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Cob Bed and Bench

Jul 12
Love0

All the current goings-on

By Earthen Floor, Cob Bed and Bench, Foundation

foundation-wide

Man, goings-on is a weird word. It just never looks or sounds exactly right. Anyway, there have been a number of these so-called goings-on lately. Here’s the lowdown on what’s been keeping me busy…

By now you know that the cob bed has been completely removed, but the wall has been replastered, and the floor redone as well. Just yesterday, I finished oiling the finish layer of the floor, so now it is curing. I can’t remember how long I waited last year for the oil to cure, but it must have been at least a week. Most of the past month of work on the house has been waiting – waiting for both layers of the floor to dry, for plaster to dry, for oil to cure. The actual work has been quite quick and simple. But we should finally be able to move back into the house very shortly.

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Jun 18
Love0

Cob is Resilient! Cob Bed Demolition Photos and Video

By Cob Bed and Bench

bed-demo-01

Unbelievable. This is the third incredibly wet year running now. Rain, rain, rain. It really gets old. (And mucky.) But that didn’t stop us from the cob bed and bench demolition project inside of my house. I had been dreading this task for a while now, but boy am I glad we got it accomplished! And it wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought it would be to destroy thousands of pounds worth of cob… but normally, you cannot really say that of cob, because it is so incredibly tough and resilient!

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Apr 07
Love0

Cob Bench Demolition Video

By Video, Cob Bed and Bench

Holy crap. I knew taking cob apart was not easy, but to actually try to destroy cob makes it really clear just how strong this stuff is! This is a brief video of me (attempting to) demolish the cob bench outside of my house. This bench no longer fits into the design since I plan to add a small mud room/airlock to the house, and the bench would be in the way.

I tried a sledgehammer, but it wasn’t as effective as a pick axe. Actually, it was easiest when the bench was soaked with water and then struck with the pick axe. Hitting it wet with the sledgehammer resulted in cob flying everywhere.

Cob is stupidly strong. You can see the minimal impact a full pick axe blow has on the bench. What made it somewhat reasonable was prying the urbanite out from underneath the bench, and then really wailing on the cob to break it up.

This cob bench demolition experience is making me sweat when I think about taking the whole cob bed and bench apart inside the house! Good lord… it’s gonna be backbreaking…

Mar 26
Love0

Deconstructing the rocket stove

By Cob Bed and Bench, Rocket Stove

rocketstove-demo00

A few weeks ago, I started dismantling the rocket stove, officially calling it done. I began with chipping the cob around the base of the barrel and then lifting the barrel off of the system, revealing a very blackened, sooty interior. I was surprised by the level of soot – I thought that perhaps the system was definitely choking up seeing how much material had collected in and around the heat riser.

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Dec 09
Love0

The lowdown on my rocket stove performance

By Cob Bed and Bench, Rocket Stove

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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Sep 11
Love0

How To Make Your Own $35 Straw Mattress

By Resources, Cob Bed and Bench
Handmade Straw Mattress

The finished straw mattress

(This lovely DIY how-to is written by my partner April, who made a straw mattress for our cob bed. Read ahead!)

[UPDATE: Do you have experience making alternative mattresses, including using straw? We were forced to give up this straw mattress due to back pain and an unfortunate uneven sleeping surface. If you have tips about how to make a more comfortable natural mattress, please contact us!]

Living in a hand-built home can often mean making unique and non-conventional furniture choices. I recently transitioned from a tent to a cob house and ran into the dilemma of what to do about a bed. My criteria was something natural and sustainable, economical, readily available, quick and easy to assemble, and comfortable. Is that too much to ask? I decided to do some research first.

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Apr 27
Love0

Building a Rocket Stove: Part 2: Cob Bed and Bench

By Rocket Stove, Cob Bed and Bench

cob-bed06.jpg

UPDATE: Unfortunately, this rocket stove design has proven to be a failure, and I have since deconstructed the stove. I cannot recommend that someone follow these plans. You can read my original post below for what not to do, though.

The rocket stove and cob bed and bench are essentially finished. The rocket stove (which I will detail more in yet another post) has 25 feet of horizontal run that wraps through the bed, into the bench, and out the southern wall of the house.

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Apr 09
Love0

The Most Beautiful Cob House Ever?

By Design, Cob Bed and Bench

meka cob cottage

There are a few natural buildings that stand out in my mind as some of the most beautiful examples. One of them is Meka’s cob cottage. Meka Bunch of Wolf Creek, Oregon built this stunning cob house over a four year period. Complete with hand-sculpted furniture, shelves and nooks built directly into the walls, arched windows, and a killer custom staircase, his cob building is a divine artistic achievement.

Check out the photos of Meka’s cob cottage for yourself.

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