The contents of subsoil naturally vary, and if it does not contain the right mixture it can be modified with sand or clay. Cob houses are made of claylike lumps of soil, sand, and straw. He continues to build stunning cob houses and even offers courses. A practical and philosophical guide to building a cob cottage. Beyond that, you would be pressed even further to having people in florida warm up to the idea. Durable cedar shingles cover the roof of the home and the two sides of the house not shown are made out of straw bales a surprisingly effective, sustainable, and lowcost building material. I build cob as well as straw bale in texas, just northwest of houston, we are currently offering 2 workshops starting in march, the first is a split 20 day workshop, 10 day cob and 10 day straw bale, crammed together and the second is a 10 day cobwood cordwood, cob free standing bathroom in april. Numerous cob buildings found in devon and cornwall are well over 500 years old. Mar 05, 2014 cob houses are part of the earth house, ecofriendly house, natural building architecture. Devon earth building association deba was founded in 1991 to provide a forum for issues relating to the conversation of earth buildings in devon and the south west of england, also to provide technical guidance on the repair and maintenance of earth buildings including renders, plasters and cob construction. Jun 04, 2015 cob is an ageold method of building that can be used to create very unique organicallyshaped structures. A beautiful cob house in oregon, usa natural homes.
Cob building is easy to learn, requires no special equipment, and uses sustainable materials. It was reportedly the first cob house in canada to go through the building. Unlike straw bale and adobe construction, cob building does not use dried bricks or blocks. Cob is safe, and is increasingly recognized as such by building codes. Cob is fireproof, resistant to seismic activity, and uses lowcost materials, although it is very labour intensive. Nov 4, 2017 cob houses, interior and organic shapes in other materials. Visit his website to have a look at some of his creations or to find out more about a course. Cob workshops learning more, getting hands on experience, and more. A nice quality book with no shortage of color photos but i found a lot of the material was just going over the same material of previous how to cob books. Cob building is labourintensive and seasonallydependent aprnov for the cob part of the build, so start with a small design that can be added to at a later date.
A case study of cob earth based building technique in. Dave hemmingways cob house building in the southwest of. Kevin mccabe is widely credited with leading the cob resurgence when he built his 4 bedroom cob cottage in 1994. I prefer the hand sculpted house book because it also gives details on how to build a cob rocket stove into a cob house project which is almost an essential feature of cob building.
In the uk we ensure our cob houses last for hundreds of years by incorporating a few basic design features that make them suitable for our climate. The dome rooms were built using traditional ukrainian building methods where a wooden framework is coated first with a mixture of clay and straw and then with clay mixed with sawdust. If you would like to read in more detail about some of the. Additionally cob houses are not only safe fordice 2000 but according to chiras 2002 they are also affordable, comfortable, sustainable, enduring and nontoxic. Cob, cobb or clom in wales is a natural building material made from subsoil, water, fibrous organic material typically straw, and sometimes lime. Building a cob oven is a great idea for a first project using cob.
And new for 2020 we will be offering the first cob pottery course where you fire your clay pots in a cob kiln you make. Cliff, one of our readers, sent me these photos of old cob houses in new zealand. Locally tuinhuis at the houses of parliament in cape town is over 300 years old. Cob may have evolved from earlier techniques like wattleanddaub, where mud is plastered over a framework of woven branches. I have been coming back to cob houses again and again because i love the curves of cob walls, the organic feeling that the cob mix brings and the price is also very attractive. Uncle b live in canada will the winter frosts destry a cob house. The environmental impact of the cob technique and how it compare with other commonly used building techniques in nicaragua should be assessed in order to see. The ultimate ecological building resource includes examples of diverse natural dwellings, from a hybrid hobbit house to a thatched studio and a cob office.
You can add on, cut out, or reshape at any time, even after the cob is dry. This will give you more confidence with the material, and allow you to learn from your mistakes before moving on to a larger structure. These patterns are defined in a book called a pattern language, a valuable addition to your library if you are thinking about building a home. Hey there actually cob houses can be made with wood framing or without it just depends on the tastes of who is building it. When you create a cob house you literally sculpt it. We conduct handson research on natural building methods and materials, testing our own buildings by living in them. The hand sculpted house, a practical and philosophical guide to building a cob cottage, is a must read for anyone who wants to have the freedom to build a one of a kind creative and artistic home. No complicated machines or tools are required, simply lots of labour and only very basic skills. We conduct hands on research on natural building methods and materials, testing our own buildings by living in them.
Old cob houses in new zealand natural building blog. This is a full tour of a cozy cob micro cabin built by marie france roy, a professional snowboarder from canada. They look really nice, especially considering their age. I knew new zealand and australia have a long history of building with earth, but i didnt realize how well the buildings are holding up and how beautiful they are. Instead, wall surfaces are built up with lumps of damp cob mixture, compressed, and sculpted into smooth, sinuous forms. Questions and answers about cob cob cottage company.
Home owners can build their own homes with materials that are local and sustainable. Cob building dates back hundreds of years ago, and cob houses built over 500 years ago in europe are still inhabited to this day. A cob house in a true sense, this one built by michael buck a 59yearold farmer and retired teacher is unique because no power tools were used in its making. You will get all the howto information to undertake a cob building project. Devon earth building faq about cob and earth building. The handsculpted house is theoretical and philosophical but intensely practical as well. Handbuilt of all local materialsfield stones and sea shells birch trees willow sticks for the thatched roof clay cow dung and limethis cob house serves as a. Without having prior knowledge of making cob house, he read some literature to embark on this project. As the modern world rediscovers the importance of living in sustainable harmony with the environment, this book is a bible of radical simplicity. We also specialise in repairing old earth buildings including cob houses, claylump, rammed earth and wattle and daub. Cob structures can be used as homes, chicken coops, barns, and even smaller ones for ovens. See more ideas about natural building, earth homes and cob building. Top 10 most influential cob builders this cob house.
The rb299 was the challenging and studious efforts of a nonprofit group in california you may want to know about, called the cob research institutecri, look them up. Cob houses are part of the earth house, ecofriendly house, natural building architecture. In fact more than 30 per cent of the worlds population still live in buildings that are built of earth. See more ideas about earth homes, natural building and earthship. Cob has been used for centuries by many cultures worldwide. Cob an old english word for lump is oldfashioned concrete, made out of a mixture of clay, sand, and straw. This particular example, called the cob cottage, is situated on mayne island, a quiet and laidback locale in the gulf islands of british columbia. Chris is an ownerbuilder and cob building enthusiast who also owns a micro publishing company, industrialrustic, for natural building related books and multimedia. Arizona is the only state with building codes that specifically allow for cob construction, but. Building with cob is a sensory and aesthetic experience like sculpting with clay.
I have thought about building a cob house if in the future i decide i need more space if i get married or just want more space. Complete with handsculpted furniture, shelves and nooks built directly into the walls, arched windows, and a killer custom staircase, his cob building is a divine artistic achievement. This is a proposal to make a separate building code for cob houses and other cob structures. Yemen is particularly famous for its cob buildings with 14storey examples that have existed in seismicallyactive areas for hundreds of years. Ianto and lindas cob home is a bewildering collection of the patterns that make a living space just right of the human animal. The house was designed to make the most of passive solar energy. Because its mainly clay and sand, you dont have much for forest fires to burn up. Cob is strong, durable and cob houses should stand forever as long as their roof is maintained and the property is looked after properly. Photo by chris mcclellan a profile of a typical cob and thatch building, illustrating wall details. But is the traditional west country building material a sensible. The sculpted cob details both inside and outside the home are a simply stunning testament to what you can make out of natural, locallysourced materials. In the midst of these proposals is a stack of paper over pages called the rb299. Cob is an ageold method of building that can be used to create very unique organicallyshaped structures. Cob building, green building, building a house, earth bag homes, earthship home, natural homes, natural building, window design, play houses.
Building a house out of cob at dancing rabbit ecovillage. Building with cob from the ground up mother earth news. Cob house construction is an ancient building technique using lumps of earth mixed with sand, straw, and water. What we do and why we are doing it cob cottage company. A practical guide to building a cob cottage the real goods solar living book. May 30, 2019 cob houses are made of claylike lumps of soil, sand, and straw.
Best cob building books a list to guide you about what cob building is and how it is done. Weve empowered thousands of people to take their own futures into their own hands giving them the skills to build their own affordable, sustainable and. This material is a very durable form of earth construction. In the uk, there are many thousands of old, still occupied cob buildings especially in the southwest, scotland, parts of east anglia and. This volume is an encyclopedia of natural building for nonprofessionals as well as architects.
Becky bees manual is a friendly guide to making your own earth structure, with chapters on design, foundations, floors, windows and doors, finishes, and of course, making glorious cob. In the southwest portugese algarve we are building our natural and sustainable cob house, specializing in growing biological vegetables, creating a beautiful fruit orchard and we soon we will start with preparing and planting our food forest. With the first recorded mud buildings dating back to 8,000bc in jericho, cob building building with mud has a long history. Mar 03, 20 hey there actually cob houses can be made with wood framing or without it just depends on the tastes of who is building it.
A philosophical and practical guide to building a cob cottage. There are some more technical details that have to be paid attention to compared to the other projects that are listed below, but there is far less cob that has to be mixed overall. Cob building workshops, training and commissioned work with schools, general public and professionals. Before designing this hotel yuri built and lived in a cob ecovillage, below, where he. Some codes require that you have some wood framing and allow you to fill the framing with the material of your choice including natural building methods like cob or straw bale. Cob or adobe houses are cheap, energy efficient, termiteproof, fireproof, earthquakeresistant, nontoxic, beautiful and can last thousands of years. Building a cob home why cob, getting land, and building permits with pat hennebery. Cob is a popular choice for areas that prone to wild fires or other extreme weather. Arizona is the only state with building codes that specifically allow for cob construction, but many postandbeam buildings.
A devon man is building what is thought to be the biggest cob house in the uk. Creating a cob house often creates a very healthy home for air quality. For me, it might be a bit out of the box type of building. This volume is an encyclopedia of natural building for nonprofessionals as well as architects and designers.
Building with cob may be fairly labor intensive, but the rewards can be countless. We also work with the next generation with cob building workshops in schools. Here are some of our projects that wed like to share with you. Building with cob may be fairly labor intensive, but the rewards can be. Cob building lends itself to incorporating salvaged and eclectic building materials. Dec 22, 2011 cliff, one of our readers, sent me these photos of old cob houses in new zealand. Chris has travelled around the united states visiting natural builders, photographing sites, and creating strong networks within the community. Meka bunch of wolf creek, oregon built this stunning cob house over a four year period. Most of the wood used throughout the home was salvaged from fallen trees. Stunning cob house in england sustainable simplicity. Little ones some examples of some really small cob dwellings. Washington grocery building page content over the year, the washington grocery building has undergone only minor remodeling renovations including changes to the loading dock doors, loss of a suspended canopy, and the removal of a stairway tower on the roof.
Cob building sites are generally safer than those involving projects that use heavy machinery. The real goods solar living book ianto evans, michael g. Thats pretty dang impressive considering the simple nature and composition of the material. If you would like to learn how to build homes like these we have a list of natural building workshops. Building a cob oven will let you get your hands dirty by learning how to make cob, a. Builders handbook a handbook for working with cob, adobe, and straw. Of course cob houses dont have to be curvy though, they can be made with straight walls and right angles for that modern look. Cob allows you to easily create curves, and carve shelves and features into your walls. Exactly when and how cob building first arose in england remains uncertain, but it is known that cob houses were being built there by the th century.