Michael Reynolds and Earthship Biotecture has done a great job of putting together some introductory earthship videos.  Included below are a few of the better ones.

I’m not sure how I first heard about earthships. I think it may have been several years ago through my brother, Chris, who has been interested in alternative and sustainable architecture long before I was. But, however it initially happened, my interest was rekindled when I came to stay with Charlie in New Mexico while the worst of the renovations to my house where being done.

Taos, New Mexico is ground zero for earthships. Their creator, Michael Reynolds, has lived in the area since the 1960′s. There are now three earthship communities established in the area.

Earthships are a form of radically sustainable architecture. Their basic building blocks consist of recycled tired packed with earth. Recycled cans and bottles are also frequently used to build walls, particularly interior ones, and also as decorative elements in the construction. On top of this are cement and stucco.

Earthships, with their large southern exposures, are designed to take advantage of solar gain. Their rammed earth walls that are surrounded with earth also provide thermal mass which continues to provide heat through the night.

One of the things that impresses me the most about these structures is how they manage water. The houses are designed to capture rain and snow melt on their roof, funneling it into large cisterns built into the structures. The cisterns gravity feed a water module that is equipped with a pump and filtration system to make it drinkable. Water that is used in the sinks, is then fed into the large planters into the house, providing another rough filtration system, and then used as water in the toilet. After the toilet, the water is contained and treated through a solar septic system, and then used a fourth time in exterior botanical areas. Generally a solar hot water system is tied to a propane on-demand heater to ensure hot water for showers. (One of my personal, must-have creature comforts.)

In terms of electricity, earthships use a photovoltaic / wind power system. The majority of lights and appliances inside an earthship run on DC power, as energy is lost when you convert from solar power to AC. However, AC outlets are also provided. During my stay in an earthship, I did not run into problems in terms of the amount of energy I was drawing from using either my laptop or the TV that was in the home.

I love that earthships are self-contained systems that generate their own heat and power. With their sprawl of plant cells, they also provide the ability to raise a substantial amount of your own produce.

But what also attracts me equally to earthships are their aesthetics. Interior earthship walls are almost always stucco, and frequently in the bright, southwestern colors I love. Glass bottles are frequently used for ornamentation, and end up lighting rooms in a prism of colors. Because all of the walls in an earthship are handshaped, there are often circular and curved walls which you don’t tend to find in more traditional homes. Rooms have a much more creative, organic feeling to me. And I adore the sunlight and extensive array of plants you find along the southern exposure of these homes.

Because several people I’ve spoken with recently have never heard of earthships, I’ve attached a gallery of images below to help you get a feel. The majority of these images come from the Earthship Biotecture website. If they seem like your kind of thing, I encourage you to check out their website. It’s the best online resource out there for learning more about earthships.

These structures really are amazing and can easily be adapted to a small-size home.

“The best-laid schemes o’ mice an ‘men
Gang aft agley.”

–Robert Burns

Don’t ask me why, but I seem to have an preternatural ability to find trouble.

Things start simply enough… I find some bright, shiny, new fascination and I proceed to track down any and all available information about it. But frequently, in following the path of delectable tidbits, I forget to look up and take notice of my broader surroundings. And, sooner or later, this eventually leads to me stumbling into trouble.

I have a sneaking suspicion that if I were ever cast as a character in a fairy tale, I would be inside the witch’s oven and approaching a temperature of 350 degrees before I looked up and muttered to myself: “Hmm. That’s strange. What happened to the really cool gingerbread house? Wasn’t I supposed to be checking out the licorice gables? Where, exactly, am I?”

All of this is my feeble attempt at leading up to an rational explanation of why, in my recent pursuit of researching earthships in Taos, New Mexico, I found myself buried in a snow drift up to the hood of my rented Jeep on an unnamed, unlighted, road twenty miles outside of Taos around 10 PM at night with a snowstorm rolling in.

In my defense, when I got stranded on a back road outside of Taos, I had a full tank a gas, several layers of warm clothes, a 4-wheel–drive vehicle, a laptop with a cellular modem and 12-volt adaptor, a AAA card that was up-to-date, and cell service on both of my two phones.

So I didn’t panic when I first realized I seemed well and thoroughly stuck. Things started to look a little more grim, however, when I called AAA and had to spend the better part of 20 minutes trying to explain first to the customer service rep and then her manager, what the hell an earthship was and why I couldn’t give them a name of the road on which I was stranded. And, once I managed to successful navigate that hurdle, it turned out that the ONE tow service AAA used in the area wasn’t answering their phone. AAA couldn’t give me even a rough estimate when they might be able to get someone out to try to find and assist me.

I thanked AAA for their time and asked them to call me back when they were able to reach the tow service or state patrol. Then, I dialed my friend Warren Faidley. In case you’ve never heard that name, Warren Faidley is the madman you see on CNN reporting from the heart of most bits of bad weather in the United States. He’s a journalist who makes his living as a storm chaser. Warren’s idea of a good time is reporting from the eye of a hurricane in the Gulf Coast up to his chin in water with nothing more than his flashlight for light.

Warren and I have been friends for several years, now. And, more than once, Warren has come flying unsolicited to my rescue. Sometimes even when I actually needed the help. One of Warren’s recent projects has been writing a book titled: The Ultimate Storm Survival Handbook. So Warren seemed like the natural next number to call.

The phone call went something like this… “Warren, hey, it’s Steph. Oh, not much. Look–I don’t want you to go into DefCon 5 or anything. I’m okay. Really. Don’t freak out or anything. But I seem to find myself buried in a snowdrift outside of Taos. And I don’t think anybody’s going to be coming to help for awhile.”

“Uh, yeah. I know you gave me a copy of your book. But, uh, I really didn’t make it past the section on flooding. I sort of skim-read from there. Would you mind reminding me what the hell I’m supposed to do in a snowstorm? The only thing I remember from that section is that, in a pinch, I can drink my own urine to stay hydrated. But I don’t think I’m quite there, yet.”

To his credit, once he finished laughing his ass off, Warren patiently walked me through making sure my exhaust pipe was uncovered so I wouldn’t gas myself out if I ran the Jeep through the night to stay warm and how to try to extricate myself from the drift using my vehicle’s four-wheel-drive. He also coached me on how to make the Jeep’s battery and gas last as long as possible.

About that time in Warren’s pep talk, someone with sharp eyes who was driving along HWY 64, spotted my hazard lights in the distance and braved the unmarked side road to see if I was okay. He was an old-generation Taos native on his way back to his ranch in a battered old pickup truck with chains.

With my Good Samaritan’s help, I was able to back the Jeep out of the drift, and sheepishly find my way back to the correct unmarked road that held the earthship where I was staying the night.

Warren made me call him back as soon as I was done dealing with my rescuer to assure him I hadn’t been carried off into white slavery. And then again when I’d found the right earthship.

As I thanked Warren for his help and wished him a goodnight, his parting comment was: “I’ll say one thing about you Steph. Your calls are never boring.” So I guess I have that one small thing going for me, right?

Anyway, I’ll fill you in on how I managed to get myself stuck in a snowdrift in the first place when I post my review of the Hut Earthship later this week. I think that’s enough self-humbling details for one day.

Hillary, the author of This Tiny House, and her partner Michael will be hosting a gathering at their place for tiny home enthusiasts on Sunday January 31st. Small space enthusiasts of all varieties (small house owners, RVers, liveaboard boaters, etc.) are welcome to attend.

To RSVP and receive directions to their place, please contact Hillary through her event announcement.

I wish I was going to be able to attend this event but, unfortunately, all my spare funds are going toward paying for the latest round of renovations. I would love to see pictures from those of you who can make it!

Anyone looking for a modern-style shell for a small home? This old skyway from CityDeskStudio is currently for sale.

The skyway was designed by Ed Baker, the “father of skyways”, and built in 1978.  Originally, it connected JCPennys and Powers department stores in downtown Minneapolis.

It was purchased by CityDeskStudio in a blind auction.  Their initial plan was to turn it into a high-end lakefront retreat.  Apparently people didn’t bite on the $100,000 asking price per share, however.

The skyway is now up for sale on Craigslist and the current asking price is $79,500.  The purchaser is responsible for moving the structure which now sits “near the University of Minnesota Minneapolis campus”.

Basic Facts:
Size: 1380 sqft
Exterior: 19’8” x 83’ x 14’ Tall
Materials: Steel, Glass, Concrete

Thanks to Greg Allen for this find.

I’m learning at lot about the best way to work with contractors. Mainly, I’m afraid, by making every mistake in the book along the way. (Of course, a good friend of mine who used to fight martial arts competitively insists that pain is the best, most efficient educator there is. If he’s right, I think I deserve a PhD in home renovation by now.)

Anyway, I’ve decided to share some of my hard-earned wisdom. If someone were facing a significant renovation project like mine, and I was only able to give them once piece of advice, this is what it would be: Never, EVER, pay a contractor more money than what they say is the absolute minimum they need, right now, to either start or keep a project going. Let me tell you why…

Should you pay a contractor up front what they give you as the total estimated amount of the project, I pretty much guarantee that they’re going to be in a lot less hurry to finish you project (and, thus, be able to ask for the rest of the money).  Especially if they have other projects which are competing with yours on which they can collect more money if they finish.

Moreover, the costs for renovations seem to magically expand in some particularly ruthless, evil version of Parkinson’s law. Plainly stated: remodeling costs will expand to what your contractor estimates to be the total size of your wallet. Trust me, you are much better off if your contractor/builder thinks it was a real struggle to come up with the 50% up-front than that you didn’t break a sweat writing a check for the full project before it’s even started.

One final advantage to paying in increments is it lets you keep better tabs on whether or not you’re running over-budget and provides you the opportunity to make mid-course corrections rather than simply being keelhauled when a bill for the final tab shows up.

Lest you all begin admiring me for my profound depths of wisdom, let me confess that that’s so NOT how I handled the latest round of things with Kenny…

At the beginning of this phase of renovations, Kenny gave me an estimate of $10,000 to replace the windows and doors, siding, and roof panels. I wrote him a check for $10,000 thinking that would be “easier” and that it was less likely I would burn through the $5000 that was sitting in my savings account waiting for him to finish the project.

What followed was v-e-r-y slow progress on the house. Followed by Kenny breaking his leg and being unable to finish the project for several months, and me being in a position of not being able to hire someone else to finish the project because the money had already been spent.

And now that the project is finally wrapping up, I’ve received a bill for an additional $6,000. This, after months of asking if we were over-budget at all and not getting a response. Oh, and by the way, he needs the money NOW or he’s not going to be able to do any more work on my house. Never mind that I waited, reasonably patiently, after he broke his leg and couldn’t put the new roof on my house, leaving my house without a roof for two months during the rainy season.

(Can you tell I’m just a teeny, little bit cranky today?)

Anyway, I guess I know where my tax returns are going. Sigh. The check went out in the mail today and I’m going to do my best to follow my own advice in the future.

I doubt if anyone will be as excited about these as I am, but Kenny sent along some pictures of the new roof on my floating home. I’m still trying to decide if I like the green against the siding or not. I think it will help when the rest of the white trim and railing are in.

My only complaint on the pictures is that I wish he’d taken one of the full front of the house. For some strange reason, my contractor doesn’t think the same way as a blogger. Go fig.

Up until now, there hasn’t been much in the way of free home plans for people who are interested in a tiny home on wheels similar to the Tumbleweed Tiny Houses. Due to the generosity of one member of the Small House Movement, it looks like that’s about to change.

Joseph Kenyon has just started the Free House Project and is making available exploded, 3D, and sideview drawings of tiny homes. Several are already available and he intends to continue to significantly expand this site.

Joseph writes: “I don’t get anything at all from designing them and giving them away except the knowledge that I may be helping at least one person out there. I hope you like them and can make use of them.”

Please help get the word out there about Joseph’s site, and if you’re excited about what he’s doing, I suggest sending him a quick note of thanks.

(Drawing from JosephKenyon.com)

I haven’t run in to this particular situation before… how about recycling a tiny house?

Novelist Maya Lassitar is currently writing on her blog about a hand-built house constructed by her cousin Noah. This charming little home is 200 square feet and incorporates a lot of recycled material that were purchased from a used building supply store.

Unfortunately, just before Noah was planning to move in, he got busted on zoning violations and was ordered to cut it down.

Instead of simply destroying the little house, Noah gave it to Maya to be put on the same land where her yurt resides. They are now in the process of painstakingly reassembling it on their property.

You can follow the ongoing story here.

(Pictures from mayalassitar.com)

For those of you who are into Twitter, you can now find me as Unm00red. I’ve also got updates posting in the bottom of the sidebar if you’re curious but don’t want me filling up your Twitbin.

Be forewarned that my Twitters may be even more eclectic than my blog entries.

(And for those of you who this entry is complete gibberish, please move along. This is not the entry you were looking for.)

P.S. If anyone can help me figure out why the bullet points for my Tweets aren’t aligned with the others in my sidebar, can you shoot me an email? (stephanie.reiley at gmail)  It’s driving me nuts.