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How to Avoid Spacer Blocks in Earthship Tire Walls

I came across these two excellent illustrations of how spacer-blocks can be almost completely avoided in rammed-tire walls. It’s one of those cool smart and simple things. It comes complement of Earthship Belgium from an excellent post on how to efficiently organize and build rammed-tire walls.

Both of these solutions rely on the use of one-tire size throughout the project. The idea is to make the corner out of a tire who’s center is aligned with the faces of the two tire walls. Though the image display a 90 degree corner I believe that the same idea would work for any angle.

The same principle can be  used for T or Y junctions of two U modules. In this case two tires are used to create one level of the Y and a larger diameter tire is used to overlap the three tires below.

This takes care of everything except end-blocks (which you will inevitable get if you use tire walls for the inside walls as well). Earthship Belgium provide another article  about spacer-blocks – at the end of which you will find an explanation on how to create half-tires. I have encountered half-tires in my online searches before and though it is an appealing solution (no cement on site until later in the project) – it seems to me that cutting tired can be difficult unless you have the right tools for it.

I came across a lot of online hints that spacer blocks could be avoided (less concrete and much less hassle) but I couldn’t find a clear explanation of how this is achieved. Now I know … and now you do too. Thank you so much Willy and friends at Earthship Belgium.

 

 

2 replies on “How to Avoid Spacer Blocks in Earthship Tire Walls”

Hi,
According to Earthship Biotecture, if you build a straight wall, (as suggested by the red straight line), you will have to batter each course 1 1/2 inch backward (40 mm), and a concrete wall reinforcement every 15 feet (5m) of free span (according to their local building “ingeniers”.

Anyway the battering will change the total length of the wall, forcing you to make “spacer blocks”.
And even if you use only the same size of tire, they don’t all “inflate” the same way, you have to deal with eat (talking from my little experience of course).

I just did the Earthship Academy, and i read a few books on passive houses. i would love to help you in your researches and questions, don’t hesitate to message me.

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