Rough sawn white oak for our timber frame
Above is a photo of our very first timbers for our new timber frame & straw bale house! We had a handful of sample timbers milled up at a local sawmill to determine the quality of the wood and the saw job. I’d say I’m pretty happy, especially at the quoted cost. (Pictured are two 8x8s, some 3×10 floor joists, and 3×5 brace stock.) Read More
I had a whole lot of fun a few weeks ago making this short film with April and our dog, Pug (the pug). It’s called DOG SHAMAN’s JOURNEY and features a character we made up over a year ago, Dog Shaman, the small dog whisperer. Err. Maybe you should just watch it, and then you’ll understand.
Anyway, parts of this short film were shot in my cob house, which despite its small size, actually worked out pretty well for a set.
Check it out below.
p.s. Watch in high quality!
Interested in learning more about light clay straw (or straw-clay, or ‘leichtlehm’) construction? My friend Jacob over at Red Earth Farms whipped up this handy guide to building with straw-clay. Inside you’ll find advice for dealing with framing your home, how to protect the walls from the elements, making light clay straw and finishing the walls with plaster, and more good stuff. Check it out below.
Jacob’s light clay straw home
by Jacob Schmidt
This is an introduction to light clay straw construction (a.k.a. “straw-clay”). In the summer of 2010, I started construction on my first house (20 ft. x 12 ft.). It was stud framed with light clay straw infill. I had helped with other natural building projects and had some conventional experience. This article is the product of all of my mistakes (and few successes) so that you, my fellow builder, do not have to walk the road that I have. Fortunately for y’all I built a chicken coop in 2011, and that helped me to learn more about building correctly with light clay straw. (One mistake being I should have done the coop first, but at least my chickens are happy.) Read More
Applying a lime wash in Gobcobatron
This year, I added a layer of lime plaster to the bottom half of the wall in my house. The idea was that adding some extra alkalinity to the surface would deter surface mold growth — although it’s been so mild this winter that I haven’t actually been able to determine if it makes a difference! (Remember that last year I was having terrible mold and condensation problems on the bottom of my walls during the coldest parts of year.)
Well, the thing that I actually want to talk about is — wow, I love the half earthen plaster and half lime plaster look! Having lived with it for several months now, I know that I want to try something like this in our new straw bale house. But next time it will be even easier than how I did it this time.
You may have noticed that The Year of Mud has gotten a bit of a design overhaul recently. The theme has been changed, and along with that, the navigation up top has been simplified — hopefully you can find what you need more easily and clearly now.
Check it out and leave your feedback if you have anything to share. Thanks for reading!
p.s. Did you know you can also get to The Year of Mud at https://theyearofmud.com? Oh yea.
I’ve updated my (abbreviated) cob house construction slideshow. This is a great series of images to show folks who are curious about what it is like to build with cob, and to give a look into all aspects of the construction process. The slideshow has been updated to include images of the “new look” of Gobcobatron, including the renovated terracotta tile floor and lime washed walls.
Check it out!
Bringing home the harvest at Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage
Ever wonder what it is like to live in an ecovillage? It’s hard to believe that it has been nearly five years since I moved to Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage in northeast Missouri. After all this time, I’m still learning the ins and outs of community life and what it means to live ecologically. But that’s the way it should be, I think. Learning is an ever-present process.
I wrote up a guest post for Earth Easy about what it’s like living in an ecovillage, how I spend my time here, and some of the lessons I’ve learned along the way.
Apparently, cob is a “wacky” material, even though half of the world’s population live or work in earthen structures – ha!
Well, anyway, Forbes has deemed cob “wacky” enough to include in their latest article, Homes Made From Wacky Materials. They’ve got my house in the mix.
p.s There are perhaps no more wacky materials than the industrial, synthetic ones in use in conventional construction today. Talk about far-removed from any identifiable source! Sheesh.
I never tire of thumbing through beautiful images of inspiring natural buildings, tiny houses, and well-designed spaces. Ahhh…
Well, this so-called free cabin porn site is just that and nothing else: a well-maintained collection of 100s of photos of beautiful traditional buildings and small cabins throughout the world, updated regularly. I’d love to see a collection of these images in print! (Print is always better, right?)
A handmade cob staircase
Oliver of Natural Homes posted this nice shot of a cob staircase in Meka’s cob cottage, one of my favorite cob home interiors. I’ve often wondered what it is like to traverse these particular steps.
One thing is for sure: they are at least nice to look at!
Hi there, I’m Ziggy. In 2008, I launched The Year of Mud while building my first natural home. This blog is a collection of personal stories and experiences building with clay, straw, and wood over the past 15+ years. A few of the things that get me fired up are natural plasters, timber framing, & Japanese architecture. Since 2012, we’ve been hosting Natural Building Workshops so you can learn essential skills to build your own natural home.
