Bernhard Haussler

Because he "coined" the name he robbed the concept of its real value so that now, if it is not done with tyres it is not an earthship. I disagree. Massive structures are thermally stable. The more massive, the more stable. Correct design and orientation of the structure are the factors that determine whether it will be comfortably stable, or uncomfortable. I am very close to a good source of gabion fill, so I am contemplating going that route - if I ever get that far. In my book an earthship is an earthship with or without tyres.

Hi John!
I am also interested in building an earthship but will be using gabions to create the mas. My location is near a river bed which is being mined for building sand and ther is a huge stockpile of reject material available [stone and pebble] I agree that the use of tyres is not "the" issue. However, your layout removes on of the rooms completely for the energy source - ie the solar facing greenhouse. And even more strangely, you have put a garage between the living area and the energy source. While tires are a matter of choice, the "row of rooms" is somewhat more fundamental to the whole concept and its likely success..

I go with your idea of Gabion posts. Very important to their long term stability is that steel rod in the centre - I would go with 32mm [1 1/4"] 1.8 - 2.4 long.  For a 2' diameter cage you need a little more than 6' of cattle grid. Rock is OK but make sure you get a good amount of pebble into the voids otherwise the rock itself will cause tilting as it settles.

[size=12]I intend to build an eartship using gabions instead of tyes. I will mortar finish the surfaces and maybe add a layer of brick inst=ide to help attaching things to the walls. I am on a water course and there is sand mining going on just a short way downstream. They have a mountain of screen "reject" available.