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Dec 21
Love0

OT: My new blogging job

By Resources

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…!)

Dec 09
Love0

The lowdown on my rocket stove performance

By Rocket Stove, Cob Bed and Bench

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!

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Dec 08
Love0

My free cable spool table

By Uncategorized

spooltable

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!

Nov 13
Love0

New cob kitchen documentation website: The House That Millet Built

By Resources

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.

Nov 12
Love0

What to expect from The House That Millet Built

By Uncategorized

Beginning last year and continuing into this year, I maintained The Year of Mud website to document my first cob building experience. I have received lots of great feedback from readers throughout that continuing process. The documentation process has been very rewarding, and I hope that The Year of Mud continues to be a valuable resource on the web for those interested in cob building.

Now that I am building a shared kitchen with four friends and community mates, I have yet another opportunity to share new building experiences, techniques, and stories. The House That Millet Built will be the website for sharing this new building adventure.

It is safe to say that you can expect the same kind of documentation that I have shared on The Year of Mud. If you have any interested in natural building, especially cob, please follow along as we build our new community kitchen! This is going to be an exciting process.

Nov 12
Love0

A Visit to Cob Cottage Company: Impressions and Photos

By Design
Linda's Cob Cottage

Linda Smiley’s beautiful cob home

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 many years 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.

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Nov 10
Love0

Natural Building Colloquium 2009 thoughts

By Uncategorized

nbco-woods00

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.

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