Introduction to Cob Building
Course Description
Most of us played with mud when we were children. Mud patties, mud balls, mud puddles, they would all make us dirty and provide a lot of fun. As adults you now have an excuse to do that all over again. Perhaps half of the world's population lives in earthen buildings. Building with earth is an affordable, safe, and ecologically sound method of construction. During the one week Introduction to Cob Building course you will learn how to begin building your own earthen home.
Cob is a combination of clay sediment, sand, and straw mixed together with water and hand formed into walls. Blocks are not made and forms are not used providing a much more organic and sculptural dimension to your building. This course will teach you how to prospect and test for appropriate building sediment, how to mix cob, various wall building techniques, the installation of windows into cob walls, methods for attachment of wood (e.g. doors, roofs), and how to sculpt niches, shelves and furniture. We will also have discussion sessions about natural building, the siting and design of buildings, foundations and drainage, plasters and earthen floors, and electric and plumbing for cob buildings.
Course Objectives:
- Students will learn how to prospect for and evaluate sediment for building purposes
- Upon finishing the course students will be confident at mixing cob and various cob wall building techniques
- Students will be able to create cob furniture, shelves, and niches
- Students will be able to install windows, woodwork, and roof attachments to cob walls
Class Project
The project for this course has not been finalized yet. Students should come prepared to work outside in all weather and get dirty.
Suggested Readings:
*Building with Cob by Adam Weismann and Katy Bryce
*The Hand-Sculpted House: A Philosophical and Practical Guide to Building a Cob Cottage by Ianto Evans, et al
*The Art of Natural Building by Joseph Kennedy, Michael Smith, and Catherine Wanek
Ceramic Houses and Earth Architecture: How to Build Your Own by Nader Khalili
Things to Bring
Work gloves
Rubber boots or old sneakers (if you don't want to get your feet dirty)
Duct tape---always comes in handy
Water bottle
Sunscreen
Notebook
Positive attitude
Questions
Optional Things to Bring
Old saw
Tarp
Machete
Draft Class Schedule
Sunday
5 pm Students arrive for orientation and welcome dinner
Monday
am Mixing cob- intro to foot mixing
Intro to basic cob building techniques
pm Discussion: What is Cob?: history and philosophy
Continuation of mixing and building with cob
Trimming walls
Tool cleanup
Tuesday
am Mixing and building with cob; begin adobe brick making
pm Discussion: Intro to Natural Building
Mixing and Building
Trimming walls
Tool cleanup
eve Slide show
Wednesday
am Mixing and building with cob; continue adobe brick making
pm Discussion: Siting and Design of a Cob Building
Mixing and building with cob
Demonstration of corbelling niches, shelves
Trimming walls
Tool cleanup
Thursday
am Mixing and building with cob; integration of adobe bricks
Demonstration of wood attachment techniques
pm Discussion: Roofs
Mixing and building with cob; (possible) application of other earth-fiber techniques such as wattle and daub and light-clay straw
Trimming walls
Tool cleanup
Friday
am Mixing and building with cob, adobe, and other techniques
Trimming walls
pm Discussion: Finishwork: Natural Plasters, earthen floors, plumbing and electricity
Saturday
am Plasters: preparation of the walls, mixing plaster, application
pm Wrap up, final Q and A, Graduation dinner
*Please note: Schedule subject to change depending on specifics of the project and interests of the students. |
