Student Visitors

This past weekend, Chad and I had several students from our respective schools stop over to learn about the earthship and to pound a tire or two!  Thank you so much everyone, and come back any time!

Caroline Elementary School students and families:

Sisters Emma and Savannah pause from shoveling dirt to hug and smile for the camera

Tom pours a bucket of dirt into the tire and Savannah and Lauren push it into the sides 

Owen and Emma pounding tires with 8 pound sledgehammers!

Savannah takes a break to play in the gravel pile

Brothers Eli and Ben eager to pound some tires

Groton Middle and High School students and families:

Jenny and Cali got a great start on the 4th course of tires

Camille, Christine, Lisa, Alissa, and Josh (not pictured) added to the momentum!

2nd tier of thermal wrap, Cisterns in place!

     Today was a big day in that we accomplished putting up the entire 2nd tier of the thermal wrap, backfilled it, leveled it off, and moved the four 1,700 gallon cisterns into place!  It looks so much taller now!  Onto the 4th course of tires...

3rd course done, ready to put up the 2nd tier of the thermal wrap

2nd tier of thermal wrap in place!

Laying some gravel as a base for the cisterns behind the thermal wrap

Gravel laid and leveled... now for the cisterns!

Slowly bringing them over on the tractor

All four cisterns in place!

These will eventually be buried and collect and store rainwater for our water supply

Special Delivery

Today the truck from New Mexico arrived... it was a huge semi more than half full of building materials and components to go into the earthship!  Thank you to Paul, John, Gary, Adam, Bryan, Colin, and Shane for coming out in the rain for a few hours to help us unload everything!  It would have taken us hours and hours and hours without you guys!

Colin and Shane loading things from the road onto a tractor

John and Paul helping Chad unload from the tractor into the barn

Colin, Shane, Adam, and Chad, assessing their job

I found our beautiful doorway!

Muscle men Bryan, Shane, and Colin

Emptied in under 3 hours!

3rd course of tires= done!!!

We are now officially 1/3 of the way through our 9 courses of tires!

Pretty soon, we'll be placing our four 1,700 gallon cisterns behind the thermal wrap.  These will hold the rainwater we'll collect before it is filtered and pumped into our house.

Chad's dad was a huge help and came and dumped dirt with his tractor to backfill the tirewall. 

The beginning of our orchard: 6 apple trees, 3 peach trees, and a cherry tree

Groton High School Students

Groton High School students Paige and Reid worked for a long time on Sunday to help us out with the build. 

They pounded tires,

...and taped some bottle bottoms to create bottle bricks

All in 90 degree weather!  Thanks Paige and Reid, you ROCK!

Memorial Day Weekend

Thanks to all of those who came out during Memorial Day Weekend to check out the earthship and to help pound tires!

Dave on the left, Cory center (you don't have to swing it that high, really), and Joe, working hard

A row of us pounding all at once: Paul, me (Courtney), Dave, and Cody

Phil visits from New York City!

My brother Connor (the day after his birthday!), my mom Char, and Phil

Glass

The glass for the interior and exterior 90-foot front walls of our Earthship has arrived!

More Visitors and Helpers!

Thanks so much to our recent visitors!  A tire you pound is one we won't have to!

Luke, our math TA at Caroline School, and Lexi

My dad and Michelle came back to earn their "I pounded a tire in the Freeville Earthship" sticker

Groton High School students Reid, Allee, and Ashlee worked hard in the heat!

Thermal Wrap

Chad and I started the thermal wrap these past two weekends.  This 4-inch barrier stands 4 feet back from the tire wall and insulates this area.  Plastic is attached to the outside of the insulation boards as a vapor barrier to keep moisture out of the house.

First we laid plastic down behind the tire wall.

We connected two 2" thick insulation boards for 4" of insulation.

We started standing the insulation boards up and backfilled the area.

Notice the plastic hanging down from the board on the outside.

We insulated the cooling tubes in this inner-area so as not to warm the cool air that will be coming through them.

Done for now!

Next we'll continue with the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th courses of the tire wall.  After about this point, we will continue the thermal wrap vertically and backfill the area again.  The thermal wrap will go all of the way up the back of the house and then tilt in to meet the house back wall at the top tire course.  This seals in the tire wall and compacted backfill to create a "temperature battery" for our home.

Mother's Day

 Happy Mother's Day!
My sister and mom drove down to Ithaca from Rochester so we could spend Mother's Day together.  After a picnic lunch, we pounded tires together!  Even Caitsy the princess helped.

It's Been Rainy!

Rachel

Sorry for not posting in awhile, but it's been pretty rainy these last couple of weeks and it has slowed things down at our site, which now looks like there's a moat around it.  We had some friends, family, and other people stop in to help pound a tire or two on the some-what clear days.
THANKS!!!

Alex

Orson

Kenda-Lee