permitted and as well unpermitted earthbag houses that cost far less than anything anyone here has ever built unless they built unpermitted with scraps from the dump. concrete is not needed for the foundation when building with either method. we will be using some concrete and in the case we decide to go with earthbags we will be reinforcing with rebar. It's not that difficult. the house overall will use far less new resources and be far less toxic than most anything else on the island and as well it will last a whole lot longer.

Anyways i was just asking a simple question which seems like it wont get answered. for those that offered up tires i will likely contact you in the next month or two and offer free removal service :-)

[Obie]

"Third the structure will be permitted. "

You can't be talking about Hawaii !!!

[Rob Tucker]

rawvegan,

Go for your dream. Puna is as good a place to do that as any. Probably better than most in many ways.

The county does not employ an engineer in the building department. They will bow to any engineer's stamp.

[rainyjim]

Aloha Rawvegan, don't let others discourage you in your endeavors.

I have one suggestion or request... Will you document the process so if you develop a successful method you can share it with the rest of us?

Aloha mai kakou