Over the last couple of weeks Sandra and I have been visualizing what our house will look like.

This is our initial floorplan.

The building would be slightly more than 2000 square feet.

I have drawn up numerous plans for our log house business, but an earthship definitely does not follow the norms. Consideration has to be given to the earthship systems (food production, solar gain and site layout, water management, materials), that are only touched on superficially in the usual design process.

I find myself full of questions that do not have the typical answers. I have not yet thought through the layout and integration of the systems that make up an earthship.

Water, Food, Waste Management and Gray Water

• How many planters does a family of five need to recycle its gray water?
• How effective is a composting toilet (what does it need)?
• How much food do we want to produce in the building?
• How do we lay out the pipes for graywater?

Solar Gain

• How much sun can we expect in the winter? We live in a narrow valley that gets lots of cloud cover in the winter.
• What will my backup heating system be?
• Should we insulate the floor? There seems to be quite a debate over this issue in earthship design.

Anyway, the plans are started. I will start to tighten up the design and answer these questions (and more) over the next couple of months.

I am off to re-read Earthship Volumes I-III. I am also going to go and hang out at the post office and wait for my other two books (‘Comfort In Any Climate’ and ‘Packaged Plan Option Book’).

Any comments are welcome!