Tin can wall

A tin can wall is a wall constructed from tin cans, which are not a common building source. The cans can be laid in concrete, stacked vertically on top of each other, and crushed or cut and flattened to be used as shingles. They can also be used for furniture.

Tin cans can form the actual fill-in structure (or walls) of a building, as is done with earthships. Tin cans have not been around for a long time, and neither have their building methods. The two main structural methods for building with tin cans are by laying them horizontally in a concrete matrix and by stacking them vertically.

Tin can building in New Mexico originated in the early 1980s as a response to the massive amounts of trash being discarded and the wasteful nature of common building practices. Tin can construction was an attempt to utilize a readily available resource that was normally sent to landfills or recycling centers. This led to various experiments in tin can building, including space-filler between wooden frames in traditional house styles and creating domes and archways using cans and cement. Within time, more simplified and practical methods were developed, such as the earthship tin can wall. The main person behind these efforts was Mike Reynolds, also creator of the earthship building method.

A “traditional” earthship tin can wall is made by horizontally stacking tin cans in a concrete matrix. The cans are laid side by side and in alternating rows, similar to bricks. This is done simply and efficiently, using batches of concrete between the cans. The consistency of the concrete must be relatively thick, so as to hold its form and the tin cans in place. A surprisingly large number of cans are required.

The method for stacking the cans involves creating a row of cans separated by hand-formed “lumps” of concrete. The layout of a row is can, concrete, can, etc. This is then repeated, except that the alternating pattern is reversed, so that every can is laid on top of a concrete “lump” below it. This continues until completed, or the weight of the wall and the hardness of the cement seem questionable in terms of solidity. At that point it would be wise to wait for the wall to harden, but the laying time for cans and concrete is such that by the time a builder makes it back to an area that was recently laid it has had time to set. It is a judgment call as to whether or not the builder should continue, but by the next day or even later in the same day building can resume.

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Wikipedia