The Cob Builders Handbook

You Can Hand-Sculpt Your Own Home

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Front Cover - Back Cover

DESIGNING YOUR HOME SWEET HOME!
     Things to do to get ready
     Think Small
     Think Rounded
     Make the Most of the Climate
          Design with passive solar access in mind
     Other things to think about when designing
          One Story or More?
          Noise
          Plan for Future Additions Now
          Designing the Entrance
          Buttresses
          Permits

CHOOSING YOUR SITE
          Here's a list of some things to consider when looking for land:
      Finding your home site
          Choosing the house site includes:
          Put the house where it belongs
          Pick a site that is naturally comfortable
          Passive solar planning
          Harvesting your own wood
          Wind
          Noise
          Boundaries
     Getting the site ready to build!

GATHERING MATERIALS

DRAINAGE
     Test Holes
     Making Your Drainage
          Creating drainage on a flat site
          Berms
          Ditch drains

THE FOUNDATION
     Making the foundation
     Planning the foundation (Footing or Plinth)
          Designing the door area
          Setting up the door frame
          Tamping tips
          How deep do I make the foundation?
          How wide do I make the foundation?
          How high do I make the foundation?
          Moisture barrier between the foundation and the cob?
          Getting plumbing and electric wire into the house
     Stone Foundations
          Choosing stones
          Making a stone foundation
     To Mortar or not to Mortar?
     Some Other Foundation Options
          Poured concrete
          Concrete blocks mortared together
          Railroad ties and gravel
          Earth-filled tires
          Agricultural bags filled with earth and tamped
          Foundation and drainage summary

FLOORS
          General Info to Consider
          Make the floor higher than the ground outside
     Making the floor
          Tamping the ground
          Finding level for the floor
          Base (or layers of base materials) under the floor
          Floor base options
     Cob floor surface
          Floor surface recipe
          Putting down a cob floor
          Drying your earth floor
          Sealing an earth floor
          Caring for a cob floor
          Repairing a cob floor
     Some other floor surface options

COB GLORIOUS COB!
     Making Test Bricks
     More details about cob ingredients
          Sand
          Clay
          Straw
          Tools
     Here's how to make cob
     Putting the cob on the wall
          Cobbing by foot
          Cobbing by hand
          Tapering your walls and how wide to make the top of the foundation
          Putting the cob to bed at night
          Control the wall drying
          Sculpting cob shelves and furniture
          Burying in shelves, counters, and loft floors
          Scaffolds
          Electric wiring
     Other things to think about
          Termites and silverfish
          Planning for future additions
          Interior walls
     Tips for happy cobbers
     The cob builders checklist

WINDOWS AND DOORS
     Arches
     Lintels
          Putting the windows and doors in the wall
     Things to consider before putting in the windows and doors
          Passive solar design - getting the most out of your windows
          Ventilation
          Views
          Noise
          Magic windows
          Some glass safety tips
          Getting rid of unwanted windows
          Fun window ideas
          Replacing broken glass

ROOFS
     Components of a roof system
          Beams
          Rafters
          Nogs or blocks
          Bracing
          Vertical Posts
          Roof sheathing
          Gutters
     Some common roofs
          Domes and Vaults
          Cone shaped roof
          Shed roof
          Gable roof
          Gambrel roof
          Hipped or Pyramid
          Organic shaped roof
     Roof design and planning
          Building the roof before the walls
          Putting the roof on as you build the top of the wall
     Roof surfacing
          Some roof surface options
     Insulation
     Ceiling
          Possible ceiling materials

PLASTER (RENDER)
     Purposes of plaster
     Mixing plaster (render)
     Basic earth plaster
          Plaster additions
          Applying the plaster or render
     Other Plasters
     Alis and Paint
          Some ideas on adding color

FINISHING TOUCHES

BACKWORD

BOOKS TO READ

The author hopes the information in this book will be shared with everyone. Therefore parts of this book may be reproduced and shared without the permission of the author, so long as the information is freely given and the source is acknowledged. No parts of this book may be reproduced for profit without the prior written permission of the author. Send any such requests for permission to:

GROUNDWORKS P.O. Box 381, Murphy, OR 97533, U.S.A.

Illustrations by Becky Bee
Book Design by Becky Bee, Alex McMillan, Mitch Spiralstone
Book Layout by Alex McMillan

Ordering Information
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to: GROUNDWORKS P.O. Box 381, Murphy, OR 97533, U.S.A.
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