Blue Rock Station,
1190 Virginia Ridge Rd.
Philo Ohio 43771 USA
+1-740-674-4300 (phone)
+1-740-674-6303 (fax)
Or contact us by e-mail.
1190 Virginia Ridge Rd.
Philo Ohio 43771 USA
+1-
Or contact us by e-
Copyright 2008 Blue Rock Station, All Rights Reserved
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Visit some good friends of Blue Rock Station...
The Earthship's roof...
Perhaps one of the trickiest challenges we faced in this construction project was to build a roof that didn't leak. Since Earthships were born out in the desert southwest, I suspect the folks out there didn't give it much thought. But here in wet southeastern Ohio, it is a major concern. The unique "V-shaped" design of the roof is especially vulnerable. So take great care.
Once you have finished pounding tires, you must then build a sill plate that binds the top row of tires together. How you do this is outlined in the Solar Survival books (and you thought you were going to learn everything you needed to know from this site, eh?)
The composite "I-beams" span the gap created by the "U-shaped" tire walls. Some folks will use felled trees as rafters - which gives a very rustic appearance. Just remember the span is quite wide and the beam needs to support a great deal of weight.
The framing on the right is not from our project (they had a much better picture), but is very similar. You can see how the face is joined to the main structure in a "V-shaped" trough.
In the center of that trough, you must build a "cricket" that sheds the water off in both directions. Our design (the basic plan from Solar Survival) has two cisterns that catch the water from the roof, one on each side of the main structure.
In each of the three rooms, we have placed a skylight. These are essential (in our view) as they provide a tremendous amount of light. But they are also a pain - being the weak point where most of your leaking will occur. Be prepared to do plenty of flashing around them. We also coated the entire roof with a Neoprene rolled surface, then covered this with salvaged slate (reclaimed from those old barns we tore down).
And of course, insulate your roof well. We used rolled insulation in the face and blown-in insulation in the main rooms. The Earthship is remarkably snug. We have found that even in temperatures of - 15° F the house stays at 45° F or more, even without a heat source. When we light the wood stove, the entire house is soon 70° F.
Perhaps one of the trickiest challenges we faced in this construction project was to build a roof that didn't leak. Since Earthships were born out in the desert southwest, I suspect the folks out there didn't give it much thought. But here in wet southeastern Ohio, it is a major concern. The unique "V-
Once you have finished pounding tires, you must then build a sill plate that binds the top row of tires together. How you do this is outlined in the Solar Survival books (and you thought you were going to learn everything you needed to know from this site, eh?)
The composite "I-
The framing on the right is not from our project (they had a much better picture), but is very similar. You can see how the face is joined to the main structure in a "V-
In the center of that trough, you must build a "cricket" that sheds the water off in both directions. Our design (the basic plan from Solar Survival) has two cisterns that catch the water from the roof, one on each side of the main structure.
In each of the three rooms, we have placed a skylight. These are essential (in our view) as they provide a tremendous amount of light. But they are also a pain -
And of course, insulate your roof well. We used rolled insulation in the face and blown-
Other web sites that will give you a bit more about this...
