Cob houses

I just did a workshop where I learned to build one of these-

http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/Canopy/7148/cobpics.html

(It had straw for insulation, so it was technically a hybrid, but it still had the look.) We built a 2-room house in ten days with 17 people for under 3,500 dollars. It was beautiful when we finished.

These guys built their cob house for under 500 dollars-

http://www.innerexplorations.com/simpletext/acob.htm

They are so beautiful. Is anyone else on here into alternative building techniques?

Oh, here are some more pictures-

http://www.cobcottage.com/pics/#traditional

 

I wanted to build alternatively,but dealing with the codes here are a real mess.I like the idea of a strawbale house.I use bales for fencing and loose straw for the garden.

http://www.commonsensedesign.com/resources.htm

 

There are codes for strawbale where I am. Cob Cottage co suggest you use strawbales for insulating cob walls when the temp goes below 0 anyway, so I am thinking to build a strawbale/cob hybrid and just get a permit to build a strawbale

I heard they are finally doing earthquake tests on a cob house. The problem is, they can't seem to get enough power going to destroy it, LOL!

 

below 0.You are in the northeast.I'm in the southwest.I want it to get below 100*...

 

Cob houses stay REALLY cool if built correctly. http://architecture.about.com/cs/greenarchitecture/a/eartharch.htm

I walked into a cob house in a high desert in over 100 degrees temperature and it felt like air conditioning inside. Because of it's thermal mass, it stays cool in the summer and warm in the winter. I hear that underground houses are naturally cool as well.


here's more if you are interested

http://www.daycreek.com/dc/html/DC_cob.htm

http://www.cobcottage.com/#intro

 

The alternative building methods, cob, strawbale, poleframe, mudbrick and sandbag are not new but rediscovered. I read that there are strawbale buidings in Nebraska that are over 100 years old.

 

There are cob houses more than a thousand years old in England

 

Here are some pics of a the cob cottage I worked on in Oregon

http://photobucket.com/albums/v383/cobalow/

(a few are of a concrete house we visited and the RNC)

 

I added some more pics to my gallery. I would suggest that anyone interested in cob or natural building read "The Hand Sculpted House"

http://www.cobcottage.com/handsculpt.html

 

Wow, they're amazing... I've never heard of them before. I think I just found my ideal home

 

The people I worked with are having a workshop in Mexico-

http://www.housealive.org/mexicoflier.htm

Coenraad Rogmans often does workshops with the cob cottage company as well.

Here are some great links for people who want to build a "Hobbit House"

http://www.pinemanor.com/hobbit/

http://www.green-trust.org/bagend.htm

Neat gallery-

http://www.rogerdean.com/architecture/index.htm

And "The Hobbit Garden"

http://www.earth-house.com/Mystery_Travel/The_Hobbit_Garden/the_hobbit_garden.html

enjoy