Cob Construction
Josh's interest in straw bale houses made me think about something that I had read about a long time ago: cob construction.
Cob is an ancient, but low cost and durable construction technique that uses natural materials (clay, sand, and straw). If we went back to such basics, it could help cure homelessness and keep people off the debt/finance treadmill. There's a lot more information and examples of cob construction than there was a few years ago. Try it out in small scale: build a doghouse first.
Here's a link to a video of a cob cottage in Oregon.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLf8J7k69j0
Here's a link to an organization dedicated to promoting cob construction:
Tags: construction
Replies to This Discussion
-
Permalink Reply by Cara on
-
This is a cool idea! There's a few places I know of in Arkansas which have cob houses - they are mostly retreat centers in the Ozarks.
http://www.riverspirit.com/lodging.html
http://www.wattlehollow.com/cobstory.htm
-
Permalink Reply by Munky on -
The economy is very bad. It amazes me to think of the people that I know who could be classified as near-homeless due to the consequences of the economic downturn. Cob construction is so cheap that it would provide an opportunity for even very poor people to have affordable shelter, if only they had land to put it on.
-
Permalink Reply by Munky on
-
I loved your links. I was pleased to see that cob construction is being done here in Arkansas. It was also interesting to look at the pictures of construction at Wattle Hollow. Most of the workers were women! That is not what I would have expected of working with heavy, messy mud.
It seems to me that what is needed most for cob construction is the application of modern construction materials and techniques. For example, the cob could be mixed in an old cement truck, poured into formed walls, and vibrate it in place to insure that the forms are evenly and thoroughly filled. The construction time and labor could be reduced substantially.
Cara said:This is a cool idea! There's a few places I know of in Arkansas which have cob houses - they are mostly retreat centers in the Ozarks.
http://www.riverspirit.com/lodging.html
http://www.wattlehollow.com/cobstory.htm
-
Permalink Reply by Linda Ives on
-
Seems Habitat for Humanity could do more builds more affordably with this technique or even Mission Builders etc. etc.
Advertise! 501.303.4010
Latest Activity
Please Go To www.1037thebuzz.com and vote or Razorback Red in the Hot Tunes Challenge on Tues and Wed Sept 7,8. You can also call in The Show With No Name a...
You guys that have no interest in the Sheriff's race, why are you stiring the pot?
Why are you calling the canidate a liar?
Why don't you just let things be?
In other words why don't you just be nice and let the Canidates take care of their problem…
Interesting blog. Thanks for posting the link.
I could not have said it better myself-well put!
Get a clue!
H
Yeah, blame that on intelligence on my part. I honestly have little interest in this race. I just enjoy pointing out stupid posts and hypocrisy. For instance....a person who cries about other people not identifying themselves when the crying indi…
To Shelli: Thanks for the recap. You always know what to say and keep people informed. It was great to hear Jim Landers do his last ball game. He will be missed by all who have been listening to him for years.
To Amy Burnett: As Shelli said, I saw…
Again, you notice that Spanky, DaMann, and Chris are not giving their full names and addresses.
Reply by OneSexyRedbone on September 3, 2010 at 9:06am
The thing about this awful situation, is that he IS NOT the only one down there doing it and Bruce Pennington very well knows that. Its a shame we cant a sheriff back down there like Judy Pridge…
It depends upon your location.
Some folks don't have high speed internet and are still on dial-up.
Jason, here are some previous posts that might be useful:
http://www.mysaline.com/forum/topics/should-i-switch-to-att-uverse?commentId=873760%3AComm…
Thanks, but the credit should go to Linda Ives. She posted her electric bill under Greg White’s topic on Benton Utilities. It made me think of how useful the information could be, if gathered in a comparable format. I was hoping to get enough data t…
It is being run by Malvern National Bank...They took it over when the previous owner lost it and could not pay the bills.
Does any know what are all the options for high speed internet in Benton? I have AT&T DSL but am thinking about making a switch and what to see what is out there in terms of prices and sevice.
Munky:
I want to "Thank YOU" for this post.
Jerri,
Have you ever considered that the kids might get on here from time to time and read this stuff. If you want to be negative thats fine by me just try and keep it directed toward Prothro and the whole head coaching debacle that took place.
P.S…
Wendy,
Thanks. It took about a week to get to this stage. I still have to sew buttons on the back and add a ribbon belt. I crochet at night instead of watching tv after work. I'm working on a beautiful little dress now for the daughter of my son's g…
Wow, it's gorgeous, but how do you have time and patience to do this? How long did it take?
It was open Saturday night.
Just an observation, but I would think it's best not for an anonymous poster such as yourself to call on others to do what you will not do. But maybe that's just me.
Make a donation and keep MySaline free and happy!
Birthdays
Birthdays Tomorrow
LEGAL: Opinions, view points, ramblings, ultimatums, tirades, soliloquies, and the like expressed on MySaline.com are not necessarily the opinion (et al) of the owner/ administrator of MySaline.com. Members are responsible for their own content. ArkansiteDotCom on 12seconds.tvTop Content o'the Week!
© 2010 Created by Shelli Russell.
Powered by 
.
