MySaline.com

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:

http://www.cobprojects.info/

 

 

Tags: construction

Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

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

Reply to This

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.

Reply to This

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

Reply to This

Seems Habitat for Humanity could do more builds more affordably with this technique or even Mission Builders etc. etc.

Reply to This

Reply to This

RSS

Advertise! 501.303.4010

saline county
Joy Ballard for County Collector

Latest Activity

Kime added a video
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...
17 minutes ago
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…
55 minutes ago
Interesting blog. Thanks for posting the link.
59 minutes ago
I could not have said it better myself-well put!
1 hour ago
Get a clue!
1 hour ago
Spanky and ALLEN F. QUAY are now friends
1 hour ago
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…
1 hour ago
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…
2 hours ago
Again, you notice that Spanky, DaMann, and Chris are not giving their full names and addresses.
2 hours ago
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…
2 hours ago
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
3 hours ago
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…
3 hours ago
It is being run by Malvern National Bank...They took it over when the previous owner lost it and could not pay the bills.
4 hours ago
Jason Tolbert added a discussion
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.
4 hours ago
Munky: I want to "Thank YOU" for this post.
5 hours ago
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…
6 hours ago
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…
6 hours ago
Wow, it's gorgeous, but how do you have time and patience to do this? How long did it take?
7 hours ago
It was open Saturday night.
8 hours ago
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.
8 hours ago
Make a donation and keep MySaline free and happy!

Follow Arkansite on Twitter

Birthdays

Apture 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.tv

© 2010   Created by Shelli Russell.   Powered by .

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service

Sign in to chat!