Cob Homes: Natural, Sustainable Living

Raisin · Post by **Raisin** » Mon Dec 17, 2012 8:51 pm

Beautiful homes made from mud, sand and straw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8WbUUSq6jc4

unsure · Post by **unsure** » Mon Dec 17, 2012 9:32 pm

nice idea but not very practical in the uk . given the amount of rain we get i suspect it would wash away . i think you`d be better off building a single room log cabin then adding more rooms as you can .

Raisin · Post by **Raisin** » Mon Dec 17, 2012 10:12 pm

Hello Unsure

Some of the oldest buildings in UK are made from cob, some as old as 600 years or more...usually with thatched roofing. Cob is the traditional technique in many parts of England, especially Devon.

Just about anything can be made from it - walls, ovens, chicken coops, storage area, benches and so on

It worth looking into if only out of curiosity.

To the person who kindly sent me a PM: Thank you, unfortunately I have no reply button because I'm a new member

The answer to your question is 'no'

Does anyone know how long I have to wait before I'm allowed to send or reply to PM's?

The-Great-Nothing · Post by **The-Great-Nothing** » Mon Dec 17, 2012 10:32 pm

Hi

You would just thatch, grass, tile or in some other way roof the structure with nice big over hung eaves & they will be fine in the British climate.

Think of traditional english wattle & daub construction. Many remain today.

Cheers

Matt

12mp82 · Post by **12mp82** » Mon Dec 17, 2012 10:44 pm

Thanks for that, haven't seen one like that before

Raisin · Post by **Raisin** » Mon Dec 17, 2012 10:53 pm

The-Great-Nothing wrote:Hi

You would just thatch, grass, tile or in some other way roof the structure with nice big over hung eaves & they will be fine in the British climate.

Think of traditional english wattle & daub construction. Many remain today.

Cheers

Matt

Sorry Matt, my reply to Unsure may sound as if I'm ignoring you. That's not the case...Your post turned up while mine's still waiting to go through moderation. I'm assuming moderation will get switched off once I've been here for a little while...I hope so, otherwise it's going to get confusing if my replies keep turning up way after everyone else's

The-Great-Nothing · Post by **The-Great-Nothing** » Tue Dec 18, 2012 8:13 am

Hi.

It looks like I ignored your excellent post now

ah well.

I think it is 10 posts until you are fully up and running for pm's and not having your posts pre checked.

I didn't actually realise the first bunch I posts were checked before release onto the site - I would love to see a Christmas top 10 of the most bonkers posts of 2012 that didn't make the cut

lol

Anyway. Building with wood & mud : sustainable, Eco friendly, relatively unskilled and cheap, long lasting, good thermal properties (when done correctly) etc. good solution I would say.

Cheers

Matt

triffid · Post by **triffid** » Tue Dec 18, 2012 8:30 am

The Great Nothing "Building with wood & mud : sustainable, Eco friendly, relatively unskilled and cheap, long lasting, good thermal properties (when done correctly) etc. good solution I would say. "

There is another essential ingredient...... (how can I express this politely)....... animal dung!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wattle_and_daub

I think the critical thing is the composite nature of the construction. Using wattle (a sort of mat of wood) and forcing the daub (mud, sand and sh1t) through it so that when dried the various elements of the construction become one strong unit.
Its a bit like fiberglass; if you were to make a moulding from the fiberglass resin alone it would just be too brittle. The re-enforced glass fibers are what provide the flexibility and strength.

There are hundreds of alternative building methods and it must be a good idea to consider them eg http://www.motherearthnews.com/Do-It-Yo ... -Shed.aspx

preppingsu · Post by **preppingsu** » Tue Dec 18, 2012 8:12 pm

The-Great-Nothing wrote:

I didn't actually realise the first bunch I posts were checked before release onto the site - I would love to see a Christmas top 10 of the most bonkers posts of 2012 that didn't make the cut lol

No you don't!! You would pull your hair out!

Raisin · Post by **Raisin** » Mon Dec 24, 2012 9:13 pm

triffid wrote:The Great Nothing "Building with wood & mud : sustainable, Eco friendly, relatively unskilled and cheap, long lasting, good thermal properties (when done correctly) etc. good solution I would say. "

There is another essential ingredient...... (how can I express this politely)....... animal dung!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wattle_and_daub

I think the critical thing is the composite nature of the construction. Using wattle (a sort of mat of wood) and forcing the daub (mud, sand and sh1t) through it so that when dried the various elements of the construction become one strong unit.
Its a bit like fiberglass; if you were to make a moulding from the fiberglass resin alone it would just be too brittle. The re-enforced glass fibers are what provide the flexibility and strength.

There are hundreds of alternative building methods and it must be a good idea to consider them eg http://www.motherearthnews.com/Do-It-Yo ... -Shed.aspx

Animal dung is not needed, but I suspect each country has their own way. In England it's mostly sand, clay and straw and, by all accounts, works well if our old cob buildings are to go by. I've yet to put this into practice though so I'm not speaking from experience. Come summer I will give a small project a go - definitely not ready for building a whole house (especially as we're held back with building regulation and such like.)

uk-preppers.co.uk