Dirt. Rubber. Shovel. Hammer.

Because it’s just barely springtime, this group of interns is lucky enough to work on a brand new Earthship build. It’s pretty exciting, and by “exciting” I mean “OH GOD MAKE THE PAIN STOP”. Why? Because the way you start an Earthship is to pound hundreds of tires full of dirt.

Work started here last Friday, when all the interns were pulled from our regular worksites to start pounding tires here. The site had been laid out with string lines, so all we had to do was to dig out a level course, toss down the tires, and start moving dirt.

Our building materials are pretty high-tech, in that we strive to use the same size of tire across any row (“course” is the technical term). Another technological development is the technique of putting cardboard in the bottom of the tire, so that dirt doesn’t fall out.

But seriously. There are things that have to be taken into account. For example, as you work dirt into a tire, it puffs up. Care must be taken to get all the tires in a course level with each other, while still packing them as tightly as possible. Also, each course needs to be set back 1.5 inches from the previous one, letting the walls lean on the supporting berm for structural integrity.

High-tech or no, this work isn’t for just anybody. I can barely keep up, to be honest. The guys who work here year-round are acclimated to the elevation and in great shape, and I’m definitely feeling my months of sea-level sloth. Plus, I’ve managed to strain my wrist from all the hammering and carrying of things. At this point, I can only do the easy work— the Girl Stuff.

The crew are great guys, though, totally taking my gimpressness in stride. We interns all get along gangbusters. Plus, the view can’t be beat. We fall into a rhythm before long, talking a lot of shit while we get a lot of work done. By the end of the second day, there are almost two full courses in the ground.

Snow! It’s been snowing on and off for a week or so, a little here and a little more there. It never sticks, though, not down here in the valley. Still, it certainly hasn’t warmed up any since I got here.

On the worksite, it seems most weather gets diverted around us. The snow didn’t fall here in any great amount. But the dirt is still frozen, frozen almost solid. Bad for shoveling.

Still, we’ve got three courses in the ground, and the sun is out warming the ice. The backhoe has come and dug out the interior of the Earthship, and piled the excess dirt behind the tire wall to create a berm.

Most Earthships are set into the ground to varying degrees, which helps make the most of thermal mass for temperature control. This house is about 45 inches underground, and the north wall sits in the berm, creating the effect of digging into a hillside.

To help the heat control along, a “thermal wrap” has been set into the berm. It’s insulation board which sits behind the tire wall, helping it to retain heat in the winter and cool in the summer. You can see it in this photo, snaking along the outside of the structure and already mostly buried in the berm.

Thursday afternoon, and we’re all tired from yesterday’s viga run. But work goes on, and we’ve got the fifth course laid out. More snow is expected tomorrow, so we’ll take a welcome break from tire pounding and lay some insulation at another site. Despite our relative exhaustion, we’re all proud of what we’ve done… and much, much more cognizant of the amount of work that goes into building an Earthship. This is no light task, but it’s well worth the effort.