Ideas/ways to re-use/recycle "rubbish"?

[Denim Deb]

I knew that idea sounded familiar!

 

[JASTECH]

I will use about 2000 tires to build a Earthship house after I get moved, need to sell this house and land first.

 

[sumi]

I will use about 2000 tires to build a Earthship house after I get moved, need to sell this house and land first.

Saw a house build from old car tires on Grand Designs once, I think the house was in France. We didn't get quite as adventurous, but we build a small "bottle wall" into a house extension once. Unfortunately I don't have pics, but it worked and looked amazing. We used different coloured bottles (blue, green, etc) and positioned them with their bottoms pointing inside and cemented them in place as we would bricks.

 

[JASTECH]

@sumi, exactly. Use two glass bottles that are the same, then cut them so the two bottom halfs when butted together equals your wall thickness, then tape them together with duck tape.

 

[rhoda_bruce]

Here is a 1981 bus I won on an auction our school board had several years ago, which I have removed most of the seats. My kids have fun cleaning it and using it as their playhouse....its roomier than their actual playhouse and has been used to store stuff for SIL, which lasted way too long. I plan on getting it out of the hole it sunk into and seeing if I can change out all the fluids and starting it up. If I can do that (and even if I can't), I plan on turning it into a camper. In the meantime, it keeps the kids busy. It costed me $176 and was driven here by my father.....started first crank.

This poor playhouse has seen much better days. It was built one of DH's former bosses for his DD's and when the family decided to make a pool house, they needed the playhouse gone. The girls are really bad about painting signs on it and I'm on the 3rd little girls to take paint to it, behind my back. Well, this has not often been used for its intended purpose because of the heat, but its awesome for storing hay and the muscovy hens love it for nesting/brooding. I have also raised a few batches of chicks and broilers in there and have put injured dogs in there to keep safe and recuperate......and wait out storms. The goat seems to like it way more now than the girls.

This was an extremely easy tractor to make. It is very light weight and everything was reused, except the zip ties and the crimps. The wire is attached to the studs and supported by rebars, which were cut in 3 to make arches. The raw edges are used to wrap around to hold the thing together. Used feed sacks were used to drape on top to offer protection from rain and sun.

 

[JASTECH]

Hmm, weenier dog cross?

 

[rhoda_bruce]

yes. Spoiled brat. Mom was pure. Dad was a no good, chicken killing, blankety-blank. I had nothing to do with whatever happened to him, although I did have all the motive. She was the runt.

 

[sumi]

I love that bus, playhouse and tractor! I've been eyeing all these dead cars and buses scattered around the countryside here thinking something like an old bus could be turned into a nice chicken coop for a larger flock? Ditto mobile homes, if you can pick one up for free, which happens occasionally… It would take a bit of work, gutting and fitting it for it's new purpose, but it could be an interesting project.

 

[Denim Deb]

I knew someone that turned an old bus into a camper.

 

[rhoda_bruce]

My parents did that in the mid 70's and we had a lot of fun. If I can get it done, I might even sell my place. I can't sell the orchard cuz, even if I own it, Dad has life long usage and rights, so I'd always have a place to park and be closer to my main problem......plus Momma's old coop is vacant. All I'd have to do is reinforce a few hinges and repair some fencing and I'be be in business.....but more think I'd take to the road sometimes.
But when Daddy set up the old bus, he didn't even put anything you'd call a bathroom. We had a one gallon can and a roll of toilet paper....no joke. I'd improve on that for sure. I already have an extra bedside commode anyways and know something about how to mask the smells.
I think we just washed up at campsites, that had showers, but that part is only a vague memory. I do recall sometimes my sister and I instructed to wash ourselves and everyone was outside the bus and we'd do a sponge bath and Momma would change out the water and wash our brother and then herself.....alone....etc.... I think I'd want to improve upon that system also...plus I have the stuff to do it with. We all got too much stuff, so no big surprise.


Well......CARDBOARD.....I don't throw it away. I don't have room for the amount that comes in the house, so I rip it apart and store it in one big box or a crate. In addition to picking up dry sticks to use as kindling, I also use cardboard. Only thought of that today because I lit a fire.