The walls of the reservoir provided privacy and a noise barrier while he built the bottle house .
Beginning in 1968 , Rubel began building a small get - away house in the empty old 1,000,000 gallon concrete reservoir , using cement and discarded champagne bottles .
The walls of the reservoir provided privacy and a noise barrier while Rubel built the bottle house .
Beginning in 1968 , Rubel began building a small get - away house in the empty old 1,000,000 gallon concrete reservoir , using cement and discarded champagne bottles .