Our Dream Under Contract...
Welcome to our family's blog! We started this to keep everyone abreast of our progress towards building our Earthship home. Our hope to is to begin the build in Spring 2014 and to finish it when we finish it (cue the evil cackle from our future home which we will surely be slaves to). Why are we choosing to live this way? This saying sums it all up for us: "Never get so busy making a living that you forget to make a life."
To give some basic information about what an Earthship is here goes... This type of structure utilizes materials that are abundantly discarded in our society such as tires, aluminum cans, glass bottles, etc. to build the basic structure of the home. The overall structure is made using these materials and is then encased in a mixture of clay, dirt, cement, etc. to seal it off and aid in naturally insulating the house along with a berm covering the entire back (North side) of the structure; keeping it at a comfortable temperature year round. Rain water is captured from the roof and then deposited into cisterns; providing water for drinking, bathing, cleaning and watering the garden. The front of the structure is covered in windows facing the South that act as a greenhouse so that we will be able to generate some produce, flowers and other plants year-round.
We believe we've found our perfect land in Cedarville (just outside Yellow Springs) for our future home and are set to close on it at the end of this month as long as all continues to go according to plan. Both Zac and I have found that this push towards purchasing land has completely energized us and we've been writing list after list of projects that can be completed and materials that can be collected before we start the build next Spring.
In constructing lists of possible building materials, we decided to push ourselves a bit further and plan on constructing the home out of as many used, recycled and found objects as possible. And because we're both feeling a bit restless and want to do anything and everything we can to propel us towards our goal, I created a Craigslist ad earlier this week with a list of materials we could make use of in the build of our home. Already, we have received several responses from complete strangers who have given us so much positive feedback and who want to give us materials from our list!
I think I can speak for both Zac and myself in saying that we are truly touched by everyone's support, well-wishes, feedback and generosity so early on in our journey and look forward to the sense of community we believe this project will engender.
To give some basic information about what an Earthship is here goes... This type of structure utilizes materials that are abundantly discarded in our society such as tires, aluminum cans, glass bottles, etc. to build the basic structure of the home. The overall structure is made using these materials and is then encased in a mixture of clay, dirt, cement, etc. to seal it off and aid in naturally insulating the house along with a berm covering the entire back (North side) of the structure; keeping it at a comfortable temperature year round. Rain water is captured from the roof and then deposited into cisterns; providing water for drinking, bathing, cleaning and watering the garden. The front of the structure is covered in windows facing the South that act as a greenhouse so that we will be able to generate some produce, flowers and other plants year-round.
We believe we've found our perfect land in Cedarville (just outside Yellow Springs) for our future home and are set to close on it at the end of this month as long as all continues to go according to plan. Both Zac and I have found that this push towards purchasing land has completely energized us and we've been writing list after list of projects that can be completed and materials that can be collected before we start the build next Spring.
In constructing lists of possible building materials, we decided to push ourselves a bit further and plan on constructing the home out of as many used, recycled and found objects as possible. And because we're both feeling a bit restless and want to do anything and everything we can to propel us towards our goal, I created a Craigslist ad earlier this week with a list of materials we could make use of in the build of our home. Already, we have received several responses from complete strangers who have given us so much positive feedback and who want to give us materials from our list!
I think I can speak for both Zac and myself in saying that we are truly touched by everyone's support, well-wishes, feedback and generosity so early on in our journey and look forward to the sense of community we believe this project will engender.
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