Brant couple building eco-friendly 'earthship' home

'Earthship' home designed off-the-grid From CTV Kitchener's Carmen Wong: A couple in Brant has gone off-the-grid, designing an eco-friendly 'earthship' home.

BRANT COUNTY — A couple in Brant County is moving off-the-grid, building an eco-friendly and self-sustainable "earthship" home.

Ken Stock and Paula Martin are ready to take a journey to make their home.

"It's all stand alone," Stock said. "We'll have our own solar panels, we'll make our own electricity, so we'll be completely off-the-grid."

The couple is building the earthship themselves on their 13-acre property in Brant County. It's built with recycled materials and is completely insulated. It also uses recycled rain water.

They have around 900 recycled tires, which will be filled with dirt to act as building blocks for the walls.

"The earth keeps your house warm in the winter and cool in the summer," Stock said. "So, you don't have to heat it, you don't have to cool it. It's a very low-cost way of living."

The couple has already laid the foundation for their 2,000-foot earthship. They're getting help from Craig and Connie Cook, who live in their own earthship in Norfolk County.

"The house takes care of everything for itself," Craig said. "Literally, these homes don't need you."

The Cooks said their home is economical, as well as eco-friendly.

"A lot of the decision was that we could retire sooner because we had no bills," Craig said.

Stock and Martin said their investment will cost about $100,000. They hope to have it finished by next fall.

"In the future, we may be able to help other people do exactly what we're doing," Stock said.