Build A Low-Cost Cob Home and Save Money | Build Affordably with Cob

🔴 Get my 16 hour premium video course on Cob Building and Construction - Join the online 'Cob Building Academy': www.thiscobhou...
AND
🔴 Sign up for my FREE email newsletter and receive my 112-page ebook, "Build A Cob House: A Step-By-Step Guide"! Join at www.thiscobhous...
🔴 Join an upcoming hands-on cob workshop: www.thiscobhous...
#ThisCobHouse #strawbale #cobhouse
#naturalbuilding #naturalhomes #sustainableliving #homesteading #offgridliving #buildingbiology #homesteadlife #selfsufficiency #cobhouses #doityourself #diy #rammedearthwall #cobbuildingcodes #rammedearthhouse #tinyhousesgallery #naturalplaster #naturalfinish #limeplaster #affordablehousing

[@joschmoyo4532]

My advice is very simple because simplicity reduces cost exponentially. Rubble trench foundation deep enough to isolate the ground inside by at least two feet. Back fill it with rock, broken brick, concrete whatever. This is the critical first step because your floor then becomes thermal mass too. Drain your rubble trench in to a pond so you have a source of collected rain water to mix the cob for free. Don't skimp on the straw. It massively increases the compression strength of the Cob and you will be amazed how well the cob holds screws when you do. The straw or similar fibre is vital to the success of true cob. It leaches cellulose in to the aggregate as well as providing mechanical strength. It wicks away excess moisture quickly. It improves insulation by creating a matrix of micro voids. Cob will not breathe and self regulate efficiently and properly without plenty of straw. It is absolutely the magic ingredient that makes cob so much better than rammed earth or mud brick. Window's? Glass bricks and sheets of glass buried straight in the cob if your on a tight budget. Use the door to ventilate. It's all you will need. Nix the concrete. You don't need it and you will kill the cob if you do. A low pitch pole rafter roof covered in corrugated iron is the easiest cheapest roof. Plenty of overhang on the eaves to keep the rain off. Build a wood stove out of cob directly in to the wall. Keep it small so you can move in quick and extend later. 25 to 30 square meters is enough. Insulate the roof with dirt if you can't afford batts. Make the dirt from composted mulch so it's not to heavy. Wood chip works great. Scrounge your doors and Window's or make your own. Modern slabs don't isolate the ground from moisture, they trap it. That's why they suck from rising damp, mildew and are cold in winter. The deep draining rubble trench is the key to success. It's cheap and easy. Break a sweat and you can hand dig it in a few weeks and it supplies your clay at the same time. This is the time honoured and proved way and the best too.

[@ocoro174]

thanks and saved 😘 bonus points for hand made shingle roof 😹

[@joschmoyo4532]

@@ocoro174 Shingle roof is great. Not the longest lasting but you can always upgrade later. Primitive construction is not a negative. If you do it right it's vastly superior to modern.

[@Snappypantsdance]

Thanks for your comment. Much appreciated! Widow with teenagers I have to take care of. I think this is how many will survive. Thanks for your simple approach in your comment.

[@BAAL1010]

Thanks for the info 👍

[@Mrssandypeterson]

Thank you!!

[@josephshaff5194]

"Roof overhangs (eaves) should extend out two to three feet from the walls for earth wall buildings." Good to hear because with all the rain in WA we need them. Ya know they they don't hardly have any awnings I can't figure why it rains here 9 mo.

[@thiscobhouse]

Yeah, it's strange that most new homes these days have almost no roof eaves.

[@alis49281]

In Europe for very windy areas, the house looks like it is almost all roof. There are no walls for the upper floor and the wall goes down all the way to the ground floor. The roof is reed, a very good insulation.

[@therehastobesomethingmoore]

we live in Guatemala's 2nd largest city and see super old adobe houses everywhere, where thin outer layers of I guess cement is peeling off. I have loved the idea for years of buying land and making a house from cob or adobe. But cement cinder block here is so cheap I cant figure out which is cheaper. Seems like 99% of new construction is cinder block so I am guessing cinder block is cheaper.....

[@samgrossman2962]

Hey, are you looking for workers this winter?

[@jad_suza79]

I live in India Indians in rural India build their house around a strong wooden structures with thin walls made with fallen dried twigs/branches and covered with a mixture of mud, straw and dung. The problems we face is a humidity with long monsoons So the walls are replaced almost every year while the wooden structure is usually teak so which last for 10-15 years. My question is how does cob construction stand against humid weather, mould, fungal growth etc?

[@thiscobhouse]

Interesting. It could be a design issue. We have high humidity and lots of rainfall here too in the Southeast USA, and I have no issues with this. Cob actually does very well in wet, humid climates if the design is right. Mainly a good foundation and roof, and plaster if you can do that on the walls too.

[@entheo8824]

Just moved into a Cob house and curious if there's any way to drill a hole into the wall? I am wanting to change up the clawfoot tub shower curtain mounts on the walls. I imagine not, but curious if there's a work around with using putty or something else

[@Snappypantsdance]

Someone else here said you can. I would think maybe with mollies?

[@YaBoiTrickyRicky]

Sure you can. You may need to use a small hammer drill bit to drill inside to where you want to take it (and don't forget to do your measurements, inside and outside your house beforehand!) rotary hammer hole saw bits are expensive but you can just rent those from a home improvement store to make your big holes.

[@alis49281]

Actually it is easier than with other walls. 1. Spray to moisturize before working and reduce dust 2. Then you can use wood tools or just dig. To hang stuff on clay walls, you need long screws. They need to be for soft wood and they will stay better in place with a rough surface. Therefore you can use those black phospated screws or rust regular screws with acid (yeah, lol). Don't use anything on the screw, especially no dowels. The expanding force causes damage an the surface of dowels is too slippery. Even a rusty nail will be better. Oh, I forgot: don't drill before placing the screw - or use a very slim drill, those for metal. Take that appropriate screw and do it like you would in wood. For very heavy wall objects, screw a wood plank on the wall that goes all the way to the floor. This will reduce most of the force on the screws. Very heavy objects use a plank the is screwed into both (wood) floor and ceiling.

[@josephshaff5194]

👍

[@ericaennis3088]

How long could you get a roof made out of 100% foraged materials to last?

[@YaBoiTrickyRicky]

Thatched roofs are 100% viable as long as you are picking the right type of foliage and you're maintaining it right. You can technically also make your roof out of grass too, but that is an art I am also NOT familiar with. You can make your roof out of foraged metal, but get up there and pay close attention to it every few months, because if it isn't stainless steel, it can absolutely rust away on you.

[@ericaennis3088]

@@YaBoiTrickyRicky thank youuuu🙂

[@YaBoiTrickyRicky]

@@ericaennis3088While it is not technically a foraged material, I have also heard papier mache is another material that can be used to waterproof a roof.

[@ColonelKlink100]

Do you know of any counties without building codes? I can't find any.

[@andrewwallace5160]

Check out northern Maine, southwest Texas.

[@ColonelKlink100]

@@andrewwallace5160 Thank you. I will.

[@Poppy_love59]

Look into the Ozark mountains area, southern Missouri, north west Arkansas and eastern Oklahoma. They're pretty much free of national building codes. Be aware that local communities might have building codes. So stay outside of towns or cities and you'll be fine.

[@ColonelKlink100]

@@Poppy_love59 Thank you, I will. I've never been there but that seems like such a beautiful part of the country - especially the Ozark Mountains area.

[@royking7298]

A talking head video. Not my cup of tea.

[@thiscobhouse]

Thanks for sharing!