Making Cob

[timstah1971]

Yoda lived in a cob house!

[frediab]

How many people and how long would you estimate it would take to complete one room?

[zenmeister451]

One might also use rice glue as a binder. Also, believe it or not, Elmers glue mixed in with the water is a great binder and hardener.

[xerr0n]

so since i read from the wiki that this is fireproof i wonder that if i could make an oven with this or is it a bad idea? also can i heat it to dry it ? and also as a sidenote if i could make an oven out of this could i also make food in it, i mean would it add a side taste? thank you in advance =)

[iloveadobe]

@xerr0n Indeed you can make ovens. Do a search on cob ovens there are a lot of resources. I'd buy Kiko Denszer's book on the subject.

[iloveadobe]

@xerr0n ilovecob.com/archive/tag/oven



[noneedtohaveone]

Did you think about using carbon from ,for example, sawdust....I don't want to use a lot of sand and it has a lot of sawdust available in a lot of countries. So I was thinking about gathering the sawdust, burn it and use it so I could use less sand...What do you guys think? pm me please.

[iloveadobe]

@noneedtohaveone Sawdust can be used. Sometimes that falls into the 'light clay' area, where it might become less load bearing. It's a great resource. I've played with it alittle, but not carbon-ated. Hmmm...

[11mac11s]

Add some manure and some wheat paste.

[000Winter000]

I'm going to rent a cement mixer for this part.

[MrAudacia]

does it have to be straw? or could you for instance use long grass\/??? also would this type of mixture be fireproof? and or could u use it for mortar between bricks and stones??? tyvm

[noneedtohaveone]

@MrAudacia... Straw doesnt rot as easy as grass. I have seen a video where they were using wheat paste and read that you could also use the coco flas. Also an opcion is, use horse manure or let your animals eat straw :-D

[mattix771]

to much work

[danfunkman]

this vid would be good with riverdance kinda music, would be funny when you see him stomping around on it lol. excellent vid as it is tho.

[charcoaljohnson]

What are the portions of the ingredients?

[iloveadobe]

@charcoaljohnson Generally cob is 70% sand 30% clay rich soil, with a flake of straw and water. This mix had more clay, since that was the local resource at hand.

[venturadave]

It's like watching a Dung Beetle

[damiasebaticus]

I dig it! I would like to make a two foot thick landscape wall. and was going to use two 4x8 plywood sheets for forms, load it with cob and stomp it in. Then move the forms on to the next section. Does this sound doable?

[iloveadobe]

@damiasebaticus Yes. Sounds like 'rammed earth' to me.

[MegaSkya]

this is great. This reminded me of how birds and other animals build their homes. The termite mounds, are very strong and see how tiny the termite is. VERY inspiring video. It makes me wonder about most of us in the developed countries living in huge brick buildings and a huge pile of bills to pay out. But this way of life, back to nature is awesome. Thanks.

[YiuTeub]

how many shoes do you go through building a house and the vast amount of food from all that manual labor?

[zekehooper]

There's one vid where someone used a rototiller to mix cob. Would be handy if you are doing it alone. At least you could make alot that way. Also, you could build with earthbags alone too.

[DanteMoodyFilms]

What's the ratio for cob? Isn't it 70% sand and 30% clay or clay rich earth? Then just as much straw you need to hold it together, and enough water to make it moldable?

[tonydingler]

Looks too much like work .

[birdland5]

Wouldn't you....couldn't you...might you use a gas powered cement mixer? Looks like early spring, but you have to get the thing enclosed by snowfall in November. One other thought-- ever consider opening a bakery? You'd be in the dough!

[gotmaria]

It seems like you were forming squares (kinda) at the end. WHy the holes? It looked like you were poking holes. Is that to help it dry quicker?

[thebluebunny1]

LLLLLAA kook a Racha La kook a racha Tra la la la la laaaaaa hey ! thought this might help with the mixing sene

[Achbar]

How cheaply can you make a cob building? I know labor cost must be taken into account. I am sure you can make a decent sized home from Cob. No doubt about it, I need to get some books on this subject.

[SupYannis]

wonderfull video

[Mikdeelo]

Really, you needed an Irish jig for the mixing! LOL!

[Achbar]

How big can you make a Cob House? In most videos, they are small little houses stuck in the woods. I love the idea of cob housing

[mattmontero1]

What's up with the soundtrack?

[Rockonchick2]

fun exciting so down to earth laughing with ya feet nature dancing getting into the cob it way high to watch the feet dance in spirit

[polygamous1]

guys i collected some clay from a building side that now has rearrly dried up n it looks to me as if its not going to be easy to mix any suggestions?

[jimkleager]

Thanks for the advice, i'll look for the workshops. I'm thinking of maybe starting out with a small greenhouse made of cob just to get my feet wet. Thanks again, Jim.

[jimkleager]

How thick is the cob when your done mixing it? I've heard its suppose to be like peanut butter is that true? Did you take a course to learn using cob or did you help someone else on a project? I live in Nebraska do you know of anyone thats built with cob there? Thanks

[iloveadobe]

There are all kinds of thicknesses for different purposes. Peanut butter would be more like a earthen plaster. For mass building or cob walls you want it pretty thick.  Crunchy with sand, laden with straw and all stuck together with clay.

I've taken the Cob Cottage Company course and built a few small buildings. Google the "Natural Building Network", "Cob Workshops", for workshops in your area.

[0urGaia]

Lovely video. Someone needs setup a time sharing system, each single house would go up in no time, and after construction, the owners are obliged to help build other houses. Result - no longer enslaved by mortgage debt and you get to meet like minded people.

[LiveLoveBeLove]

beautifully put!!

[eddiequest2]

now THAT is a multi-beneficial exercise routine. WHEW!

[dreamthinker79]

i don't think it will nessisarily be bug ridden if done right, it sealed off alot better than most normal homes. the trick is to not have bugs want to get in your house/not have bugs. and its the same for any home

[dreamthinker79]

I don't think it would take for ever with help, and plenty of materials close by.

i don't think running electricity will be a problem at all, just run conduit on the inside, will make electrical work a breeze, with nothing burried in a wall, and many rooms may not even need electricity, cept maybe a light.

[kaiapapaya11]

I would love to spend hours with my hands in the mud, feet stomping and sculpting.. and I will. Would be amazing to sit inside your completed earthen home, on the cool earth floor.. the smells and textures. What a great accomplishment to build your own shelter..a healthy one. Much more rewarding than paying for a quick toxic version of a house.

[djsuperstar717]

that seems like a really long time to make just a little bit of cob;

it would take you like 2 or 3 years to build a nice house with that

[odin422]

thats not true at all.

[baubosophia]

Cob is a very high quality building material but it is slow when done by hand (as demonstrated here). If you want to get it done much faster and/or if you want extreme insulation, consider bale/cob. Hopefully Cob Cottage Company will be coming out with a bale-cob book soon. Also realize that these are usually small houses (<400 sq ft). A 3000 sq ft house might indeed take years. But, hey, how long do you spend paying off your mortgage on a regular house?

[iloveadobe]

I like the bale cob idea, though I wonder about the wet cob against the bales in humid climates.

[idasputem]

nice work

[Dentaholic]

interesting.

[VOCIFERLOL]

great vid 5/5

[jayne56011]

Nice video, thanks for showing us. In Britain there are thousands of these homes. I guess when the walls are smoothed out it's more polished looking, and I don't think it's bug infested.

[baubosophia]

Yes, normally a lime plaster is put over the cob. The finish can be whatever you want. But many are smooth as polished rock.

[txredneckbud]

This could not be a cost saving method. No way, unless you had FREE labor. Labor cost alone would kill the budget. What specs are there for supporting a roof? How do you run electrical? Looks like an insect haven to me.

Might be fun for kids in the back yard but I cerntainly would want to live in one nor build it.

Just my opinion of coures. There are hundreds of other efficient and green methods to build. I will put this in file 13.

[iloveadobe]

@txredneckbud

Fair enough. It's true that it is labor intensive, though if you have time and no money you could still build a shelter. I'm a fan of using cob where appropriate. Earthen plasters on bales, solar thermal collection and anywhere you would like to sculpt.

Specs for roof support would be similar to adobe. Electrical is run through the walls, though code requires UF cable in bales and cob, unless you have raceways or metal shielding.

[bodkin77]

"Earthen plasters on bales, solar thermal collection and anywhere you would like to sculpt." What do you mean?

[iloveadobe]

I mean that cob may not suit every climate. So where it's cold I prefer straw bale. Then plaster the bales with earthen plaster and cob infill. Cob retains solar energy, so placing cob where it will soak up heat is helpful. The thermal battery or mass absorbs heat and cool and releases it back to it's environment seeking equilibrium.

[desertblbuesman]

I am going to build a small cottage for myslelf with this method, with a few time saving methods I am going to try out. As far as energy, when you add up the embedded energy of traditional building and the time and waste and energy of eventual "decommissioning" cob, adobe or strawbale is the only way to go, unless your talking about the standard over sized behemoth called a house that has become the norm here in the US anyhow. Great vid.

[baubosophia]

I doubt that any high thermal mass green building is very cost effective if you are paying a contractor $25/hour. Also keep in mind that most cob buildings are small, hidden in the woods and unpermitted. Otherwise, the engineering costs and requirements could be prohibitive some places. Plus you would probably be forced to use incompatible building materials like a cement foundation. That's a no no. Wicks water.

[Mojopokey]

That would take freaken FOREVER to build a house!

[baubosophia]

No, not at all. No one should start with a project as large as a house. An oven or some sort of outbuilding would be a good first project.

[superlarrio]

great vid!!! so whats the ratio of the four ingrediants to each other in %ages? many thanks xxxxxx

[iloveadobe]

A good place to start is 70 % sand, 30% clay rich soil and straw to taste. Local earth may vary, so make test batches and observe.

[yaroowtjuh]

lol actualy was looking for children of bodom

[iloveadobe]

Poking holes gives the cob more of a key for the next layer, if there is going to be another.

It also helps drying times in cold or wet climates.

Spine and ribs. Holes. Keeping the top of the cob from drying too much. That's a good technique.

[BushcraftJon]

thats a great video, thanks! when you apply the cob to the structure why do you make those wholes in it? is that so it all binds together better?

[AussieFoodShop]

cement mixer turns it doesn't mix it. doesn't work as well as it does with cement.

[iloveadobe]

Ya. In fact, that's how I usually do it.

You can make cob with out any machinery at all. though...

[usmartine]

What about sticking the same mixture in a cement maker?

[usmartine]

Sorry that was cement mixer.

[baubosophia]

You can't use a cement mixer for cob because cob is WAY to thick and heavy. You can use a paddle (mortar)mixer for the earth plaster that you put on as a top coat. If you want to mechanize cob mixing you can use a small tractor or a roto-tiller. Consider bale-cob to get the house up faster.

[iloveadobe]

What if you mix all your mineral ( sand / clay ) ingredients wet, then let it sit around in the sun for a few hours... come back later and stomp in some straw. Seems to work for me. But it's true... you can't get 'ready made mass building' cob out of the cement mixer.

[baubosophia]

No, a cement mixer wouldn't work. You could use a paddle mixer, I think, but I've never heard of anybody doing it. It's faster than you think by hand (foot?) using the tarp technique.