How Much Does it Cost to Build an Earthship?!

Surprisingly enough, a home built from recycled materials and dirt is still expensive to build!  As we quickly learned, the vast majority of the cost of building an earth rammed tire home comes within the first several months of the build as items integral to the systems of the home are purchased during this time.  For example, one of first purchases we made were the three 1,700 gallon cisterns which cost us around $7,000.  Below we have a fairly general cost list of everything we've purchased thus far as well as what we anticipate needing prior to getting "under roof"; hopefully now by next Summer!

Costs Incurred Thus Far in Our Build

• Cisterns (Three 1,700 gallon cisterns from PlasticMart.com- $7,000)
• Land (5 acres purchased with land loan- $40,000)
• Architect and building consultant fees ($4,500)
• Permit application fees ($1,000)
• Suitable dirt for build (I know, I know, we have 5 acres of dirt... read this post for further information- $3,500)
• Initial excavating costs to prep site ($600)
• Equipment rental (Bobcat and Air Compressor- $3,300)
• Tools and equipment purchased for build (Tractor with Loader, Pneumatic Tamper, Walk-Behind Compactor- $8,600)
• Waterproofing and drain tile (2 rolls of 8 mil plastic for a vapor barrier, drain tile, and gravel- $600)
• Framing the structure (fabricated trusses and truss drawings sealed by an engineer- $5,000)

Anticipated Costs to Come to Get us Under-Roof (estimated)

• Concrete foundation and concrete cap on top of tire wall ($5,000??)
• Roofing (we are planning on opting for the "rainbow" selection of metal roof rejects- Several thousand dollars??)
• Windows (many we are using have been donated and are used though we anticipate it will cost less than $3,000 to purchase the rest of the windows for our home)
• Electrical Supplies (Unknown)
• Plumbing Supplies (Unknown)
• Solar Panels (without the batteries as we will be tied into the grid at first- $10,000 or less)

And these items give you a basic shell of an earthship home for around $90,000 (including land).  Now, our choices have affected our budget along the way. If we could wave a magic wand and go back in time, we would have purchased the tractor with the loader right off the bat to save us the costs of renting a Bobcat.  Of course, one could move all the dirt needed by hand with buckets and wheel-barrows but we wanted to get into our home ASAP as we have a young son to think about and want to live in transition for as little a time as possible.  We would have also purchased the pneumatic tamper sooner and if we had, we would likely be done with the tire wall at this point.  We could have paid for labor but chose to pass on valuable skills to those interested instead which afforded us a greater sense of community but likely cost us some time if looking at our process objectively.

We expect the finished home to cost around $120,000 but the upside is that unlike a traditional home, we will no longer be paying for water, heat, A/C, will be paying very little if any for electric, and won't have the utility costs and upkeep costs that come with living in a traditional home.  Earthship homes are super-efficient and take care of those living within its walls.  Outside of the land loan and some money loaned to us by family, we will essentially be mortgage and bill-free when our home is completed (outside of insurance, cell phone bills, etc.)!  This low cost of living affords us the opportunity to be more mindful and take a more active role in creating our future as a family.