[chrismahon]

Unlike where we were in the UK there are no bin collections here. General waste and recycling stuff go into bins provided along the roadside. Glass isn't allowed in the recycling bins, it goes into a different container and glass containers are few and far between. I got to thinking, is there something we could use bottles for?


We are looking for a renovation property. I wondered if anyone had used bottles for building partition walls or as insulation in the floor or roof. I'm particularly thinking of the small 25cL beer bottles, rather than wine bottles. But has anyone any experience of building with bottles at all?

[bloomer]

not done it but have seen several good examples of both on telly etc


a layer of bottles laid into a floor before it is poured forms a great air gap/thermal break (used to be a popular technique in animal houses etc in victorian times), bottles mortared together like a wall make an attractive and useful building material, have seen examples with modern mortars but also more traditional clay based building methods as well.


keep collecting those bottles its amazing how many you will need...

[CPWSolf]

I am sure they did this on Victorian Farm (possibly Edwardian Farm). May be worth doing a YouTube search

[bigchicken]

I remember seeing coloured bottles used to make windows in a pub come disco extension looked cool and a good way to use up spare bottles but not a lot of light gets in. Neverer heard of bottles in the floor.

[bloomer]

http://www.sparklingadventures.com/index.php?id=1585


heres a good illustration of the floor insulation plan

[JulieWall]

They did do this on Victorian farm, they used them in the floor of the pig sty. We are planning to do this soon too as we are keeping one of our weaners.
My daughter owns a bar in Aberdeen so I can get plenty of free bottles if anyone up this way wants them. Bars and pubs have to pay to have their recycling removed so anywhere should be glad to give you them free.

[bloomer]

Greenhouse heatsink


this uses crushed glass but might be of use to anyone with a polytunnel/greenhouse

[Womble]

Yes, when we took up a concrete slab in the corner of our living room recently, there was a layer of broken bottle beneath it. Thanks for clearing up the mystery for me! 

[chrismahon]

Bit worried about putting bottles under the membrane because of condensation getting into them, but I suppose there would still be an air gap at the top. The ground can get very wet here. Clearly I'm not the only one been thinking about this. Building materials are expensive anyway so there would be some saving. I think they would make good sound insulation as well in partition walls.


We know someone who owns a local bar so perhaps he could help?


Thanks everyone -I'll do a YouTube search as well.

[madchickenlady]

Glass can also be used for paths, all you need to do is smash them then put in a cement mixer to smooth the edges, wash and use as you would gravel - also great for fake water features! 

[cloddopper]

I've seen whole bottles nose down into wet concrete & smoothed to a flat edge to make path edgings  some interesting patterns and it uses a fraction of the concrete you'd have used for solid edges.
 

re the walling for outside garden wall  bottle ends out wall width just over 17 1/2 length of bottles so the necks inter lock use lime in the mortar to make it easy to use a bit of damp sacking to smooth the mortar into the gaps so it seal round each bottle end .
 
 I've seen blue and green whine bottles with clear ones to make a window pattern in Cyprus . The window in question was about eight feet long by 4our feet high .
 
Bottle necks set nosed up to a ply wood board so all neck ends flat on the plane , They were facing out as it lets insects live in the bottles and lets you wipe the bottle ends inside the building.

Before we got the central heating leak /flood I was thinking of making a low room divider between the lounge and dining area  about 28 inches wide out of all sorts of wine and champagne bottles bottle neck inwards  with a gap in the middle ( use thin expanded polystyrene sheet or larch ply  and  small balls or blocks of polystyrene or foam in the middle to form the cavity then after  the mortar is set  pick it to bits with a long strong wire  extract the sheets and vacuum the bits out , not forgetting to leave an access point for the cables & lights .
 
 This would leave the middle hollow so I could put several strings of LED crimbo lights  in the gap and then put a work top type or  tiled cap over the wall top on a removable base  . This would have given an unusual back lit bottle wall.

[cloddopper]

Bit worried about putting bottles under the membrane because of condensation getting into them, but I suppose there would still be an air gap at the top. The ground can get very wet here. Clearly I'm not the only one been thinking about this. Building materials are expensive anyway so there would be some saving. I think they would make good sound insulation as well in partition walls.


We know someone who owns a local bar so perhaps he could help?


Thanks everyone -I'll do a YouTube search as well.

so long as you have a few inches of blinding concrete over the bottles blinded by sand and then your DPM more blinding sand then the concrete& topping if it is to be a finished domestic floor you wont have any problems .
 Perhaps even put  the bottles neck down into the solid soil  before putting the back fill over them and constructing the floor .  Any condensate will drip back out back into the soil . 
Can you make a French drain around your building and pipe the water away to some where slightly lower ?  Failing that a 24 volt PV panel operated pond pump to lift water out of a drainage sump and channel it to run & fall * out the channel  into a pond  several metres away that is lower than your pump ( * stops syphon back from the pond )

[chrismahon]

You've got to be careful about drying out stone walls over here. Subsidence and big cracks can follow. You need damp walls in Summer as the evaporating water cools the air.


Think the idea of standing the bottles neck down or neck up is a good one. Less likely to slide about as well. the victorian farm put them on their side and then put concrete between them. Trouble is that removes insulation.

[Tomouse]

Some cracking ideas here http://www.inspirationgreen.com/glassbottlewalls.html

[Ina]

 This would leave the middle hollow so I could put several strings of LED crimbo lights  in the gap and then put a work top type or  tiled cap over the wall top on a removable base  . This would have given an unusual back lit bottle wall.

This is so very 60s (or was it early 70s?). I remember several houses that had walls like that in their cellar bars... (Mind you, that was in Germany, since there are very few cellars and therefore no bars in them in GB!)