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Interesting article:Calling an Earthship Home

By Sandra J. Pennecke

The Virginian-Pilot

Melina Winterton and Larry Peck are voyaging into the future while theyre tucked safely inside their environmentally friendly home, known as an Earthship.

The couple looked into several home design options before they decided on the concept of an Earthship. Referred to as a self- contained dwelling that will sail on the seas of tomorrow, Earthships are homes of nontraditional design made from natural and recycled materials, integrating thermal mass for heating and cooling, as well as harvesting of rainwater and reuse of graywater.

The Ship, as Winterton and Peck like to call it, met all of the requirements they wanted in building their dream home; within their budget, environmentally sound, well-documented and beautiful.

Once we looked into Earthships, it was clear that this design met all of our needs, Winterton said.

The Earthship is a living house that works with the limitless energy of the sun and free water from the sky.

It makes excellent sense, reduces our living expenses by almost eliminating utility bills, and reflects our belief that available resources should be used in a way that does not endanger the future, Winterton said. We also love the opportunity to show that environmentally friendly living does not mean tofu and a tent.

Winterton, 34, and Peck, 39, live with their four children Patience, 10; Ilana, 10; Devorah, 6; and Gabriel, 4 and a pure- breed German shepherd , Shomra, meaning Guardian in Hebrew. Home for them was an apartment in Ghent before they moved to the rural outskirts of Suffolk to establish The Ship.

The project officially began in April 2003 when they started construction of their 2,400-square-foot concrete home. Situated 1,000 feet from the road just west of the Great Dismal Swamp is the 17-acre plot that the couple chose . The land cost $44,000; the home, $170,000.

But before starting this tremendous undertaking, they read everything they could about Earthships.

The houses are based on the work of New Mexico architect Michael Reynolds, with Earthship Biotecture. Reynolds pioneered the Earthship concept and now offers construction drawings, products, educational materials, lectures, presentations, consultation and guidance. Earthships have been sited in Bolivia, Australia, Mexico, Japan, Canada, Honduras and throughout the United States.

Now Winterton and Peck believe so much in the concept that they offer tours of The Ship and have developed their own Web site, www.3676.net, to share all of their data, upswings and setbacks.

We get between 10 and 20 e-mails each week with questions about the house, Winterton said.

Location, soils, regional climate, design preferences and budget create variations in the overall construction of the Earthships, and the Winterton/Peck familys is as unique as they are. Rather than seeking permits for building with used tires filled with compacted earth to form rammed-earth bricks, as Reynolds primarily recommends , the couple used insulated concrete forms and opted for the type of earth-sheltered building that is bermed on three sides, almost like a cave.

From the back , all that is visible is the berm around the house. Step around to the front, and a row of 18 windows and the front entrance greet you. The unusual appearance of The Ship is just a part of what makes it work. The covered sides protect and insulate the house, while the exposed front allows the sun to light and heat the interior.

We only have sun that comes through the windows for about four hours a day in the summer; the rest of the day the sun is so far overhead that we are in the shade. In the winter, the reverse is true, and we have sun streaming in almost all day since the sun is so low , Winterton said.

During construction, the couple disturbed the area as little as possible. The site already was cleared, Winterton said, and the earth for the berm was trucked in. They removed no trees for the footprint of the house, and have planted the berm and yard with indigenous grasses and other ground cover.

The water collection system begins on the rubber roof of The Ship, where rainwater is collected and channeled through gutters into three connected cisterns totaling 7,500 gallons, then filtered for particles, pumped to a small pressure tank to achieve standard water pressure, sent through a carbon filter and finally passed through a UV disinfectant system before it is channeled to faucets, showers and toilets .

Our water is not treated with chlorine or chemicals, Winterton said.

To make the graywater safer to use, the family avoids most commercial cleaners and instead uses baking soda, vinegar, Arm and Hammer detergent and Murphys Oil Soap.

The pair even took precautions to assure that their home remains functioning despite drought and cloudy days. They purchased a standard electric water heater as a backup for the solar water heater panels and made sure the cistern was easily accessible for filling with city water, just in case. But, so far, in the year theyve officially called The Ship home, they havent lacked in the water department.

In fact, Winterton said, we have so much water that were thinking of getting a dishwasher and a pool.

All of the graywater nonseptic wastewater from the bath, shower, sinks and washing machine used at The Ship is directed to an 80- by 10-foot graywater garden with a 4-foot-deep planter. In it they have tropical plants and trees such as banana, palm, rubber, aloe and ficus growing year-round.

The rest of The Ship consists of a great room, kitchen, two bathrooms, storage area, the kids living room and sleeping areas, and the master bedroom. Each of the children selected the theme for their room and decorated it themselves. Since Gabriel likes to color and paint, chalkboard-friendly walls were best for him; Devorah chose Barbie; Ilana loves the ocean; and Patience opted for whats under the sea.

It was important to both parents that the house be not only environmentally friendly but also kid-friendly and family-centered.

The kids living room is filled with games, arts and crafts, educational toys and a punching bag a favorite.

The one item you wont find anywhere in The Ship is a television set. Winterton and Peck feel that television takes up valuable family time with no benefits and lots of harm.

Besides, they are too busy with The Ship. It is a big project that has them both continuing to learn day by day.

Weve had to make modifications along the way, Peck said . They plan to add solar panels to generate electricity and start vegetable and herb gardens, making the family even more self-sufficient with time.

The concept is to save the world, and its a life project. This is bigger than a house, Peck said. This is rough living; its not exactly the Hilton, but what gets us through is that we could possibly make a difference.

* Reach Sandra J. Pennecke at Pennecke@cox.net