Making Cob

Making cob, a mixture of clay rich earth, sand, straw and water. http://ilovecob.com/archive/making-cob-video

Category:

Howto & Style

Tags:

• Cob
• Natural
• Building
• Adobe

[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...

[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.

[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.

[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.

[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.

[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

[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