I got an email from DR friends Tony and Rachel who made this funky little snow mockup of my house. The first GOBCOBATRON snow home! (Note the little snow cob bed, too… or would that be an iqliq in this case?)
OT: My new blogging job
Just a random and slightly off-topic post here to say that I am now blogging at sustainablog, an environmental news blog that’s been around for a number of years now. I have been freelance blogging for the past three years for a number of websites, but hopefully this will work out to be a longer term gig than the rest! My first post is about the excellent book, Goat Song, and small-scale food production.
Expect a fair bit of natural building entries there as well!
(p.s. Happy winter solstice, by the way – if I were home, I’d like to measure how far the sun penetrates into my house through the south window on this day…!)
A Recommended Cob and Natural Building Book List
There are a few books that I referenced and relied on throughout the process of building my cob house. I’ve come up with a short list of books for aspiring cob builders to get inspired and get set on the path to actual construction of a small cob house similar to my own. Check them out!
Continue reading →
New kitchen construction photos at The House That Millet Built
Just a little note that I finally wrote up a new post at The House That Millet Built with new construction photos of the completed drainage trench for the kitchen. Check it out!
The lowdown on my rocket stove performance
The past few weeks have been the first real test for my rocket stove with outdoor temperatures dipping below freezing at nights, and daytime temperatures in the 30s-40s. (This week has below freezing daytimes, with wind chills in the negatives – but I am with family in NJ and April is at home tending the stove, so I keep hoping that it works well for her…) I have been firing the stove fairly regularly, and I’ve learned a good deal about its performance – or unfortunate lack of, at crucial times!
My free cable spool table
I had been wanting a table for the cob bench in my house, and I realized that those large cable spools would probably fit in the house, if I could finally find one. Well, I did get one, and it fits perfectly! These cable spools make pretty nifty (and free!) tables if you can find ‘em.
I did not do anything to finish the table or clean it up – I kinda like it how it is, although the flattened nails on the surface are less than ideal. It could probably use some sanding, too, but it’s not bad. It’s pretty burly, and as you can see it’s been quickly filled up with lots of house flotsam. It makes a pretty swell dining table, too. I like it!
New cob kitchen documentation website: The House That Millet Built
A month ago, I mentioned the new building project I am working on: a community kitchen and social space. I have created a new website, The House That Millet Built, to document the construction of the building.
This new kitchen will feature hybrid walls (probably featuring some cob, or balecob?), an urbanite foundation, a roundwood post and beam frame, and hopefully, a hand-split shake roof. It will be electricity-free. This new building project presents a lot of new exciting learning opportunities.
Anyway, if you have enjoyed any of the documentation process here at The Year of Mud, I hope you will follow along on The House That Millet Built as construction continues! Look for more updates soon.
A visit to Cob Cottage Company: impressions and photos
After the Natural Building Colloquium in Eagle Point, Oregon, I traveled with Ianto Evans and Linda Smiley to their home in Coquille, OR: Cob Cottage Company.
For those unawares, Ianto and Linda are two very influential cob building pioneers in North America, and authors of The Hand-Sculpted House, the number one go-to book for cob construction. They have been a huge inspiration for me during my house design process, and reading their book sealed the deal for building my home out of cob. Ianto and Linda have decades of experience building with mud. It was an honor to be able to meet them and spend several nights at their place. It was a great experience, and I took plenty of photos to share here on my own website.
Natural Building Colloquium 2009 thoughts
The Natural Building Colloquium is an annual gathering for natural builders to share their work and experiences, and to create a stronger network between builders. The 2009 event at the beautiful Camp Latgawa in Oregon was my first one, and I was very happy to have the chance to attend.
