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        • The Earthship Visitor Center

          2 Earthship Way, Tres Piedras, NM 87577

          Self-Guided Tours available daily – visitors are welcome to arrive anytime from 9am – 4pm.

          $9 per person for the self-guided tour of our Visitor Center

          • Free for Taos locals and Earthship alumni
          • Free for ages 12 and under

          UPDATED WINTER HOURS:

          Guided Tours available Thursday, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 3pm to 4:30pm
          (please arrive a few minutes before)

          $22 per person • Tickets available at the front desk or: https://exploreorigin.com/en/listings/872008-guided-tour

          NEW! Extended Self-Guided Tour 
          $15 per person • Tickets available at the front desk or:
          https://exploreorigin.com/en/listings/876139-earthship-movie-time

          Private Tours available when scheduled ahead of time More Info

        • Earthship Nightly Rentals:

          Earthships allow people to experience a luxurious off grid life. Being self-sufficient does not mean reducing one’s quality of life.

          Our Earthship rental homes are equipped with all amenities that conventional housing provides

          We are 20 minutes northwest of town of Taos, New Mexico. We are very happy to show you how you can live comfortably without harming nature …

          CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ABOUT AVAILABLE NIGHTLY RENTAL EARTHSHIPS.

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        • What is an Earthship?

          An Earthship is a type of house built with natural and recycled materials, with energy conservation in mind. It is designed to produce energy, water and food for its own use.

        • An Earthship is a type of passive solar house that is made of both natural and upcycled materials. Several models exist, and can be built in any part of the world, in any climate and provide electricity, potable water, contained sewage treatment and sustainable food production. Choose your favorite model.

           

          View Earthships currently for sale or buy some land in the Earthship Community

          Building cost could be significantly reduced if you decide to host an Academy or a Field Study.

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How to Pound Tires and Build Tire Walls

Tire walls are made by laying tires in staggered courses like bricks or concrete blocks. Each tire is filled with compacted earth, so that it becomes a rammed earth brick encased in steel belted rubber, about 95% compacted.

A pounded tire weighs over 300 pounds, therefore, all tires are pounded in place and are NOT moved after the tire is fully pounded and leveled.

The tires are set on leveled undisturbed ground and pounded in place using a sledge hammer. Each tire takes about three or four wheel-barrows of dirt. The tires are pounded level in all directions.

Scrap cardboard or empty cement bags are used to fill in the holes in the tires and make them temporarily contain the earth on all courses other than the first course which is flat on the ground and plastic is used. The first course gets a double layer of 6 mil plastic in the bottom of each tire. Since both sides of the tire wall will eventually be buried or covered by plaster, the cardboard could decompose without affecting the rammed- earth.

How to Pound Tires 1
Tire walls sizes

 

How to pound a tire:

  1. Layout tires – pound in place.
  2. Place cardboard or plastic in the bottom of each tire.
  3. Stuff tires with dirt by hand.
  4. Pound dirt into tire casing with an 8 lb. sledgehammer
  5. Tamp the dirt in the middle of the tire.
  6. Level the tire in all directions and to the other tires nearby.

Tire Pounding Details

What size tires to use where?

Large sized tires are used at the bottom of the wall, smaller sized tires are used at the top of walls. 16s (a large tire size) with plastic in the bottom are used for the first course of tires.

  • 23516sforcourse1,2and3
  • 235 15s for course 4 and 5
  • 225 15s for course 6 and 7
  • 215 15s for course 8 and 9
  • 305 15s for course 10 (14s can be used on the top course)

Important: Large sized tires at the bottom of the wall, smaller sized tires at the top of walls.

see also Tire Retaining Walls