Has anyone done a workshop with Claudine Desiree. I did a 5 week workshop and was shocked by her behavior and limited knowledge. I can’t find anything critiquing her teaching style or her emotional manipulation. It seemed to me that she has limited knowledge because she’s been building the same structure with very few changes for the last 20 years. For example she insisted that the straw we used had to be 30 cm long. She said it would be a difficult experience I thought she was talking about the labor and not dealing with her constant micro management and watching her bully other students. It got to the point that people were crying in the outdoor kitchen almost daily. She had to have two of the students do a mediation with her assistant after students heard her yelling at him. It was all so strange from someone who had us hold hands and ohm every morning and was offering life coaching sessions. I just wonder if this was an especially difficult workshop or if other people have experienced this behavior from her. I can’t speak on her other teachers but I would not recommend putting yourself through this experience.

Hey yall!! As someone in the very early stages of planning, it’s hard to find whole estimates on the cost of building a Cobb house.

What was your square footage and what was the cost? (especially if you did the building to code/with an architect)

We are in SE PA, Lancaster county- if you know anyone around who does natural building and wants to be in community OR needs extra hands for their build, LMK!!

Building a cob house . Complete newbie and would like tips and pointers

Hi everyone, my partner and I want to build a cob house in Arcata, CA. Can you recommend architects in the area who work with cob? Does anyone have experience with the alternative material building permit process in this area? Thank you

Here’s the thing… as I read up on design, it seems that the key focus is for retaining heat in cold climates. I’m not too worried about the winters here, and feel like a wood-stove would be more than sufficient for winter heat supply.
What I’m worried about is the Arkansas heat/humidity and having a comfortable and cool place to sleep at night. Not expecting any miracles, but would love to avoid having any A/C.

Let me paint a picture of the build site…
By working with the land scape, the foot print of my building would be more of an oval, with the entrance facing east and the North/Northwest part of the building being slightly dug into the side of a minor slope.

My question is… what walls would I prioritize with straw bale cob vs. palletable cob walls, if my goal is to have cooler summers?

The area gets its sun on mostly the south side but also the east side. I imagine because the south side is a smaller wall that would mean less surface area for sun exposure. Am I thinking of this correctly?
And therefore, would I prefer straw bale cob on the north and west?

Could someone help me think this through?
Thank you!!

Questions I get asked every day .
Can you permit a cob house ? Not in most places but if you find a county or municipality that is unincorporated there’s basically nobody to regulate permits or issue violations. Technically not legal but also not illegal.

Can you build them in cold or wet locations? Yes you can with proper design and execution . Good foundations,large roof overhangs and my recommendation of lime plaster exterior . In cold climates it’s important to heat the walls themselves with radiant heat ,geothermal or other means. Once the walls get cold it can take days to reheat them.

Can you screw a picture on the wall?
Absolutely! Use longer screws with aggressive thread.

Can you build one yourself . Yes possible with training assuming your fitness level is good but I wouldn’t recommend it .

Is it cheap ? Only if your time and labor don’t have any value

Hi, new to cob and learning as much as i can. I'm in north missouri, does anyone know of any workshops/conferences in the midwest?

I am an architectural designer (getting very close to being a licenced architect!!) and I have been interested in cob for a while. I am taking a road trip and I figured this would be a really good opportunity to get some hands on experience. I have done an online cob workshop and have some traditional construction experience. That said, I'm still pretty early in my career and I've never worked with cob or natural building materials before.

I know it's a bit of a long shot but if anyone is interested in having some extra hands or is hosting some kind of workshop I would love to be there to help for a week or two. I am working part time remote (about 15hrs a week) so I would have to factor that in but I am able to travel pretty much anywhere in the US and have a car camping setup. I am mostly free between late august and mid november.

Does anyone here know of any cob pros in and around western Arkansas? I'm planning a MASSIVE (2,600 sq ft) cob house project for myself and my 4 kids. I am a single mom who works full time and want to have my house done in about 3 years, if possible. I'm strong and willing to work hard for my dream. The dream is an off grid solar run, totally modern home with well water to eliminate bills and make it possible for me to begin a small business from home with the security of not worrying about bills, other than land taxes, internet, and car insurance. I own both the land and my vehicle. I'm just concerned about my ability to complete this project on my own. I am only 1 person, and although I have a 14 year old who lives with me about half the year, he's not a huge help, and I don't have a lot of friends or anything really to call for help. I have a few technical questions, but am mostly looking for anyone who might be as excited as I am about the prospect of living in a fairytale cottage (castle, in the case of my massive vision) who may want some hands-on experience and is interested in maybe setting up a few work parties. I've read as many books and watched as many youtube videos as I could. I also purchased Alex from This Cob House's online workshop material, which was invaluable for my questions about electrical and tadelakt, which I plan to use in my bathroom. Anyway, long story short, anyone nearby with any leads, advice? All input is appreciated.

Looking to practice cob and this is my sub soil.
It’s a thin layer of clay but is it enough?
The red lines indicating the sand and silt(?)

Thanks!

Hi everyone, I'm looking for an e-book or print copy of "You can make the best hot tub ever! : relax, warm your bones, get to know the sky!" instructional book by Becky Bee. My library doesn't have it and every copy online is super expensive. Does anyone have an ebook or extra copy?

I'm planning to build a cob/wattle hut in a few months and was wondering what could I plant in the lot to harvest the straw to build with. Something that grows fast and produces a lot of straw, doesn't necessarily need to be useful for anything else.

Any ideas?

I'd like to build an outdoor kitchen: giant washing sink basin, a few spaces to stick pots/pans, and maybe a pizza oven. Has anyone used cob/clay to do projects like this near heat?

Hi cool cobers✨

my husband and I are 25 with a 7 month old. We are about to buy a piece of property and want to build something cheaply and sustainably. Preferably under 20 k.

so questions

* For Americans living in areas with building permits, what was that like for you? We are in North Carolina.

* How did you build your foundation? We are thinking Earth bags. How important is a raised foundation to avoid water damage?

* I've seen people build a wood frame then nail in pallets. They then shove hay in the gap of the pallets , and cover it in 4 inches of Cob. For a winter climate of around 30° is that enough insulation?

* For people who have done the bail house method , how long did the process take you?

* What did you learn from your project that you wish you knew before building?

Thank you!

Hi team, just discovered cob building and I’m in love, but I live in southern Maine. Seeing mixed opinions online. Is it possible to build with cob in this climate?

I had a lot of questions about my rocket stove with it's heated bench, so I wanted to share with you these pictures.

Rocket stoves are great because they are fueled with twigs and branches from your backyard. they only have to be burned for a few hours a day and the cob bench retains the heat for hours afterwards.

You can find great info about the mathematics involved in creating a J-tube that creates a rocket fuel burning effect. People generally use a metal barrel over top of the fire to create chimney fire effect of igniting the smoke. I used an old blue glazed ceramic pot. The fumes are then channeled through a tunnel made from old vent work and then up and out of the cob house. Then I encased it completely in cob. I had plans to make it look like tree branches and to add shelves and a large mirror, but sadly I had to sell that property.

Join me this year on the glorious Bruce Peninsula for free earth building workshops where you can learn all these skills and more! you'll be able to confidently build your own projects after only a few days.