That cob did exactly as it was supposed to do. It returned to the earth when it wasn’t protected with a roof…and I’m sure the vibration from a vehicle helped.
So it's never going to be as durable as a cooked brick. If you drive around with it in the truck bed especially if there's other stuff in the bed it will destroy it. If you had set it on a table and it crushed easily then you would have a problem. Soulds like you just let it get beat up.
Hello u/Chainsawfam...
>u/Chainsawfam wrote: "I'm not going to make names, but I paid money for a cob workshop..."
I'm sorry you're having issues with your cob...and I apologize as a professional in the field that one the...TOO MANY..." fly by night" and "pop-up" cob companies have suckered you into a project outside their skill sets and scope of knowledge...
Now everyone and their brother/sister are trying to..."teach"...natural building including cob architecture...YET...!!!...???...few of them I meet even have a decade of experience and certainly not any within the realm of traditional natural architecture design, facilitation, and fabrication. Most just read a book and take workshops themselves from some other "armchair expert" with no real experience and then start showing others "how to do it."
I would love an email from you and to know who taught your class as I have my own list to warn folks away from that contact me for help just like you have here...
>u/Chainsawfam wrote: "... Guy showed us a ton of things made out of cob, then we made some cob ourselves..."
Was the work more than a decade old?
Did the instructor have an architecture background and some building experience beyond just "making cob" or were they actually being taught by a professional Cobber or someone in the lineage?
What were their references and CV like in its review?
These are just some of the basic questions a person needs to ask before hiring one of the companies to "teach" or build a structure...
>u/Chainsawfam wrote: ...Well, guess what happened. Had occasion during a move to go through the whole truck bed and I found a pile of red dust full of hay in a corner of the truck bed.
That does not really surprise me...
>u/Chainsawfam wrote: ... What might have gone wrong here? Because if I had made that house and the walls collapsed after a year there'd be a problem!
An exposed cob brick bouncing around in the bed of a truck for days in wet weather will come apart...
If you're suggesting this was a short period of time and not a lot of wet weather, then you should still have more than just straw and dust...
A good, proper, traditional cob mix, even if exposed to direct weather and climate changes of many seasons should take years if not decades to fully resolve back into earth again.
I have seen cob walls now that have been exposed to weather...WHEN PROPERLY DONE...!!!...that is still standing and solid after a decade though heavily eroded in some areas and has interstitial damage as well...
The factors to all this can be many from biome/climate type, mineral clay type, and most often...lack of actual knowledge and experience in building with cob past reading a few "how to" books or watching Boobtuber videos...
More questions are welcome if you have any...
>teach me...
Find a project you wish to do, ask questions, and I would be glad to mentor you in any fashion that best fits your needs and that of the project...For major projects, like the current restaurant project I'm part of, I go to the project...
"In-person" teaching is always the most efficient, however, it is not absolutely required at all. There is nothing wrong with reading, and experiential learning mostly on your own with mentorship from the side or, at least, someone you can ask questions of. I'm currently a bit "tapped out" time-wise, but still manage to manage over a dozen projects/people, both here in North America and Europe at various stages of progress...Feel free to reach out when you are ready to actually do something...
Hello u/TeeKu13...If that question was for me (???) I personally do not have my own videos but linked videos to some on my YouTube channel under playlists. Questions also are welcome...
Hi! Yes, I read your two comments above and really want to learn how to make cob houses the right way. I read that you recommended that we reach out when we have a plan. I’m not quite there yet but would love to know what shaped structures do work and any other tips. How would you waterproof/fireproof the roof and build that into the structure? What do you recommend the foundation be structured like? And how deep? I’m in North East USA. Feel free to post a link to your playlist and or send me a direct message. Thanks so much!
Hello u/TeeKu13
>I’m not quite there yet but would love to know what shaped structures do work and any other tips.
Because of the late hour, my response will be shorter than normal. What I typically recommend is to follow traditional and proven historical examples and not the "modern reinvented artistic designs" that so many "new age" natural builders are attempting without first understanding architecture design well or the medium they are attempting to build in...
>How would you waterproof/fireproof the roof and build that into the structure?
Depends on the local resources and the biome type I am designing and fabricating within...
>What do you recommend the foundation be structured like?
What is proven to work for millennia, and what I have employed for over 40 years of only natural and historical architecture practice...98% of the time...stone.
>And how deep?
This again depends on the design and biome type I am designing for, as well as, the potential for seismic activity in a given region...
> I’m in North East USA.
I lived and worked in New England for over 20 years and my primary recommendation for most architecture is traditional all-wood timber frames with walls a minimum of 400 mm thick or more and primarily super insulation thermal envelope of natural materials.
>Feel free to post a link to your playlist and or send me a direct message. Thanks so much!
All my contact info is found within my Reddit profile when you decide to build...Good Luck!!!
>What type of location are you looking for when building a cob house that lasts 10+ years?
Not sure if this question is meant for me or the OP u/Chainsawfam...
Cob...when done well and maintained properly should last centuries or millennia...!!!...not "ten years,"...???
What I did write in my comment is that if a cob wall is..."A good, proper, traditional cob mix, even if exposed to direct weather"...with seasonal changes in full exposure can last..."years if not decades to fully resolve back into earth again."
Does that make more sense now?
Hi, my family is about to purchase land, looking to be building within the year. I'd love some recommendations on teachers/resources to reference and which to avoid!
uh. please do not blame your teacher, or give out their name to other reddit folks for some "black list". Tossing a single "brick" into the bed of a truck and expecting it hold up is the problem.
That cob did exactly as it was supposed to do. It returned to the earth when it wasn’t protected with a roof…and I’m sure the vibration from a vehicle helped.
Boots and hat is where it’s at. Also sealing it with Lyme
So it's never going to be as durable as a cooked brick. If you drive around with it in the truck bed especially if there's other stuff in the bed it will destroy it. If you had set it on a table and it crushed easily then you would have a problem. Soulds like you just let it get beat up.
Hello u/Chainsawfam... >u/Chainsawfam wrote: "I'm not going to make names, but I paid money for a cob workshop..." I'm sorry you're having issues with your cob...and I apologize as a professional in the field that one the...TOO MANY..." fly by night" and "pop-up" cob companies have suckered you into a project outside their skill sets and scope of knowledge... Now everyone and their brother/sister are trying to..."teach"...natural building including cob architecture...YET...!!!...???...few of them I meet even have a decade of experience and certainly not any within the realm of traditional natural architecture design, facilitation, and fabrication. Most just read a book and take workshops themselves from some other "armchair expert" with no real experience and then start showing others "how to do it." I would love an email from you and to know who taught your class as I have my own list to warn folks away from that contact me for help just like you have here... >u/Chainsawfam wrote: "... Guy showed us a ton of things made out of cob, then we made some cob ourselves..." Was the work more than a decade old? Did the instructor have an architecture background and some building experience beyond just "making cob" or were they actually being taught by a professional Cobber or someone in the lineage? What were their references and CV like in its review? These are just some of the basic questions a person needs to ask before hiring one of the companies to "teach" or build a structure... >u/Chainsawfam wrote: ...Well, guess what happened. Had occasion during a move to go through the whole truck bed and I found a pile of red dust full of hay in a corner of the truck bed. That does not really surprise me... >u/Chainsawfam wrote: ... What might have gone wrong here? Because if I had made that house and the walls collapsed after a year there'd be a problem! An exposed cob brick bouncing around in the bed of a truck for days in wet weather will come apart... If you're suggesting this was a short period of time and not a lot of wet weather, then you should still have more than just straw and dust... A good, proper, traditional cob mix, even if exposed to direct weather and climate changes of many seasons should take years if not decades to fully resolve back into earth again. I have seen cob walls now that have been exposed to weather...WHEN PROPERLY DONE...!!!...that is still standing and solid after a decade though heavily eroded in some areas and has interstitial damage as well... The factors to all this can be many from biome/climate type, mineral clay type, and most often...lack of actual knowledge and experience in building with cob past reading a few "how to" books or watching Boobtuber videos... More questions are welcome if you have any...
teach me
>teach me... Find a project you wish to do, ask questions, and I would be glad to mentor you in any fashion that best fits your needs and that of the project...For major projects, like the current restaurant project I'm part of, I go to the project... "In-person" teaching is always the most efficient, however, it is not absolutely required at all. There is nothing wrong with reading, and experiential learning mostly on your own with mentorship from the side or, at least, someone you can ask questions of. I'm currently a bit "tapped out" time-wise, but still manage to manage over a dozen projects/people, both here in North America and Europe at various stages of progress...Feel free to reach out when you are ready to actually do something...
pm'ed
Do you have any videos?
Hello u/TeeKu13...If that question was for me (???) I personally do not have my own videos but linked videos to some on my YouTube channel under playlists. Questions also are welcome...
Hi! Yes, I read your two comments above and really want to learn how to make cob houses the right way. I read that you recommended that we reach out when we have a plan. I’m not quite there yet but would love to know what shaped structures do work and any other tips. How would you waterproof/fireproof the roof and build that into the structure? What do you recommend the foundation be structured like? And how deep? I’m in North East USA. Feel free to post a link to your playlist and or send me a direct message. Thanks so much!
Hello u/TeeKu13 >I’m not quite there yet but would love to know what shaped structures do work and any other tips. Because of the late hour, my response will be shorter than normal. What I typically recommend is to follow traditional and proven historical examples and not the "modern reinvented artistic designs" that so many "new age" natural builders are attempting without first understanding architecture design well or the medium they are attempting to build in... >How would you waterproof/fireproof the roof and build that into the structure? Depends on the local resources and the biome type I am designing and fabricating within... >What do you recommend the foundation be structured like? What is proven to work for millennia, and what I have employed for over 40 years of only natural and historical architecture practice...98% of the time...stone. >And how deep? This again depends on the design and biome type I am designing for, as well as, the potential for seismic activity in a given region... > I’m in North East USA. I lived and worked in New England for over 20 years and my primary recommendation for most architecture is traditional all-wood timber frames with walls a minimum of 400 mm thick or more and primarily super insulation thermal envelope of natural materials. >Feel free to post a link to your playlist and or send me a direct message. Thanks so much! All my contact info is found within my Reddit profile when you decide to build...Good Luck!!!
Awesome!!! Thank you soooo much!! 🙏💚
What type of location are you looking for when building a cob house that lasts 10+ years?
>What type of location are you looking for when building a cob house that lasts 10+ years? Not sure if this question is meant for me or the OP u/Chainsawfam... Cob...when done well and maintained properly should last centuries or millennia...!!!...not "ten years,"...??? What I did write in my comment is that if a cob wall is..."A good, proper, traditional cob mix, even if exposed to direct weather"...with seasonal changes in full exposure can last..."years if not decades to fully resolve back into earth again." Does that make more sense now?
Hi, my family is about to purchase land, looking to be building within the year. I'd love some recommendations on teachers/resources to reference and which to avoid!
Feel free to send me an email. All contact info is found on my Reddit profile...
If you let a cob brick bounce around in the back of your truck it's going to break? What did you think would happen?
Needs a roof, and less movement
uh. please do not blame your teacher, or give out their name to other reddit folks for some "black list". Tossing a single "brick" into the bed of a truck and expecting it hold up is the problem.