Nova Scotia couple building sustainable home out of tires

Pippa Creery and Bob Kloske's retirement involves a lot of dirt.

The couple are building an earth berm tire house, which they hope will be a little piece of paradise in Ship Harbour, on Nova Scotia's Eastern Shore.

The south-facing home will have a wall of windows to capture sunlight, as well as solar panels on the roof. They're building it into an embankment in the hope the dry earth will serve as insulation and store thermal energy much like a battery.

The off-grid design is modelled after an Earthship, a style of sustainable homes developed by American architect Michael Reynolds in New Mexico. It's one of a handful of similar projects in the Maritimes.

"What appeals to me about this home is once it's built and up and running, it doesn't require any resources to maintain itself," said Creery.

Creery said in traditional builds, the air must be heated, meaning it's a crisis when the power goes out on a cold day. In this type of home, the structure holds the heat.

"You're building up heat storage in all the tires and the dirt and the floor. The house will basically take care of heating and cooling itself," she said.

Michael Barton, a Halifax-based engineer interested in sustainable building, designed the building with help and input from Creery and Kloske.  Barton also ensured the couple had the necessary building permits.

For Creery and Kloske, leaving a small environmental footprint has always been important. But Kloske needed a little convincing that an Earthship was livable.

He wasn't sold on the first few he visited.

"They were dark and dingy and I thought … there are better ways of living. Since that time we really started researching and looking into it. We found some beautiful homes and they're working beautifully. And I thought this is the way to go," he said.

Since the couple broke ground two years ago, they say they've gotten plenty of support from the local community with people stopping by to learn more.

"It's getting the message out there that we have to start doing things [differently] or in 20 years we'll be frying. That's the big thing, taking care of the planet, doing our part," he said.

"It's a drop in the bucket, but it's a contribution," said Creery.

Much of the material, including the old tires, is found in Nova Scotia. So far, one of the more expensive items has been bringing in the dirt to create the berm and pack into the tires.

Eventually, the wall of tires won't be visible. There will be five rooms, including two bedrooms and a large living area with a kitchen with an earthen floor. The walls will be finished with adobe plaster.

A hallway featuring a planter will run along the south wall under the windows. The plants will be watered with grey water from the household, ensuring it doesn't go to waste.

Rainwater will be caught as it comes off the roof and filtered inside for use as well.

Good ventilation will be key. They're building along the coast and with the damp climate, mould is a concern. For now, they rely on a network of tarps to keep the earth as dry as possible.

There is a network of tubing built into the berm that is designed to help air circulate. If it's too hot, warm air will rise and can escape through tubes closer to the ceiling. Cool air will be drawn in through tubes closer to the floor. The opposite will happen on cooler days.

The plans include a wood stove to ensure there's an extra heat source during the coldest months.

"We'll also have skylights in the back we'll use and opening windows along the front for summertime use so you can get good airflow," said Creery.

"It takes two or three years for the house to be fully functional and for the so-called batteries to be full and to bring the heat in and take the cool out of the house."

This summer, Kloske and Creery have been packing earth into individual tires that will form the walls of the building. The work is physically demanding and tedious at times. Packing each tire takes about half an hour.

"They're the bricks of your house. If it wasn't packed in tightly, you wouldn't have a good, solid wall," said Creery.

They hope to have the roof on and the front section framed by the winter, which would allow them to start work on the interior.

Though plenty of people have offered to help, Kloske said he and Creery enjoy working together and going at their own pace.

"This is now our retirement job, as long as it takes. We're having fun and we're enjoying it and we take it one day at a time. When we get it done, we get it done," he said.

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