Construction of houses from bottles. How to build a bottle house

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.

Every dog ​​in the South Ural village of Techenskoye knows Khamidulla Ilchibaev. Thanks to him, a landmark of its own has appeared here, which local residents proudly show to guests and visitors - a real residential building, built from glass containers from the foundation to the very roof.

Different-sized "bricks"

Ilchibaev’s “emerald tower” looks especially beautiful at sunset. The bottle glass begins to play with all shades of green, and the house takes on a playful camouflage color.

This is probably due to the refraction of light,” says Khamidulla Abdulovich, rubbing the concave bottoms of the bottles with his fingers. - When I started building, I didn’t even imagine that there were so many different types of champagne bottles. Moreover, they are different not only in color, but also in “caliber”. While collecting, I counted six different sizes. I even asked our craftsmen to cut out a special measurement from plexiglass so that each row of masonry would be the same size. Otherwise it wouldn’t be level under the roof. And then I got used to it - now I can determine the diameter of any bottle down to the millimeter by eye...

According to the rural architect, it took him 12 thousand bottles to build a house with an area of ​​99 square meters. His youngest son, who tragically died in 2007 when he was only 18 years old, came up with the idea to build a glass house. In memory of him, I decided to bring this project to life. I needed to keep myself busy with something. To take a break from dark thoughts... I just didn’t know where to get so much “building material”.

A neighbor unexpectedly helped out by offering to take the beer bottles that had accumulated in his garage to the city and return them. “And we’ll free up some space, and we’ll have something to sit on and celebrate! Otherwise my wife is already eating, they’re disturbing her!” a fellow villager complained. And when they started taking the containers out of the bags, they counted five thousand bottles! Apparently, they have been saving for more than one five-year period.

So I suggested, give them to me, and you and I will have a good time,” Hamidullah recalls. That's when they shook hands!

True, beer bottles, as a building material, raised concerns - would they withstand the load? And then Hamidullah traveled with them to several points for collecting glass containers and agreed to exchange them for more durable ones - from champagne containers. The construction of the century began with them. He bought the missing seven thousand “bricks” as they arrived at the collection points - for a ruble apiece. Or I picked it up from restaurants after corporate events and banquets. They also said thank you...

How to build a house

A glass house may seem fragile and cold only at first glance. Having lived in the village all his life, Hamidullah, an agronomist by profession, approached construction thoroughly like a peasant. He dug a pit and laid the foundation, collecting for it more than a dozen boulders that were lying idle on the roads of the village. Then I built a frame from timber. Moreover, contrary to village traditions, he placed the beam vertically, leaving small gaps between it, which he filled with polyurethane foam. This is to prevent the tree from “walking around” and drying out. Then I lined the beam with insulation inside and outside, using foil material that is too tough for rodents. And only after that I started laying out the walls.

I left a finger-thick gap between the insulation and the neck of the bottle,” says the builder. - And then he poured the solution into it “in such a way” that it would tightly fasten the necks and pour into the bottles, displacing the air from them. As the solution hardens, it turns the bottle into something similar to a glass balloon. It keeps you warm and becomes stronger...

True, the neighboring boys, while the house was still under construction and was a curiosity, nevertheless fired stones at it, damaging four bottles in the masonry. But the enthusiast immediately replaced them with new ones, without any difficulty. To do this, according to him, it was only necessary to shorten the bottle a little by filing the neck. Then it’s a matter of technique.

Building a house from bottles cost at least five times less than usual. Taking into account the final interior decoration, gas supply and installation of the heating system, Khamidulla spent a little more than half a million rubles on it. And having completed it, he gave it to his eldest son as a wedding gift.

Daughter-in-law Oksana was very pleased with the gift:

An excellent house - spacious, warm, and the outside sparkles and shimmers. No one has this! We can't get enough of Eldar. Let’s arrange it a little bit, and you can think about the kids!

Fountain and well

The Ilchibaev family moved to the village of Techensky after the accident at the Mayak chemical plant - people who were caught in the contaminated zone were resettled here. Over the past decades, the village has become home, and the second and third generations have appeared in the family. And recently, 52-year-old Hamidullah had his first grandson - his daughter made him happy.

Today, father and son Ilchibaevs work at one of the metallurgical enterprises of Chelyabinsk. Jobs are tight in the village. Therefore, they go to the city together and work the same shift. Eldar was a foreman, and Hamidullah was a privateer under his command.

At home, men run their own farm, raising bulls, pigs, chickens and ducks. There is enough work. There is no time to lie on the sofa in front of the TV.

However, the usual chores are one thing, but Hamidullah is drawn to make life at least a little more beautiful. He let it slip that he wanted to add a similar fountain to the glass house. So that it would be like in the city, and the children could splash around in the heat.

He also found an abandoned well in a nearby, long-empty village and decided to clean it out and repair it. And for what, he himself doesn’t know. You just need to have a well with clean water. What if people come back?

In this article we will look at the use of an alternative option for building walls - from waste material. You will learn how to build walls from empty glass and plastic bottles. The article provides detailed instructions with solution recipes and video materials.

While the vast majority are pondering the dubious prospect of living in a bottle house, a few enthusiasts are making this idea a reality. The idea of ​​using bottles instead of stone in wall masonry is quite fair, given the abundance of waste building materials and the number of potential suppliers.

Bottles. Blocks

The use of glass containers in wall material is an unusual and dubious activity at first glance. However, if we “rethink” an ordinary empty bottle, we see air enclosed in a fairly strong shell. As is known, it is air with its low thermal conductivity that is an effective thermal barrier. The effect of voids in the wall material has been successfully implemented in traditional cinder block.

In order to make a bottle block, you will need a primitive vibrating machine for blocks. We will look at instructions for assembling it in the next article. If you use bottles, its design will be simplified to a steel box without a bottom or top with a vibration motor. And you will also need a hand press, which can be made from available material.

Blocks for walls made from bottles, video

There is no “zest” in the block production process itself - it is simple and straightforward: add the mixture, lay the bottles, again the mixture and again the bottles. There is only one rule - the glass should not come into contact with the glass and the walls of the box.

Bottles. Masonry

The laying of bottles is carried out similarly to stone, the height of the bottle is the thickness of the wall. When assessing the durability of such a structure, doubts arise about the reliability of the adhesion of the solution to smooth glass. It is practically zero. Therefore, the load should be distributed more efficiently. For example, lay a polymer mesh every 3-4 rows.

By selecting the material by color, you can create walls with patterns and simple panels in the form of stripes, flowers and geometric shapes. The advantages of glass in exterior decoration are that the smooth, non-porous surface does not accumulate dirt and dust and is easy to clean. In addition, there will always be natural lighting in the room.

Bottle House, video

Thanks to the development of the glassblowing industry, it became possible to use bottles with a rectangular cross-section, which also have a textured surface that improves adhesion to the solution.

Foreign enthusiasts are not lagging behind ours. Of course, not out of excess funds, but out of savings, they build walls from plastic bottles filled with earth.

House made of plastic bottles, video

In a word, the “bottle house” is a reality. The only requirement for the design is that the solution completely fits the surface of the glass and the walls do not touch. This will ensure optimal load distribution for the construction of a full-fledged rafter system and openings of sufficient size.

Mortar for bottle masonry and blocks

Depending on the number of floors and roof structure, the mortar for blocks and masonry should be selected differently. We will consider the main cases of variable composition of the solution in a “bottle” design at different levels.

Foundation, underground part, lower part of walls (60 mm). These elements must not contain potentially fragile elements. There are only a few houses made from bottles and they were built within the last 15 years, so the design has not been studied in the laboratory. In addition, the bottle does not have the status of a building material. Critical areas should be made of traditionally reliable materials - concrete, brick, factory wall block.

Walls of the first floor. You can add slag to the masonry mortar for insulation. There is also the option of replacing sand with slag. Composition of the mortar for bottle masonry and load-bearing wall blocks of the 1st floor:

1. Conventional masonry - 1 part cement, 3 parts sand.
2. Insulated masonry - 1 part cement, 1 part sand, 2 parts slag.
3. Mortar on slag - 1 part cement, 3 parts slag.
4. Sawdust mortar - 1 part cement, 2 parts sawdust, 1 part sand or slag.

Particular attention should be paid to the thickness of the solution layer. When laying blocks it is standard - 10-20 mm; when laying bottles it is better to change it. At the bottom of the walls, use a layer of 40-50 mm, gradually reducing it to 20-30 mm at the top. This will strengthen the masonry from below, while simultaneously lightening it from above.

Reinforcement is the key to wall stability, so be sure to use masonry or polymer mesh every 2-4 rows. It is better to use thick-walled champagne bottles as a material.

Any alternative material always raises doubts, especially when it is not considered construction material. From empty bottles you can make not only walls, but also other elements of a homemade exterior - canopies, greenhouses, canopies (plastic) or simply translucent window filling - instead of expensive glass blocks. The main thing here is determination, accuracy and adherence to the rules.

What's the best way to use an empty plastic bottle? Some will remember scoops, vases, holders for mobile phones. But few people think that they can build houses from plastic bottles.

The author of this incredible project was a German engineer who has developed about fifty projects in several countries using ECO-TEC technology. He built a house from bottles, using them instead of bricks. It turned out that if you fill a bottle with earth, it will be as strong as a brick. By building a house from, we not only save on construction costs, but also help maintain the environment at the proper level.

Are there any benefits to using bottles? How does their use compare favorably with other building materials?
Firstly, the bottles are low cost. Secondly, a house made of bottles is characterized by increased strength. These improvised "bricks" can withstand very strong impacts and loads.

Plastic bottles can be used several times. They are easy to use and significantly reduce the cost of construction materials (their low cost was mentioned above). A home built from bottles can last about 300 years. What other material can boast such durability?

How to build a house out of bottles?

To begin with, we collect our building material in huge quantities. Not all bottles have to be the same, it will be better to use different sizes and shapes. Stock up on plenty of sand! Now we fill all the bottles, pour dry compacted sand into them, and close them with a cork. To make the structure more durable, mix a little cement, add clay, sawdust and earth to it, then glue the bottles to each other.

Construction should always begin with columns, of which there must be at least three. We dig a hole about 100 cm in diameter so that the radius is larger than the diameter of the support (at least 20 cm). Next, we insert reinforcement under the columns and place bottles around the reinforcement with the corks facing inward. Use twine to tighten the knot on the neck of the bottles so that adjacent caps touch each other. The gaps that have formed between the bottles must be filled with a mixture of cement and left to settle. You can use construction waste or pieces of bricks to fill the space between the bottles.

As soon as the column is erected, we leave it until it shrinks completely and plaster it. Then we start building walls. The tactics are the same: the bottles are placed on the solution and the necks are tied with twine. Then the walls are plastered.

The roof of such a house is live (made of turf). This is not just a matter of aesthetics. Such a roof provides better warmth in winter and coolness in summer, and also helps conserve energy and save money.

The last stage in the construction of this unusual house is its interior decoration.

The essence of this concept is that the bottles will not have to be buried or burned, thereby polluting the environment. Instead, they will be used to build environmentally friendly housing. Thus, you, so to speak, combine business and pleasure. And this is quite interesting and reasonable!

It took a Ukrainian 8,000 bottles of champagne and 20 years of his life to build a dacha!
Many people believe that a house made of bottles can only be found in a science fiction story. In fact, however, some enthusiasts have long been promoting glass bottles as a building material.

And some craftsmen, including the main character of our article, have been living in a “bottle house” they built with their own hands for many years. Vladimir Sysa, a resident of a holiday village near Zaporozhye, nurtured this idea for two decades, but finally fulfilled his old dream!


The first house made of glass bottles was built in the USA at the beginning of the last century. According to legend, William Peck, its creator, was very fond of beer. Therefore, the man chose containers from his favorite drink as building material for his home.
Peck's house, by the way, stood for a very long time and was demolished only in 1980. And some time ago, the famous brewing company Heineken even produced special bottles in the shape of bricks!

In the 80s of the last century, Vladimir Kirillovich Sysa, the main character of our article, learned about the existence of unusual houses from a German magazine. Since then, the man was literally fired up with the idea of ​​​​building such housing for himself and his family.
Sysa began construction when he acquired a plot of land in the late 80s. By that time, four thousand champagne bottles were already stored in Vladimir’s family’s apartment!


The man spent a long time collecting building materials. Among the sources, he names parks and glass container collection points. In addition, Sysa’s friends gave her a decent number of bottles.
For every feast, Vladimir’s acquaintances bought champagne for him, knowing what a man needed. Having learned what the neighbor was doing, other summer residents also began to bring glass containers to him under the gate.


Of course, it wasn't just bottles. In his free time, Sysa worked a lot on his project, drew hundreds of sketches, and developed construction technology. Later, I purchased other building materials.
In addition, not every glass container was suitable for building a house. For example, modern champagne bottles have begun to be made thinner than Soviet ones. That is why Vladimir did not mix them during construction, erecting one wall entirely from old glass containers, and the other from new ones.


Sysa’s main assistant in working on the unusual project was his wife Lyudmila. She, her daughter-in-law and granddaughter washed the bottles and checked them for chips and cracks. And later, directly during the construction of the house, the wife did all the auxiliary work for her husband - the man did not let her near the main one.
Lyudmila can rightfully be called Vladimir’s main muse. In the end, when the work was finished, her husband gave her a long-term construction for her golden wedding!


Today the couple cannot get enough of the miracle home. Bottles rolled into concrete are as strong as bricks and will not break even if you hit them with a hammer. This building material creates a special air cushion, thanks to which the house is warm in winter and cool in summer.
In addition, Lyudmila really praises the “bottle” tower: flowers and cucumbers grow well there, they say. In the future, the woman plans to equip a full-fledged greenhouse upstairs.


The Sys spouses were offered fabulous sums for their unusual housing, but Vladimir and Lyudmila flatly refuse to sell the magical house. In addition to the main building, a sauna has been built on five acres and a swimming pool is being built. And on the territory of the site, the man built an alley, the building material for which is also bottles!


Vladimir spent twenty years of hard work, tons of cement and about eight thousand bottles to turn his old dream into reality. Nevertheless, the man believes that the result is definitely worth all the effort.


But initially, colleagues at the plant only made fun of our hero, thinking that he was doing stupid things. But now the miracle house of Vladimir Sysa is known throughout the world!