Earthship visit

KMS Woodworks
by KMS Woodworks
Bottle Wall "Art" About 1/2 way between our cabin and Taos, NM lies the Greater World Earthship community. One common design element is the use of "bottle walls". An Earthship is a type of building that uses many reclaimed materials in its construction. Tires and cans are common, but these element are often "buried" within the walls. In the case of "bottle walls" they are place in such a way that light will pass through like stained glass. When these walls are built, wine bottles and other bottles are cut and rejoined to make glass "tubes". These are then placed in the body of the wall and secured with mortar. Eventually the walls are plastered so only the bottoms of the bottle are exposed.
Bottle wall
Earthship visitor center
plastered walls
wall showing construction methods
Plastered Bottle wall
Bottle details
plastered bottle wall
cans and bottle walls
Stained Glass effect
I love the blue glass
KMS Woodworks
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
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  • Parle Parle on Oct 24, 2016
    You still run across a wall or house structure out in remote desert areas. Seems the old homesteaders certainly understood their energy properties. I love them - lots of work but you can do just a little at a time and continue to add on at different times. So glad this was shared - thanks.
  • Gra48625404 Gra48625404 on Jan 17, 2020

    I would love to try something like this - what is your mortar mix recipe?

    thanks

    Grant

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