Upcycle Your Old Glass Bottles Into An Outdoor Wall With This Hack

If you have a few empty bottles around the house, then you also have the beginning of an outdoor or exterior wall. Although that may sound a little strange, you can actually use old glass bottles to make a border that's sturdy, attractive, and eco-friendly as it's a way to repurpose old and unwanted items that would have gone in the trash. 

"Can someone explain what's the point of [the] glass walls...?" one Instagram user asked when Ærchitecture and Design (@architecturever_) posted a video of the process on Instagram. If left slightly exposed, one reply explained, light is able to hit and pass through, creating a lovely effect. Another person added, "Bottles have been used on construction for well over 100 years, perhaps not to this scale and maybe for a simple floor. Every bottle is full of air and this makes for a great insulated barrier."

Granted, you'll need more than two or three bottles to complete this project. However, if you can get your hands on a number of them, you'll be on your way toward a stunning outdoor wall. Though you can't just toss bottles into cement or concrete and expect a wall to appear. Instead, you'll want to be methodical to create a wall that's strong and safe in addition to being an aesthetically pleasing garden addition.

If you want to try out Ærchitecture and Design's hack, then you'll first need amass quite a few bottles. This may be when you want to ask all of your wine-drinking friends to pitch in. When you have enough bottles to complete your project, then it's time to get to work. The video in question shows a couple hundred bottles.

Shown on Instagram, you see a group of men preparing an outdoor wall by laying down some wet concrete where they want the wall to stand. They then press a layer of bottles into it the cement, laying them down on their sides while keeping them perfectly in line. Using them like bricks, they then add more concrete before another layer of bottles. This continues until the full wall is built. However, that's not the end of the project. The men use their hands to slap on more concrete in order to fill any spaces around the round bottoms of each bottle. When that dries, they buff the bottoms of the bottles so that the glass can be seen and shine when hit by light.

A truly clever idea, this project doesn't require as much (sometimes pricey) concrete as bricks to create the wall. Beyond that, it can also add a unique and eye-catching aspect to your home. When it's done, you can sit back and watch the sun shine through your whimsical wall.