used tires - Contractor Talk - Professional Construction and Remodeling Forum

dlcj · 01-04-2008, 10:48 PM

Has anyone ever built a retaining wall out of used car tires? Has anybody even saw one. In Co. they are building houses with them. I would like to try it out in my own back yard first were i need to come up about 14' on the high corner and run to nothing about 50' in each direction. For a retaining wall you cut off one side wall to make it easer to fill with dirt and pack it with a plate compactor. Then stagger the next row and set it back 3- 6". Plant grass in the exposed dirt.

MrRSBMHandyman · 01-08-2008, 11:11 PM

It been a while back but I watched a show about it. An actor Denis Weaver I think, biult a whole house out of tires and mud.

Try to do a web search on www.google.com (tire and mud walls)

concretemasonry · 01-08-2008, 11:16 PM

Old tires do not go away, they always move, have no real stability (especially with dirt) and no other reason to exist. They have a large amount of energy that can be gained in a proper facility.

Get them to a recycling center where they can be turned into something positive instead of a waste product put into a new situation where it can cause more problems in the future.

For a wall like you need (14' high), you will need an engineered design if you value the your home and children. A wall like that is not child's play. - Sounds like something the "green" Al Gore would propose, but never do for himself.

Tony M · 03-06-2008, 07:23 PM

I like to start a fire with about a dozen tyres, get an old blanket, and send smoke signals to my mates in the next town.

Norrrrrrrrrrrrm · 03-06-2008, 11:17 PM

It's true if you bury a tire it will eventually "float" to the surface over time. I used to know the detailed facts but the gist of it is, there is always a resistance with the dirt and the rubber causing the tire to rise over time. I don't know how these would stay buried, especially with so many used. It would be a great idea if this could be done in a safe manner.

TimNJ · 03-07-2008, 02:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrRSBMHandyman

It been a while back but I watched a show about it. An actor Denis Weaver I think, biult a whole house out of tires and mud.

Try to do a web search on www.google.com (tire and mud walls)

I remember reading an article about it in Fine Homebuilding(?) 25+/- years ago. It's in CO I think. I wonder how it has held up?

**joasis** · 03-07-2008, 06:07 PM

I have seen a lot of articles on them, and I think they are called "rammed earth tire homes" or something along those lines. Mother Earth News has had many write ups on them. The only ones I have seen are out in the arid regions....like New Mexico and Arizona.

concretemasonry · 03-07-2008, 06:21 PM

Rammed earth is much better than tires if you are in an arid climate and can appreciate the type of structure you can build with it.

Combining something as inane as tires with rammed earth, all I can see is something that moves and resists ramming and has no stability.

The good thing about rammed earth is that is compressed in a rigid, confined space and then is allowed to dry and stabilize. Tires do not allow either of theses processes.

Just recylce the tires and get something out of the energy without polluting the ground for centuries with unstable structures.

**joasis** · 03-07-2008, 06:46 PM

I am not advocating the use of used tires in any way. That being said, there are a lot of them used to prevent washouts around the country on farm pond dams and waterways. I have always been skeptical of alternative forms of construction that have "zero" value after they are completed. Like a straw bale home.....or how about a cordwood house? Stovewood lengths of firewood chinked tightly to create a thick walled structure.....now about the termites?

dlcj · 03-07-2008, 08:19 PM

About 15 years ago dad had a guy ask him to build him a house with cordwood using insulation and mortar in between the logs. In AlABAMA! hello termites and rot! Dad declined and the guy never built the house. On the tire issiue i was actually wanting to build a retaining wall and have found some on the internet that look like 50' tall. Think i changed my mind, looks like to much work. The rammed earth and tire houses are mostly built in the mid west in drier climates too.

DavidC · 03-07-2008, 08:26 PM

I beleive you are talking about earthships. The tires are packed with earth until they balloon. Laid out like bricks they are supposed to lock together and once the structure is up you berm them with more dirt.

In addition to Mother Earth News you could probably find more in the archives of Harrowsmith. Or just google earthships.

I don't remember what publication, but I do remember reading about one in New Hampshire. The author claimed that it took a year to stabilize the interior temp but afterward was heated by the sun and a single cord of wood. (His claim, not mine)

I never heard of the tire float idea, could be an interesting problem. Dennis Weaver's was built in the 70's or 80's. I wonder if he has problems.

Good Luck
Dave

wancho · 03-12-2008, 06:55 PM

I came accross your posting and i too have been considering building a wall with compacted earth filled tires. My 'design' calls for the tires to be linked together (rebar clips, wire, or poly rope). There is a company over in Australia that has actually patented the idea and has built several walls and some roads with the process, here's a link to their site:
ww.ecoflex.com.au/ewall.htm

It is an interesting concept/idea that has been used for years, but mostly in third world places. It is true that the wall will be flexible, which is an advantage espically in freeze/thaw areas. Another advantage is the free draining characteristics, i.e. gabion walls - which are also both flexiable and free draining.

Any other thoughts would be appreciated....

roofwiz74 · 03-13-2008, 01:50 AM

I seen a show on discovery I think where these three kids drive around in a veg-oil bus and check out all the home brew green stuff.they had a show on those tire home might find a link there or something.

MALCO.New.York · 03-13-2008, 06:48 AM

Sounds as viable as one of those beer-can houses!

http://images.google.com/images?clie...h+Images&gbv=2

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgu...ial_s%26sa%3DG

There is "Green". Then there is ridiculous!

dlcj · 03-13-2008, 10:27 PM

Thanks for the links and info. I have found another option for the wall called reinforced earth. It is done by usinig heavy gage gavanized wire panels. Walls have been build 120' high using this method and can be planted and covered with vegatation. It cost more that it looks like it should and only made in northern calif. Shipping 3000 miles would be killer. still looking for ideas, not concrete.

Drbobp · 03-14-2008, 10:55 AM

How about kind of concrete?

I saw a cool wall built from sacks of mortar. They bought unmarked 80lb sacks and stacked them up in the shape they wanted. Back filled and soaked the bags, not sure if they punctured the bags or not. The mortar hardens and after a few months the bags decay. Leaving a very attractive stacked wall. No idea what the structural strength of this wall would be.

I don't remember the site. Google should turn it up.

dlcj · 03-14-2008, 10:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Drbobp

How about kind of concrete?

I saw a cool wall built from sacks of mortar. They bought unmarked 80lb sacks and stacked them up in the shape they wanted. Back filled and soaked the bags, not sure if they punctured the bags or not. The mortar hardens and after a few months the bags decay. Leaving a very attractive stacked wall. No idea what the structural strength of this wall would be.

I don't remember the site. Google should turn it up.

Hadnt thought of that. I see sackrete bags alot around here put around culvert and drive way ditch pipes. That wouldnt be too hard to do and could work on it little at a time. So what if it got rained on. Only thing is my wall would need a sh!t load of bags and would be hella heavy and id worry about i sinking. But that is a good idea. Thanks

wancho · 03-19-2008, 11:08 AM

from CENews.com.....

"Engineered tires approved for structural elements
The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection granted Engineered Tire Structures, Inc. (ETS) a Beneficial Use Determination for the use of Ecoflex technology in civil engineering applications throughout the state. Ecoflex is a patented Australian technology using prepared whole tires as structural elements in gravity and reinforced retaining walls, erosion protection measures such as drop structures and scour mats, and roadways over extremely poor soils. ETS is the sole licensee for Ecoflex in North America. In the permitted technology, prepared whole waste tires are used as structural containers holding selected aggregate such as recycled concrete cobble, which the company says together act as single engineered units to provide the necessary structural elements. The Massachusetts permit requires the use of a professional engineer registered in Massachusetts for design and oversight of construction when any of the Ecoflex systems are used.
Engineered Tire Structures, Inc"

Viable? yes...beer can house? no....

dlcj · 03-19-2008, 10:28 PM

was all excited about the sackrete idea till i checked the current prices. Sackrete is not $1.25 anymore. $4.25 here. that would be more than twice the price of calling a truck! All the form work and a pump truck would be the big ticket of a single pour job though.
Thanks wancho. Used tires are abundent and definitly would be the cheapest building material.

Red Adobe · 07-26-2008, 05:50 PM

I have seen stuff on this and i know they do it alot around Santa Fe NM.

Im a fan of Adobe type construction and live in one myself.......my heating and cooling bills are about 30% of friends here with conventional constructed houses slightly smaller then mine are paying

no need to cut sidewalls, with the clay content you have in alabama you'll have to expierment with sand/ dirt. water to get a good stable pack and drainage

google this " rammed tire walls" and you'll find alot