Hand-Sculpted House: A Practical and Philosophical Guide to Building a Cob Cottage

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Overview


Are you ready for the Cob Cottage? This is a building method so old and so simple that it has been all but forgotten in the rush to synthetics. A cob cottage,cobb, however, might be the ultimate expression of ecological design, a structure so attuned to its surroundings that its creators refer to it as "an ecstatic house."
The authors build a house the way others create a natural garden. They use the oldest, most available materials imaginable--earth, clay, sand, straw, and water--and blend them to redefine the future (and past) of building. Cob (the word comes from an Old English root, meaning "lump") is a mixture of non-toxic, recyclable, and often ...
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More About This Book

Overview


Are you ready for the Cob Cottage? This is a building method so old and so simple that it has been all but forgotten in the rush to synthetics. A cob cottage,cobb, however, might be the ultimate expression of ecological design, a structure so attuned to its surroundings that its creators refer to it as "an ecstatic house."
The authors build a house the way others create a natural garden. They use the oldest, most available materials imaginable--earth, clay, sand, straw, and water--and blend them to redefine the future (and past) of building. Cob (the word comes from an Old English root, meaning "lump") is a mixture of non-toxic, recyclable, and often free materials. Building with cob requires no forms, no cement, and no machinery of any kind. Builders actually sculpt their structures by hand.
Building with earth is nothing new to America; the oldest structures on the continent were built with adobe bricks. Adobe, however, has been geographically limited to the Southwest. The limits of cob are defined only by the builder's imagination.
Cob offers answers regarding our role in Nature, family and society, about why we feel the ways that we do, about what's missing in our lives. Cob comes as a revelation, a key to a saner world.
Cob has been a traditional building process for millennia in Europe, even in rainy and windy climates like the British Isles, where many cob buildings still serve as family homes after hundreds of years. The technique is newly arrived to the Americas, and, as with so many social trends, the early adopters are in the Pacific Northwest.
Cob houses (or cottages, since they are always efficiently small by American construction standards) are not only compatible with their surroundings, they ARE their surroundings, literally rising up from the earth. They are full of light, energy-efficient, and cozy, with curved walls and built-in, whimsical touches. They are delightful. They are ecstatic.

Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9781890132347
  • Publisher: Chelsea Green Publishing
  • Publication date: 6/1/2002
  • Pages: 384
  • Sales rank: 151,931
  • Series: Real Goods Solar Living Series
  • Product dimensions: 7.96 (w) x 9.92 (h) x 0.93 (d)

Meet the Author


Ianto Evans is an applied ecologist, landscape architect, inventor, and teacher with building experience on six continents. Cob is traditional in his homeland, Wales. In addition to teaching ecological building, Ianto has consulted with USAID, the World Bank, the Peace Corps, and several national governments.

Michael G. Smith teaches practical workshops and consults on cob construction, natural building, and permaculture. He is the author of The Cobber's Companion: How to Build Your Own Earthen Home and co-editor of The Art of Natural Building: Design, Construction, Resources.

Linda Smiley teaches workshops on cob, sculpting sacred spaces, intuitive design, and natural plasters and finishes. With a background as a recreational therapist, she specializes in helping people use natural building as a tool for personal transformation and healing.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Introduction
Pt. I Philosophy, Background, and Design: What You Need to Consider Before You Start to Build 1
Ch. 1 Natural Building 7
Ch. 2 Oregon Cob 24
Ch. 3 Creative Economics 40
Ch. 4 Tilt and Spin 54
Ch. 5 The Site You Build On 60
Ch. 6 Designing with Cob 76
Ch. 7 Redefining "House" 93
Pt. II Building the Cob Cottage 113
Ch. 8 Materials and Tools 119
Ch. 9 Site Respect and Preparation 141
Ch. 10 Drainage and Foundations 155
Ch. 11 Making the Best Cob 166
Ch. 12 Building Cob Walls 180
Ch. 13 Sculpting with Cob 197
Ch. 14 Windows and Doors 212
Ch. 15 Roofs for Cob 227
Ch. 16 Natural Floors 246
Ch. 17 Plasters and Finishes 257
Onword: Bridging the Inner and Outer Worlds 275
Appendices 295
App. 1 Common Errors in Cob Construction 295
App. 2 Codes and Permits 298
App. 3 Cob and Water 304
App. 4 Cob and Earthquakes 311
App. 5 Research Needed 315
App. 6 Wildlife in the Home 319
App. 7 Teaching and Learning 323
Glossary 330
Resources on Cob and Natural Building 334
Recommended Books 337
Index 341

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