What Projects can be done with Old Tires?

[Nel frattempo]

We have access to a lot of old tires. As many as we want and they will deliver! Anyone ever built with old tires? I tried to find a book today but could not find details on building a ram earth type retaining wall.

Anyone ever built a retaining wall with old tires and dirt? If so, how high did it go?

Anyone ever built an exterior wall for building? How high and what book or web site did you use? We are thinking of building a Green House and wanted to try and make the back wall, which would be against the dirt embankment (north wall) a tire wall?

What other uses for old tires? We already grabbed two for tire swings in the woods.

Any suggestions or web sites appreciated. Thank you!

[Tweetybird]

I use old tires to set up as planters to grow my vegatable garden in. I stack two or three of them and fill with dirt. They are great for sqashes, tomatoes, peppers and eggplants.The squash plants are actuall quite pretty as the vines tumble down over the side, covering the tires. I stack even more and use them for my potatoes, and as I need to hil them, add a tire and fill with dirt. Then in the fall, I dump them over to harvest them. This is great for someone who is a wheelchair user or has a problem bending over, I also find they need to be weeded less, and plants can be planted earlier in the season, because the black tire absorbs the heat from the sun.

[Aohtee]

"Earthship" by Michael Reynolds.
Everything you need to know to build a home out of tires.

[DenverGirlie]

Earthship information

http://www.earthship.net/

http://www.touchtheearthranch.com/Rhome.htm

http://www.greenhomebuilding.com/earthship.htm

[wy_white_wolf]

Just a few of thge threads we've already had on this topic:

What to do with old tires??

Potatoes in tires

Pros and cons on growing in old tires

Use for old tires?

Earth Filled Tires Shelter Question

Shed made of tires and dirt

[Marilyn]

I was at Rural King last night and saw some amazing tire swings cut and shaped to look like a saddle on a horse. The wanted more than $50 for them! Maybe a little side business?

[nappy]

Wondering whether the black color from the tires rub off on the skin or clothes from homemade playground toys?

[12vman]

Originally Posted by nappy

Wondering whether the black color from the tires rub off on the skin or clothes from homemade playground toys?

Just for the first couple users..

[Nel frattempo]

Thank you everyone!

[grannyclampett]

We made a cattle feeder from an old tractor tire.

Cut off the ends so that you have a circle that is relatively uniform in width. Cut it across so that you can open it flat. Attach narrow boards along the length to keep it flat and heavier pieces at both ends. Drill some holes in the bottom to let out rain water.

I don't think I explained it very well. Can you visualize it?

[Gailann Schrader]

Nappy: No. You wash it.

Road grime doesn't last long and the black doesn't come off. If it did? There would be black "tracks" everywhere on our streets and highways. Do you ever see black "tracks?" No.

If you did? Your tires would wear out in several trips to town...

Even race tires don't leave black like that...

[lmnde]

I am doing retaining walls as noise barriers fior our kennel runs with filled tires. While it looked easy and like a no brainer - there is a bit of an art to it to stack them correctly [same sizes + width all along to keep not so much dirt coming out of the bottom of the tires as you stagger them]. And unless you have huge dirt piles already sitting there waiting to be scooped up - this is major work! It's amazing how many buckets of dirt/sand it takes to fill an average size tire [about 12-13]. If you don't have the fill dirt - you'll end up having a small pond or very big whole somewhere afterwards. LOL.

Lmnde

[Toads tool]

Originally Posted by lmnde

And unless you have huge dirt piles already sitting there waiting to be scooped up - this is major work! It's amazing how many buckets of dirt/sand it takes to fill an average size tire [about 12-13]. If you don't have the fill dirt - you'll end up having a small pond or very big whole somewhere afterwards. LOL.

Lmnde

That's the biggy right there.
In the military we built a training ground out of tires with rammed earth, a maze of sorts with 10 ft walls.
It took several semi-loads of dirt to fill those tires up, a huge back breaking amount.

[mtnbluet881]

My advice would be not to get carried away with the attaining of old tires unless you had a way to hide them on your property.

Yes, definitely find out if you need a license to even haul away old tires from others.

Why? Check out Tired-out Ranch and his problems with the state of North Dakota.

http://www.tiredoutranch.com/index.htm

http://www.tiredoutranch.com/photos.htm

http://www.tiredoutranch.com/scrap.htm

http://www.tiredoutranch.com/story.htm

http://www.tiredoutranch.com/farmphotos.htm


Seems even the local authorities had no problem with him.

http://www.tiredoutranch.com/courtpaper.htm

Here is what others reported
(only first article dated 02-20-06 is about the tired-out ranch)

http://grantnelson00.tripod.com/rura...ns2/id175.html

and

http://arizona.indymedia.org/news/2006/02/36823.php

I found a comments post to the above article dated Feb 2006:

"tireoutranch
by Cory Christofferson Saturday February 25, 2006 at 08:26 AM
tiredoutranch@gondtc.com 701-262-4240 9275 34th st ne

Thank you so much for getting our story out there. Please pass the story on as we feel this is nothing more than an out of control gov. ----ed at someone willing to stand up to them. Anyone is free to use this story anywhere. Feel free to call if anyone has any questions. Continue to check our website http://www.tiredoutranch.com as we will continue to do updates. I constructed a 2000 sq. ft. livestock shelter the past two days with much of it being done during a blizzard. It took less than 10 hrs to construct. I did it just to prove a point for a TV interveiw I have today Feb. 25th. Check the livestock shelter out as we will have it posted on our website in a couple of days. The building utilized 4000-5000 tires which would other wise be landilled or burned as polluting tire derived fuel. Thanks Again and spread the story!
The Christoffersons"

but that was over one year ago...not sure what is happening at the moment??!!

[mtnbluet881]

I located one other news item:

http://www.ndswra.org/NDSWRA%20E-new...0January06.pdf

concerning the Tired-out ranch

[Nel frattempo]

Great Balls of Fire! I could not get the news article (the one posted by mtnbluet881) to pull up? Does anyone know where all this stands now? What a mess! I could see the pictures from their site and I did not see any problem with the fences but someone must have complained to start that ball rolling.

Reminds me of the time we used wood pallets to side up a 3 bin Compost Pile area. A mean "rent a cop" (who works part time down the road) came by and (after scratching his crotch for a bit) said "you is gonna git in sum trouble as I sees you'uns got you an Illegal Pig Trap"!

I said " Do What? "

and he seez "you'ns Urr gonna git in Sum Trouble See'ns U ain't gots no permit to trap no Hogs" and he points to our Compost Bins!

My kids almost doubled up laughing. I had to explain we Recycle the wood pallets and it was a Compost Bin not a Wild Boar Trap.

Which bring to mind the time my kids planted (on purpose) Cleome Flower plants near to our Main Gate so the same mean rent a cop man would see them. The leaves of Cleome look very similar to marijuana plant leaves. The kids would hear his truck and they would run out to watch him slow down and lean out his window to peer at the Cleome's. The kids would HOOT and just about bust laughing at him. I was afraid the cops would come look but they did not - Thanks be to God.

Well --- I better be sure I keep any tires we may or may not have up here out of sight. THANK YOU for the information and the pictures on the Tired Out Site are good too. Thank you.