Dreaming of a Resilient Home

An Earthship!

Today we began to take some basic steps towards home ownership. Not traditional steps, but some particularly non-traditional steps. Steps towards Passive House and Earthships. Solar energy used wisely in a home and in a garden. Avoiding fossil fuels and the price spikes we expect in our lifetimes. Preparing for climate instability while working for climate stability. The ultimate goal? A wonderful place to live joyfully and robustly through a lifetime of uncertain economic and environmental conditions.

And, of course, where should such steps begin? At the website for Pittsburgh Building Codes! We needed to know whether an Earthship was even a possibility in the city of Pittsburgh, so we began to dig...

Here's the Bureau of Building Inspection: http://www.city.pittsburgh.pa.us/bbi/
That page quickly leads to a page that reveals "Important Codes" and indicates that Pittsburgh has adopted the "Universal Construction Code" (UCC) with some amendments. The UCC can be found here.

This is another handy website for uncovering information about codes: Library.Municode.com

And another handy website for identifying Pittsburgh, PA Building Codes: Reed Construction Data.

I also contacted the Green Building Alliance here in Pittsburgh, and asked them for information about whether it was legal to build an Earthship in Pittsburgh. At the time I thought I had asked a very simple question, but at this point the more I dig, the less sure I am of that premise. Hopefully they get back to us soon with more information.

There's plenty more to do, but we have begun the process. Now we can watch it unfold, and we hope you enjoy the journey with us!