Archive for the ‘Earthship construction: Day by Day’ Category

Earthship to feature on Nicaragua real estate tour

Brooke Rundle pointed out a new You Tube video on the Nicaraguan Earthship:

The Earthship will be featured on our Green Real Estate tours planned for later this year.  We’re going to focus exclusively on environmentally conscious and socially responsible real estate developments.

Tour participants will get an inside track on everything from sustainable housing communities constructed of all recycled materials to off-grid hacienda style home lots.  

Click here for more information on our eco-tours.

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Day 33 and 34 and a sparkling bottle wall photo

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Watch the Earthship grow - day 32

Today we started compacting the floors.

It looks like we’ll be laying tiles, but we have received various ideas from local builders on the best method for laying them. Ideas range from concrete slabs to laying them into the clay earth to everything in between.

There’s no rush, so we’ll be moving on to other areas of the building as we investigate local methods.

The trusses are being reset to 2′, previously spaced for 4′, the second tire (formed) window has been set, and the site has received a preliminary cleaning as all of the surplus tires have been stacked and accounted for.

They will be used to build new Earthships as the passion for green real estate in Nicaragua grows.

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Nicaragua real estate - Day 31 in the life of an Earthship building project

New hands on the worksite today. Eric and Minya are on their way from the Panama Canal to the USA via the Pan American Highway…on bicycles. 

We met them yesterday on the way to Managua when we stopped for Breakfast at Chepe Chu, a little truckstop café on the road between Rivas and Nandaime.

After some story swapping, they decided they would take a couple days down to view our green building project before continuing.

They are very welcome at the worksite.

Check out the form work for the round window in the photo above (the tire will be removed once the cement dries).

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Green building in Nicaragua - 29th day of the construction of an Earthship.

The waiting game for the wood has begun.  We’re not talking about that much lumber, but the complications of material acquisition in Nicaragua are becoming clearer everyday.  This is all good ground work for the Earthships that will follow.  And the nice thing about this green building project is that there is always plenty to be done.

Today we poured the footings for the wing walls and made an aggressive hit on the adobe interior of the two larger rooms. We have decided that the doors for the end walls and bathrooms should reach the same height as the arched doors to the bedroom and living area. The doors will be seven feet by three feet and three inches.  We’re starting to see a nice symmetry emerging in the design.

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Beautiful tiles hand made in Granada arrive on Day 28

The bond beams on the greenhouse have been poured and are ready to receive trusses. Leaving the site in the very capable hands of Phil Basehart and Seth Larsen (Earthship Biotecture), project manager Dave Kniffin headed off on a supply run.

Check out the Granada Tiles!  (Granada is a beautiful historic colonial city located on the shores of Lake Nicaragua around 90 minutes drive away.)  The tiles are hand made in Nicaragua and normally exported to the US and Spain. But they were virtually given to us by a neighboring land owner who likes our project and happens to own the company that makes them.

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Nicaragua real estate - “A work of art” emerges on Day 27 of the Earthship construction

The building is beginning its transformation from a solid structure, to a work of art… 

Thanks to Jo, Tim, and Lauren for their extra help at the site today.  

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Nicaragua real estate: Day 26 in the life of a Nicaraguan Earthship

As our road is under construction, there are very small windows of opportunity to receive materials.  And everyday is an opportunity to learn.

Yesterday I was promised by one fellow based out of Rivas that the sand would arrive before 7:00am, an hour and a half before the road crew arrives.  I was also promised by a more local building supply store that the 60 cement bags I had ordered would also arrive before 8:00am and that we were first on the priority list for the day.

As we pulled into the site at 6:55am, the truck full of 9 cubic meters of sand was already being unloaded.

The day began with more concrete work on the water catchment system, making sure all drains were slopped at the proper angle. There is also a significant amount of mud/adobe plasterwork underway and it is drying very well. This is the time of year for making mud since it has plenty of time to cure during this dry season.

But all work slowed to a crawl as the last bag of cement was consumed at about 8:30am… We were able to keep busy, but the efficiency of work was clearly lacking for about an hour. The nice thing about building Earthships, is that there will always be dirt to move or sift and tires to pound.

At about 9:45am, the cement arrived.

Of course by this time the road was impassable. As we have done before, we hiked it to the site much like ants marching up a hill.

The day continued and progress was made.  Just another good Nica-story…

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Green home construction - Day 25 in the construction of a Nicaraguan Earthship

The water catchment is taking form. In the next few days we will tie the finish coat on the middle dome into the gutters and cistern. We’re sloping the flow at 1 inch every four feet.

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Lot signs are going in on Day 24 of the construction of a Nicaraguan Earthship

It’s midway through the week and it looks as though we will accomplish our short term objectives. Today we saw two hits on the dome and both gutters built up significantly.

Although the inside of the building is not currently a high priority, there are enough hands that we are able to continue with “packout” and adobe plaster.  The vapor barrier is partially up in both domes as well.

A green real estate community south of San Juan del Sur

All around us things are happening. The community itself is truly developing. Lot signs are up for the remaining six lots and the road has already received its preliminary grading and compaction.   The signs mark the sites for new Earthship buildings in this growing green real estate community located a little south of the town of San Juan del Sur.

The roads will be to high standard. Tim is using a very experienced crew and the material he’s throwing down is quality grade that should compact down nicely.

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