High prices for already rebuilt housing, as well as the labor intensity and cost of construction itself, force many to look for cheaper and simpler alternatives to acquire their own home. One of them is building a house from ordinary plastic bottles.
This raw material is usually thrown into a landfill. Only in some, quite rare cases, bottles end up in recycling. Usually, plastic simply pollutes the environment, while it can be used in many sectors of the economy. Recently, plastic bottles have also begun to be used for construction. This idea is simply brilliant in its simplicity and versatility.
Why you should build a house from plastic bottles with your own hands
The first argument in favor of building with plastic bottles concerns its cost. Walls erected using this recyclable material will cost the owner mere pennies. You will only have to purchase sand, cement and chain-link mesh. You can simply collect bottles on the street. No other construction can be compared with “plastic” in terms of efficiency.
Plastic in nature takes at least 200 years to decompose, in a humid environment and in the open air. It also withstands physical activity very well. A plastered house built from plastic bottles will last at least 300-400 years. Enough for both children and grandchildren. You can learn about other advantages of such buildings from the video. The only drawback of such construction can be considered the length of time. Collecting and preparing containers will take up a significant part of the entire process.
Pouring the foundation with video
The most painstaking stage of the entire construction is actually filling the bottles with sand. Only dry sand is suitable for this purpose (watch the video), so it is better to plan all work for a dry and hot summer. Each bottle must be filled to the top with sand and closed with a lid. Using a funnel will help make the task as simple as possible.
A building made from plastic bottles is quite heavy, so you will have to start from the foundation. It can also be built using the same plastic container. First, you will have to dig a ditch 50-60 cm deep. A sand and gravel cushion must be added to the bottom (the sand must be spilled with water so that it is better distributed and lies more densely).
Then the first layer of solution is poured onto the bottom, into which bottles of sand are placed. You can see how this is done in the video. A chain-link mesh with a 10x10 cm cell should be laid on top of the first layer of bottles. Then the whole process is repeated (watch the video). The second layer of bottles is laid on top of the first according to the honeycomb principle. This way the whole structure will lie smoother and be more stable.
Walls made of plastic bottles with photos
The walls of the house, made of plastic bottles filled with sand (photo 1), are very warm. They can be compared with the wall of a brick dwelling, the thickness of which is 0.5 m. Moreover, such walls are much lighter than brick ones, which means they create less load on the foundation. Another advantage of such non-standard building material is that it allows you to easily create structures of any configuration.
You can build square, round and even wavy walls from plastic, sand and cement (photo 2).
It is easy to create columns from them by laying bottles in the form of petals around one axis (photo 3). In a word, this building material gives enormous freedom of action. You don't need to be a great architect to build the most intricate building out of it.
Calculation of materials can be done according to this example: per 1 sq. a meter of wall will require approximately 200 old plastic bottles and 110-115 liters of solution. The thickness of the seam between the bottles will be 10 mm. If the thickness of the seam is greater (for example, 20 mm), then much less plastic will be needed for construction.
Typically, construction from plastic containers is very similar to brickwork, with the only difference being that instead of bricks, larger “blocks” of sand and plastic are used. Building walls from plastic bottles is not as painstaking as building walls from bricks. And the building material itself is not so fragile and practically lifeless.
Important points of construction with photos
One of the most important points is that at the end of the construction of the walls, before plastering, the so-called dressing is necessarily performed (photo 4). To perform this simple operation, you will need a regular synthetic rope, which you need to wrap around the necks of the bottles, as shown in the photo.
Instead of rope, you can use a chain-link mesh, which should be put on the necks in cells. At this stage of construction, you need to take care of laying communications (water supply, electricity, etc.). Thanks to the mesh strapping, it will be easier to plaster the walls, and it will stick much better.
Plastering is carried out in several stages so that all voids are well filled. First comes rough plaster, then medium-finish and finally finishing. At the end, putty is applied. Finished walls can be painted or tiled (for example, in the bathroom or kitchen).
Roofing and other points
In all other respects, the construction of a building from plastic containers is no different from the most ordinary construction. Openings for doors and windows are very simple. Their width is quite easy to adjust and calculate literally “bottle by bottle”. Windows and doors can be installed plastic or wooden (photo 5) at the request of the home owner. They are installed in the same way as in a brick or block building.
If there is a desire to further insulate the walls, sheathing is attached to them and insulation is placed in the space between the slats. On the outside of the wall, hit nails into bottles. All fastenings must be made in areas filled with mortar.
In all other respects, external finishing work is no different from that for a brick building. The roof can be made of wood, covered with regular or flexible tiles or any other material you like.
Recently, such environmentally friendly and low-cost construction has become very popular. Not only residential buildings are built from plastic bottles, but also their fences, bathhouses, all kinds of outbuildings and even greenhouses.
Considering that almost 80% of used plastic bottles end up in landfills, this technology is not only a profitable and smart allocation of resources, but also a significant help for the planet. One building made of plastic building materials costs 4-5 times less than traditional brick, wood or block. Yes, and it is very simple to build. Even a novice builder can build a house from plastic containers.
At the moment, finding an alternative to modern building materials is not so easy. But craftsmen do not give up, and the latest new trend in construction is a house made of plastic bottles. This non-standard solution can be a profitable and versatile option for those who want to save money and at the same time get a normal, durable house that will last for many years.
Benefits of a bottle house
This may not just be an outbuilding or a small cottage; from plastic containers you can build a full-fledged house in which you can live.
Attention ! Not only plastic containers can be used for construction; a glass bottle house is also an excellent material option for walls.
A building made of such material has many advantages:
The disadvantages of this design include a certain difficulty in finding a large amount of material, as well as the duration of installation work for construction.
Construction methods
The material for a bottle house can be:
- Plastic containers;
- Glass container.
Depending on the material, the technology for installing such a building will be slightly different. Building a house out of bottles with your own hands is not that difficult, the main thing is to have the desire, time and a large number of bottles.
Plastic
When you decide to build a house from plastic bottles, you first need to get them somewhere.
Attention! On average, about 20-25 thousand bottles are spent on construction, provided that the house itself is one-story with two or three rooms.
Due to the fact that plastic takes a long time to decompose, a house made of such material will last several hundred years. This is what ensures the choice in favor of plastic bottles, providing the building with strength and reliability. Although it will look inferior to a house made of glass bottles.
All bottles are pre-filled with sand or earth. Moreover, this must be done quite tightly, and the closed necks must be wrapped with mesh or other material.
To begin with, columns are erected, of which at least 3-4 pieces are needed, or even more, depending on the area of the future house. For each column, a hole is dug, about 0.5-1 meters deep, round in shape.
The thickness of the foundation for each column should be about 0.5-0.8 meters. A fitting is installed in the center, around which bottles are placed with their necks inward. The necks of the bottles are wrapped with twine. The bottles are placed on an even layer of concrete.
Attention! If the necks of the bottles touch, then the installation is done correctly.
The bottles are filled with concrete and left to dry for a day. The next layer is laid offset according to the checkerboard principle. And so on until the required height of the building. The interior space of the column can be filled with broken bricks or other construction-type debris. After complete drying and shrinkage of the concrete, the columns are plastered.
To complete the foundation of the building, trenches are dug, into which a base is made like a column, and walls are erected. In places where window blocks are installed, bottle necks are rewound with twine. Afterwards, communications work is carried out, the roof is installed, and interior and exterior decorative finishing of the walls is performed.
Glass
When choosing a material such as glass containers, construction is possible using two technologies - monolithic (bottles are placed in the formwork and filled with concrete mixture) or masonry (like brickwork, in which you can choose bottles by color and size, creating a variety of designs).
It is safer and more practical to use light solutions, such as vermiculite.
Glass bottles must be stored sealed. This is a very durable and plastic material that can be given a variety of shapes during construction.
It took Vladimir Sysa almost 20 years to build a bizarre-looking house in a holiday village in the suburbs of Zaporozhye.
Even before the construction of the dacha was completed, neighbors dubbed it an architectural masterpiece. And no wonder, because to realize his dream the pensioner used a very unusual material - champagne bottles!
DIY bottle house
Vladimir began dreaming of building his own house back in the eighties. One day in one of the German magazines he saw a photo of a small houses made from colorful bottles. The idea sank into the man’s soul so much that he promised himself to build such a dacha as soon as he was given a plot of land.
The site was given only a few years later, but by that time about 4 thousand bottles had already accumulated in Vladimir Kirillovich’s apartment. Construction had to be postponed, since the ordinary plant worker simply did not have the money for this matter.
But the man did not waste his time: he drew projects, developed technology, devoting every free minute to his dream. Colleagues in the workshop made fun of Vladimir’s idea, but he did not lose heart and with great zeal rushed to search for building material.
Bottles for building a house he was found in parks, restaurants, glass collection points and simply in trash cans... Friends, when they came to visit, knew that Vladimir would be happy not only with the contents of the bottle. Needless to say, even the neighbors in the holiday village got involved!
The pensioner is confident in the correct choice of building material, because bottles rolled into concrete cannot be broken even with a hammer. Vladimir says: “Inside such a house it is very warm in winter and cool in summer, as a special air cushion is created, and besides, there is always a good aura here - it takes away fatigue.”
Vladimir's wife, Lyudmila Sysa, is especially pleased with the additional building - the oval bottle tower. He says that flowers grow beautifully in this place and dreams there arrange a greenhouse.
Lyudmila is Vladimir’s main assistant and his muse, because it is in golden wedding gift for wife the craftsman was in a hurry to finish building the dacha!
In addition to the amazing house and bottle tower, on a plot of 5 acres there is a sauna, an alley of bottles, and a swimming pool is being built in full swing...
It took 8 thousand bottles, several tons and 20 years of life to make the dream come true, but, you must agree, Vladimir’s work deserves respect. If only there were more such enthusiastic people!
Construction is an expensive process, so issues of reducing the cost of construction periodically come to the fore.
The idea of using glass bottles in the construction of lightweight buildings is not new and, as practice shows, is an excellent solution that allows achieve significant savings.
Another positive aspect of using glass containers during construction work is the maximum benefit from recycling recyclable materials.
The physical properties of glass do not change over time.
A tightly sealed bottle is good thermal insulation material, therefore, the use of glass containers for the construction of building elements is completely justified.
It has been proven that a panel constructed from 1 row of bottles retains heat no worse than a brick wall about half a meter thick.
Structures made from glass containers have good light transmittance. Wall panels can be designed in any color scheme, imitating elements of various architectural styles.
To build houses from glass containers, 2 methods are used:
- frame;
- wall
The resulting design will compare favorably in cost - bottles you will get it for free or at a purely symbolic price, and the main cost item will be the components for preparing the solution.
We build the building with our own hands
Any building consists of several elements that are completed one after another. First comes the foundation, followed by the walls and floor. Let's start in order.
Foundation
Garages and summer kitchens, showers and baths can be “placed” on a foundation made of glass bottles without compromising the strength of the resulting foundation.
Despite the fragility of glass, the foundation will have excellent strength characteristics comparable to the properties of a stone base.
Advantages of a foundation made of glass containers:
- moisture resistance;
- excellent thermal insulation;
- no shrinkage of components;
- corrosion resistance;
- long service life.
Glass also has a drawback that will have to be mitigated during the construction process. To the bottles Binding materials do not adhere well Therefore, the requirements for the grade of concrete used here are high.
Main stages of construction:
- Preparation, including clearing the area and marking it for excavation work.
- Construction of a trench to a depth below the freezing point of the soil.
- Formwork installation.
- Laying a cushion under a foundation made of sand and crushed stone mixture.
- Pouring the bottom layer of cement.
- Laying the first row of glass bottles close to each other.
- Filling with cement mixture followed by laying a layer of bottles.
- Reinforcement with iron rods.
Rows of bottles, cement and reinforcement alternate with each other until the desired height of the structure is achieved. The last layer is made of a dense concrete mixture.
Self-construction of a glass base requires taking into account some subtleties:
- Difficult hydrogeological conditions are the reason for abandoning the intention to build a “glass” foundation. High occurrence of groundwater, movement of heaving soil will lead to cracking of the base.
- Strong soil freezing in winter - a factor influencing the appearance of cracks in the thickness of the foundation. For construction in northern latitudes, foundations of a different type are suitable.
- Bottles can float in cement solution. Place them after the mixture becomes viscous enough to hold the glass container securely.
Walls
Bottles, an exotic, at first glance, material for building walls, are increasingly being used for the construction of gazebos and summer verandas.
There are cases where entire houses were built from bottles. The walls of such structures look very original, reminiscent of lace stained glass windows.
The construction of walls from bottles requires careful selection of material. Bottles must be same volume and diameter, the color scheme can be very diverse.
To build 1 m2 of wall you will need about 420 bottles.
Searching for material, as a rule, does not cause difficulties:
- self-collection on the streets;
- gathering from neighbors, acquaintances, relatives;
- organizing a bottle collection point.
Wall laying technology provides installation of support pillars, the thickness of which is equal to the height of the bottles used. The distance between supports should be no more than 2 meters.
You can choose any material for the pillars:
- brick,
- tree,
- metal.
Too much distance between the pillars and each other will affect the stability of the structure.
Bottles are stacked on the foundation in a horizontal position with coating each layer of glass with a binding solution. The bottom layer is laid bottoms out, subsequent layers can change direction or remain unidirectional. Each subsequent layer is laid after the previous one has completely dried.
When stacking bottles need to leave a small gap between them. This measure will allow the solution to more fully adhere to the glass.
Floor
In addition to its durability, the concrete floor in a garage or livestock barn is distinguished by its low temperature.
For insulation of concrete pavement you can use polystyrene foam and other expensive insulating materials, or you can use a supply of glass bottles.
It has been experimentally determined that 1 m 2 of floor will require about 145 half-liter bottles, into which vodka is usually poured.
Glass containers can be located either horizontally or vertically, depending on the total thickness of the future floor. It is enough to fill the bottle layer with concrete mortar to a level of 1 cm and a light heated floor will be ready.
Installation of a glass floor in a bathhouse
In order for the bath to bring pleasure and benefit, it is necessary to take care of the consistency of the temperature in the steam room.
The main “cold bridge” in a room is the floor. You can try to insulate it using empty glass containers.
There are common rules for preparing material for work:
- The bottle must be tightly closed. Air exchange with the external environment will make your efforts to insulate the floor useless.
- It is better to close bottles in dry, sunny weather. As the air cools inside the vessel, a rarefied space is created, and the heat-insulating properties of the bottle increase.
We build from scratch
For making glass floor besides bottles you will need:
- sand, crushed stone or gravel chips;
- metal mesh for reinforcement;
- concrete solution, for the preparation of which you can use a ready-made dry mixture;
- finishing coating - wood, tile.
Work order:
- Removal of soil around the perimeter of the future building to a depth of more than 20 cm, followed by compaction of the bottom of the resulting hole.
- Construction of a cushion of sand, crushed stone or gravel with its obligatory compaction.
- Construction of a reinforcing layer.
- Laying out the first row of bottles. The containers are located “back to back” to each other. To achieve maximum heat-saving effect, it is recommended to place the bottles vertically.
- Laying the second layer of reinforcement.
- Installation of concrete screed with a thickness of 50-70 mm.
- Applying the finishing coating after the concrete has completely dried.
Insulation of the finished base
When planning work on insulating the floor in a bathhouse, estimate the ceiling height.
A layer of insulation from bottles significantly will raise the floor level, therefore, if the ceiling is low, then it is better to abandon this method of insulation.
Stages of work:
- Covering the subfloor with roofing felt to create reliable waterproofing.
- Arrangement of a dense layer of horizontally arranged bottles.
- Filling bottles with sand to level the surface.
- Installation of the second waterproofing layer.
- Floor reinforcement.
- Pouring concrete solution with a thickness of at least 3 cm.
- Finishing the floor covering.
Take care of the drainage system before the start of work.
Building a fence
Bottle fence – original, easy to make fence option.
Advantages of bottle fencing:
- simple installation;
- strength and durability of the structure;
- excellent light conductivity;
- the ability to implement any architectural forms;
- exclusivity;
- savings on materials.
To make a screen fence you will need:
- empty bottles of any color and size;
- material for making racks - brick, blocks, metal, wood, plastic;
- frame corners and metal rods with a diameter smaller than the neck of bottles;
- decorative elements.
You will need to drill holes in the bottles. To drill glass, use diamond tipped drill bits. Work at minimum speed.
The work is performed in the following order:
- preparation of bottles - washing, drying, drilling holes in the bottom of containers;
- digging holes to a depth of 120 cm for installing support pillars;
- installation of supports with concreting of their base;
- forming the frame of a bottle fence using steel corners and rods;
- assembling the canvas by stringing glass onto rods with the addition of decorative elements.
The resulting structure is not particularly durable and not suitable for use as street fencing. A screen is an option for decorating a site, and not protecting it from the penetration of uninvited guests.
A permanent glass fence is created using a different technology.
You will need:
- bottles, preferably identical;
- components for preparing concrete mortar;
- spatula for spreading the mixture;
- level.
Draw sketch of the desired fence, carefully consider the placement of the bottles to create a specific ornament.
Stages of work:
- Preparing glass - washing, drying, closing.
- Construction of a foundation made of vertically placed bottles filled with cement mixture. The depth of the base is 35 cm.
- Formation of the fence fabric.
To ensure the fence is stable, continue work only after the concrete has completely hardened.
Bottles stacked in 2 rows, with the narrow end inside the future structure. Each layer is coated with a binding solution and dried - failure to comply with this requirement will lead to cracking of the bottom row of bottles.
Transparent bottles can be painted in any color using a special tinting paste, which will allow you to put into practice any design idea, having only colorless glass available.
This video is a story about a resident of the Chelyabinsk region who built a bathhouse, and then a house from glass bottles:
Bottom line
Construction from glass bottles is a real way to create exclusive elements from seemingly useless raw materials. The use of glass containers in construction work reduces financial and labor costs.
Laying rows of bottles does not require much skill or effort, and the raw materials will cost you nothing.
Collecting bottles is not only a chance to get free building materials, but also a way to take care of the environment.
Give unwanted glass a second life!
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Sometimes there is a need and desire to build something on your site: a gazebo, a garage, a shed, a playhouse for children or something else. But the material for construction, as they say, comes at a price... Maybe someone will like the advice - to construct a structure out of trash. After all, you can even build an entire house... out of bottles!
A strange home that the whole world is gossiping about these days
The first bottle house was built in Rhyolite, in southern Nevada, by Tom Kelly back in 1906. Since there was a problem with wood in this corner of the planet, the saloon owner came up with an original solution.
Containers from whiskey, soda and beer, and apothecary bottles were used. In total, almost 50,000 bottles and vials were used.
He lived there for 6 whole years. Then, from 1936 to 1969, two other owners lived in it. The bottle house has even become extremely famous in the world. He was filmed in several Hollywood films. Then this place became uninhabited, the house made of bottles, the photos of which have become unique today, was abandoned.
2 years ago the house was restored. And a miniature town was even built around it. True, no one lives in it today - it is a fairly popular museum among tourists.
Reporting on bottle houses - a ticket to world fame
Philippines resident Jonathan Devante became famous for making a video about amazing homes built, as he says, from “eco-bricks.” Otherwise, such a structure can be simply called a house made of bottles.
Jonathan attached a description to his film, where he said that the idea of building buildings from “eco-bricks” is being implemented perfectly both in the Philippines and in Guatemala. He claims that such structures have great advantages. This:
- seismic resistance;
- environmental friendliness;
- fire resistance;
- soundproof;
- bulletproof;
- high thermal insulation;
- huge service life;
- low cost.
It is not worth talking about the fact that by using unnecessary plastic or glass bottles instead of wood or stone, a huge amount of natural material is saved.
Nowadays, similar projects are being implemented in the countries of Asia, South America and Africa. For example, in Nigeria, the first residential building of 60,000 square meters was recently commissioned. Its construction took 14,000 plastic bottles.
Now activists are developing a plan to build buildings for schools. Moreover, in Guatemala there are already 14 schools built from bottles. Teenagers are actively involved in the construction of such buildings. They themselves collect building material - used eggplants, thereby clearing the area of rubbish. Their help is also very noticeable in the process of building walls.
You and I will build a glass house with our own hands!
In fact, today many are racking their brains over how to build something original in an unconventional style on their site. It is for them that there are instructions describing how to build a house from bottles.
It is economical to build houses from plastic bottles and it is pleasant to live in them!
Of course, collecting so many used containers is quite difficult. After all, to build a one-story house you will need from five to eight thousand bottles. But if someone succeeded, then there is no need to hesitate. Indeed, it’s time to build a house out of bottles with your own hands!
How to build columns from plastic bottles
- Prepare a round-shaped pit. Its diameter can be from 60 cm to a meter.
- It is filled with cement.
- Reinforcement is installed in the middle of the pit.
- 10-11 bottles filled with sand are placed around the rod. This should be done so that the necks of the dishes are directed towards the center of the fittings. The caps of adjacent bottles must touch! As the “eco-bricks” are laid, the necks are tied with twine, additionally fastening them together.
- It is better to fill the gaps with solution.
- After the cement “sits”, the second layer of the column is laid. You can use broken bricks, broken glass or other construction solid waste when pouring.
- After the columns are erected, they begin laying out the walls.
You can also use empty plastic bottles in construction, only then there will be no need to talk about super strength and thermal insulation.