New Pallet, Cob Hut on Maui

[@MissDIDbrain]

👏👏👏 I've been watching you're videos for awhile now and we're going to try our hands at building some cobin structures here in the next couple of months. We're so excited! Thank you for all of your videos!

[@cobalot9]

Great! Best of luck with that! Hope my videos are helpful to you.

[@offgridgemstonesandmineral6562]

You are so easy to listen to and your instructions very clear thankyou my daughter is building her own cob house, from your inspiring videos

[@cobalot9]

So great to hear! I'd love to see photos!

[@VINTERIUM..EXPLORIUM.1]

Nice Work & Video 👍

[@Justus11167]

One day when I have money for the land, I would like to build a permaculture based retreat for homeless coming out of rehab to go to. To help them spiritually, mentally and physically relax and rehab further before sending them back out into the world. One day. I saw one of your videos a few years ago and it helped inspire this idea. Positive intentions will become a reality one day. Thanks for sharing your time and knowledge❤

[@cobalot9]

That's awesome! I hope you are able to do that! are you referring to the videos of the Cob on Wood project we built in Oakland for the homeless?

[@itsjustandreaok]

In the spirit of using the resources at hand- What do you think of using paloverde tree trimmings to stuff into the pallets? I’m curious about whether it would be more like insulation or more like thermal mass? I live in the Sonoran desert (mostly interested in passive cooling obviously) and always have an abundance of these prickly, weak wood prunings. Thank you for all the great content!

[@cobalot9]

Yes, that would be fine to insulate from the cold,.not so much from the heat.

[@itsjustandreaok]

@@cobalot9 thank you for the reply! So is earth and stone the best for insulating from heat?

[@ajshanty1]

I love your cob houses they are very inspiring.....and you are a good clear teacher...Iam going to do some cob building!!!! I have books on cob building and I find your videos very motivating to get out there and give it a go...greetings from Australia😊😊

[@voidisyinyangvoidisyinyang885]

looks wonderful

[@17joy32]

Brilliant Cobin..💛💛

[@CraftopiaDigitalDesigns]

This is a great technique using pallets into the build. How did you do the roof? Any video on the process?

[@cobalot9]

I did the roof with 2x4 rafters, then plywood then a painted tarp . I don't have good video of that unfortunately

[@shawno3681]

Can you fill the wood pallets with straw if you wanted more insulation? Regarding the pallets, aren't most treated with chemicals? Do they off gas? Since using pallets, could you build a place in more of a rectangular shape in stead of round? And maybe with a shed type roof?

[@cobalot9]

yes you can fill in the pallets with straw if you are in a cold climate. I'm building here on Maui where it's warm at night so if I insulated the pallets with straw the walls.would absorb that heat and radiate it in at night the pallets are heat treated and they don't off gas at all

[@cobalot9]

Yes, It is way easier to build rectangular with a sided roof, for sure, I just prefer to build round.

[@frankforcinelli4645]

A roof with a painted tarp ? Can you please explain what u you ou mean by painted tarp

[@cobalot9]

Sure, It's 1/2 plywood, then a thick tarp over that with an elastomeric type tan paint over that

[@frankforcinelli4645]

@@cobalot9 thanks for reply …can you tell how the tarp is fastened to the plywood?

[@cobalot9]

@@frankforcinelli4645 Sure, Its fastened underneath the eves of the overhang, and just pulled really tight.

[@SashaLaPorte]

I am unable to access your website. I keep getting an error message. My husband and I are interested in building a cob village for our family and close friends. I wanted to see what services you offer.

[@cobalot9]

It works now, thanks for letting me know...

[@eucadventures7247]

Any idea how this would do for a living space in a colder climate? I've seen it said the straw had an r value of 1-2.5 per inch of straw so thats R3.5-8.5 for pallet walls but I would think the double layer of cob adds quite the thermal barrier

[@earthmonkeySteve]

I would pack the cavity of the pallets with sheep fleeces as they are cheap to come by, they are a great natural insulator. I would also look to create a thermal insulation on the ground before laying the floor.🐵👍

[@cobalot9]

you would still need some heat source for a cold climate. if it's warm during the day the walls will absorb that heat and radiate it in at night.

[@nataliegist2014]

i started mixing shredded card board and paper in my cob and found that it is much more water resistant.

[@itsjustandreaok]

That’s super interesting. Do you use a shredder or do you mean just hand shredded? Love to hear more if you’re inclined.

[@nataliegist2014]

@@itsjustandreaokDato blade on my table saw.

[@nickjump3347]

I'm curious why you built it directly on the ground and didn't use a foundation. It's pretty wet in Maui no?

[@cobalot9]

Right, Hi Nick. I have built over 20 of these cobins now the same way without any issues....So, The way I build them is that I set my uprights in Concrete 2 feet deep in the ground, so that would be my foundation. In between the uprights, I put down some base rock that is tamped down and then a 2 X6 board over that, and then put my pallet on top of that. I then put stones over the pallets so the cob stops about 8 inches from the ground. I also have a nice roof overhang which helps to keep water away from the structure. One of the benefits of building with the pallets, is that you don't need a rubble trench foundation as you would with a solid cob structure, because all the weight of the roof is resting on top of the uprights, and the pallets are basically infill which are not load bearing.

[@nickjump3347]

@@cobalot9 thanks for the clarification. My other question is about sourcing pallets that have not been treated. I'm curious if there's an easy way to distinct between treated pallets and plain ones? Thanks