# Buildings built from glass bottles (Thai Temple example). **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 20, 2008, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buildings-built-from-glass-bottles-thai-temple-example/473601 "2008-11-20T03:50:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![drhess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/94ad74/32.png) [@drhess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drhess)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2008, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buildings-built-from-glass-bottles-thai-temple-example/473601/1 "2008-11-20T03:50:01Z")
Is building structures out of bottles a good idea from a safety and longevity standpoint? I’d think everytime somebody dropped something on the floor or a ladder slipped and banged a wall or furniture hit the wall you’d have glass to repair or cover over. No? [http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/10/temple-built-from-beer-bottles.php](http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/10/temple-built-from-beer-bottles.php) See link below the article for more examples. The idea of the “world bottle” (beer bottles designed in brick shape) is pretty cute. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2008, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buildings-built-from-glass-bottles-thai-temple-example/473601/2 "2008-11-20T05:50:44Z")
I have an aunt who built a stable for her horses this way. It’s pretty robust; I don’t think she’s had to make any repairs on it. ---
**Author:** ![bink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/439d5e/32.png) [@bink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bink)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2008, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buildings-built-from-glass-bottles-thai-temple-example/473601/3 "2008-11-20T06:34:51Z")
Heineken briefly sold their beer in squarish bottles that were intended to be used for building. I saw this on the brewery tour in Amsterdam; I thought it looked great and wish they’d do it again! Oh, duh, there’s a link right there in the OP–they never really sold them but I still think it’s a great idea. > **[HEINEKEN WOBO: A Beer Bottle That Doubles as a Brick](https://inhabitat.com/heineken-wobo-the-brick-that-holds-beer/)** > > A brick that holds beer! ---
**Author:** ![Ale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Ale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ale)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2008, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buildings-built-from-glass-bottles-thai-temple-example/473601/4 "2008-11-20T06:37:38Z")
I wouldn’t recommend it in seismic areas… Otherwise glass is very stable and wear resistant, impervious to water, heat, cold, fungi or lichens that can even eat concrete away, pollution, etc etc. So a well built building should last for a good while. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2008, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buildings-built-from-glass-bottles-thai-temple-example/473601/5 "2008-11-20T12:23:03Z")
> [@drhess](#): > > Is building structures out of bottles a good idea from a safety and longevity standpoint? I’d think everytime somebody dropped something on the floor or a ladder slipped and banged a wall or furniture hit the wall you’d have glass to repair or cover over. No? Glass bottles are pretty strong, so I doubt casual knocks and bangs against the wall would break them. The buildings I’ve seen built this way have the bottles embedded in mortar, so only the ends of the bottles are exposed. The base of a beer bottle is pretty thick glass, and I think you’d struggle to break it without really trying. ---
**Author:** ![Uosdwis\_R.Dewoh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Uosdwis\_R.Dewoh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uosdwis_R.Dewoh)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2008, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buildings-built-from-glass-bottles-thai-temple-example/473601/6 "2008-11-20T14:00:41Z")
> [@bink](#): > > Heineken briefly sold their beer in squarish bottles that were intended to be used for building. I saw this on the brewery tour in Amsterdam; I thought it looked great and wish they’d do it again! > > Oh, duh, there’s a link right there in the OP–they never really sold them but I still think it’s a great idea. > > [HEINEKEN WOBO: A Beer Bottle That Doubles as a Brick](http://www.inhabitat.com/2007/10/11/heineken-wobo-the-brick-that-holds-beer/) Irregular bottles can cause a lot of problems on the bottling line.For example: A. Le Coq, a Estonian brewer, brew a beer in a lighthouse shaped bottle ([pic](http://www.packagingeurope.com/NewsDetails.aspx?nNewsID=21459)). The uniquely shaped bottle has the tendency to climb on top of each other and fall of the line. ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2008, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buildings-built-from-glass-bottles-thai-temple-example/473601/7 "2008-11-20T16:22:48Z")
Bricks are better than glass bottles as structural components but bottles full of water have been used inside walls to provide thermal mass. ---
**Author:** ![Pullet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Pullet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pullet)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2008, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buildings-built-from-glass-bottles-thai-temple-example/473601/8 "2008-11-20T16:26:11Z")
Are the bottles empty or are they filled with mortar as well? ---
**Author:** ![Mooch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7bcc69/32.png) [@Mooch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mooch)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2008, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buildings-built-from-glass-bottles-thai-temple-example/473601/9 "2008-11-20T16:38:03Z")
Wow - I want to build a wall of bottles in my backyard. I’m off to the liquor store. Be right back. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2008, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buildings-built-from-glass-bottles-thai-temple-example/473601/10 "2008-11-20T18:39:27Z")
> [@Pullet](#): > > Are the bottles empty or are they filled with mortar as well? Usually empty whenever I’ve seen them used - filling them would need almost as much mortar as building the entire wall from cement! ---
**Author:** ![masterofnone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@masterofnone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/masterofnone)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2008, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buildings-built-from-glass-bottles-thai-temple-example/473601/11 "2008-11-20T18:41:32Z")
> [@Mooch](#): > > Wow - I want to build a wall of bottles in my backyard. I’m off to the liquor store. Be right back. Need any help with that? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2008, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buildings-built-from-glass-bottles-thai-temple-example/473601/12 "2008-11-20T18:56:04Z")
> [@Ale](#): > > I wouldn’t recommend it in seismic areas… I’ll bet you could do it if you used a rubbery-foam insulation sort of gunk as the mortar (provided it didn’t deteriorate in sunlight). ---
**Author:** ![Mooch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7bcc69/32.png) [@Mooch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mooch)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2008, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buildings-built-from-glass-bottles-thai-temple-example/473601/13 "2008-11-20T19:10:58Z")
> [@masterofnone](#): > > Need any help with that? 😉 Sure - come on over to Chicago. Play a tiny violin for me because I have to lay off the kegerator and start buying bottles if I am going to do this in the spring. I just need to find a decent DIY guide to building the damned thing. Also - do I go with multi-colored/sized bottles, or uniform? The only wall I’ve ever built outside was a non-mortared flagstone wall (2 years ago) to help enclose a chiminea seating area/flagstone patio in my yard. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2008, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buildings-built-from-glass-bottles-thai-temple-example/473601/14 "2008-11-20T20:20:40Z")
> [@](#): > > Also - do I go with multi-colored/sized bottles, or uniform? That’s an aesthetic decision, not an engineering one. Myself, I’d make some sort of simple pattern and mosaic it in with two or more colors of bottles. And the bottles are generally empty: The airspace provides for insulation. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2008, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buildings-built-from-glass-bottles-thai-temple-example/473601/15 "2008-11-20T20:33:34Z")
Isn’t there a "bottle house’ in the nevada desert? it survived the A-bomb tests of the 1950’s. ---
**Author:** ![drhess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/94ad74/32.png) [@drhess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drhess)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2008, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buildings-built-from-glass-bottles-thai-temple-example/473601/16 "2008-11-22T16:49:46Z")
> [@sailor](#): > > …bottles full of water have been used inside walls to provide thermal mass. What does that mean? Water retains heat from sunlight better than bricks? ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2008, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buildings-built-from-glass-bottles-thai-temple-example/473601/17 "2008-11-22T16:57:49Z")
> [@drhess](#): > > What does that mean? Water retains heat from sunlight better than bricks? Water in the bottles would add mass. This large mass would absorb heat during the day, and give it off during the night, thus regulating the temperature. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2008, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buildings-built-from-glass-bottles-thai-temple-example/473601/18 "2008-11-22T17:27:08Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > Isn’t there a "bottle house’ in the nevada desert? it survived the A-bomb tests of the 1950’s. I don’t know about that one, but there is the “famous” [Bottle House in Rhyolite, Nevada](http://www.rhyolitesite.com/bottle1.html). It was suffering pretty badly because of the blasting from a nearby gold mine operation. They restored it in the mid-90’s, now it looks almost new. I sort of like the old, falling apart version better. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2008, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buildings-built-from-glass-bottles-thai-temple-example/473601/19 "2008-11-22T19:17:17Z")
> [@](#): > > What does that mean? Water retains heat from sunlight better than bricks? Water has the highest specific heat of pretty much any common material, which means that it takes more heat to change its temperature by a given amount. So it’ll absorb more heat from the sun during the day, and release more heat at night, than other materials such as bricks. ---
**Author:** ![bare](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bare/32/471_2.png) [@bare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bare)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2008, 9:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buildings-built-from-glass-bottles-thai-temple-example/473601/20 "2008-11-23T09:14:21Z")
There’s one in Boswell, BC that you can tour in the summer. It’s made of sixty-one thousand, 16 ounce glass embalming fluid bottles. [http://blog.findaproperty.com/architecture-design/house-embalming-fluid-bottles/](http://blog.findaproperty.com/architecture-design/house-embalming-fluid-bottles/) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buildings-built-from-glass-bottles-thai-temple-example/473601.md?page=2)