anyone building with tire bale or earthbag in cold climate?

there is very little on the net about recent tire bale construction, anyone thought about trying it?

same goes for cold climate earthbag aside from owen geiger's site.

Im in Eastern Canada, New Brunswick.
Will be building a super-adobe complex dome in spring/summer/fall 2013.
Insulation has been something of a stickler for me.
Looking more to ensure moisture on exterior (rain/snow/ice) does not penetrate structure.
Insulation will be a (local soil mixture with approx 5% cement) mix with an additional 5-10% of scoria or similar local material.
Not trying to increase R-Vals to maximum.
Win the heating battle with sure proven small steps.
An approach that is truly hybrid and organic to your specific build.
Berming is going to be primary method of isolating structure from atmospheric conditions.

Hey George, hey Mike,
I am also in New Brunswick, building a straw bale house.
just about to put my walls up.
living roof isolated with straw.
plastic wrapped till spring and plastered
a rocket mass heater.
I should be comfy year arround

I am in SE NB. Downtown Moncton actually. If you are in the approximate area, id love to come out and check your site and help if needed. Free labour is a good thing. right? lol. Enjoy the process-it is the art. bonne chance!

I am in the North East actually, just south of Bathurst.
if ever you wanna see the installation, we could arrange that.
also I have rhe whole project on FB a page calles
off grid and off "the"grid, macrame granola

Jacques

There's a tire house near me but due to poor design it is a monumental flop. But the owner is blissfully ignorant and thinks it is awesome. He's spent 25 years building stuff that works in Arizona but makes absolutely no sense in this climate. I have videos but l know the guy so won't show them. The house goes through lots of firewood and I find it uncomfortably dark. Big firs block solar gain. No view ...

He has kindly offered to blight my river and mountain view property with similar structures. :

Tire bale just confuses me. Other than getting rid of a lot of tires I’m not sure what its benefits are. Thus far it intrigues me not at all.

I’m currently working with the county to get an earth bermed, rammed earth tire structure permitted. The intent is also to put up a hyperadobe structure of some sort so as to get experienced with it. The rammed earth tire structure is to be shotcrete inside and out. Both will be insulated on the outside, probably with straw. The interior walls of both will be a made of light straw/clay brick or cob depending on what is trying to be achieved. Both will be oriented to take advantage of solar gain in the winter.

This winter has not been bad but generally speaking we have -15 to -30º F for part of the winter.

For outbuildings that need a simple method of being raised off the ground, a foundation 2 or 3 tires high can be a cheap alternative to concrete. Filled with well drained rubble they are very solid and stable if placed on a rubble trench. Posts can be set into the rubble with or without some concrete.

I can't immagine a situation where it would make sense to go all the way up with such a poorly insulated system. Labour efficiency drops dramattically once you get more than 3 feet high with such heavy materials. A front end loader can accomplish a good portion of the work for those who aren't finnicky. You can charge $2 each for tire disposal around here.

Some go to great lengths to stucco tire foundations. The bumpy nature ensures that progress is dead slow and it uses lots of goo. Rubble rock heaped against the tires is something that can be done with a tractor. The rock contributes to drainage when sloped away from the building. Aligator lizzards and garter snakes move into rock piles at my place so this is a way to ensure lots of homes for insectivores.

I'm only going to do this with a greenhouse at first. I believe it would be perfectly suitable for the house as well but I'm concerned about what a tire foundation may do to property value. If I find that tires will mess with my ability to become certified organic I'll abandon the idea entirely.

Hi folks, I'm also in New Brunswick, Richibucto to be exact, and I'm just at the "looking for land" and saving my cash stage of my journey off grid and into alternative construction. I would love to know how you guys are getting on and even come visit to see for myself what else is happening in the area. I'm particularly interested in how you managed with the whole planning aspect of things. Our local planning inspector is fairly laid back and open to all the things I have discussed with him to date but I'm not sure that will carry through when it comes to actually presenting plans.

Eventually I would like to get a large piece of land and explore alternative construction further. I've worked on strawbale builds in Alberta, learned how to build Yurts in Nova Scotia and would really like to start putting it all into practice and eventually passing it on to others.

If you guys are open to a visit then PM me.

Take a look at the Canadian Dirtbag blog. http://canadiandirtbags.wordpress.com/2012/11/