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18 views30 pages

COB FILES

cob files

Uploaded by

arsriramprasad
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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COB

Building Construction

BY PRASAD
What is Cob?

• The word cob comes from an Old English root meaning "a
lump or rounded mass."
• It's a traditional building technique using earth mixed with
water, straw and often sand.
• It dries to a hardness similar to lean concrete and is used
like adobe to create self-supporting, load-bearing walls.
COB
What is Cob made up of?
• Cob is a very old method of building with earth and straw or
other fibers. It is quite similar to adobe in that the basic mix
of clay and sand is the same, but it usually has a higher
percentage of long straw fibers mixed in. Instead of
creating uniform blocks to build with, cob is normally
applied by hand in large gobs (or cobs) which can be tossed
from one person to another during the building process.
Cob is normally applied with hands.
How is cob different from adobe?
• The most basic difference is that adobe is formed into
rectangular bricks which are dried in the sun before being
used, while cob is built wet.
• Cob therefore lends itself to organic shapes: curved walls,
arches and vaults.
• Building with cob is a sensory and aesthetic experience like
sculpting with clay.
• ADOBE • COB
Water Proof
• Cob is very resistant to weathering and can withstand long
periods of rain without weakening.
• Too much exposure is best avoided by building roof
overhangs and gutters to protect the walls and
constructing a high impervious foundation.
• In windy areas a lime-sand plaster is traditionally used to
protect exterior cob walls from wind driven rain.
Fire Proof
• Cob does not catch fire.
• However, still be aware of your ceiling or roof
as it might not be flame resistant like the body
of the cob home.
Acoustic Privacy
• Earthen walls have very good sound-absorbing
properties that keep it quiet inside, both from
exterior noises and noise generated in the
same building.
Termite Proof
• Since cob is a mixture of soil, aggregate sand,
and straw it is not attractive to termites.
• To add to that, cob homes have not been known
to become burrowing grounds for insects or
animals either.
Healthy
• Unlike conventional homes which are constructed with
synthetic, industrial-formed materials, cob homes are
built almost entirely out of natural, clean materials.
• Industrial homes are full of indoor air pollutants and
off-gassing of chemicals contained in the building
materials. Cob homes do not have this problem. In fact,
cob actually “breathes” through its tiny pores and
keeps air fresh and clear. If you suffer from indoor
allergies then living in a cob house could significantly
improve your quality of life by eliminating the toxins
that may cause them
Energy Efficient
• With a cob house, you will not have to heat
your home with nuclear electricity, Persian
Gulf oil, or strip mining in Wyoming!
• Cob is a “thermal mass” that absorbs sunlight
and warms the building over the course of the
day. This is called passive solar heating, and it
will keep the inside of the building warm in
the winter and cool in the summer
Owner Built
• Cob houses can usually be built by the owner.
It is very rewarding to be able to build your
home with your own two hands.
• You don’t need a degree in architecture or to
be a structural engineer to build a cob home.
Construction Technique
• It's very environmentally-friendly - all done by hand. In fact, you can
have the walls take on any shape you wish, something you'll find in
many adventurous modern cob homes.
• The only thing you really have to remember is to lay the material in
courses, and let each one dry thoroughly before laying the next, and
make sure they taper slightly as they rise.
• You can embed windows and doors as you build, or simply cut holes
later.
• Cob is excellent for load bearing, meaning you can easily make a two-
storey house, and it has very good insulation for both heat and noise.
• During the day it absorbs heat outside, so it's cool inside, but at night
radiates that heat into the interior.
The Traditional Building Technique

• The traditional material for English cob was soil (clay-


based) mixed with water and straw, sometimes with
crushed flint or sand added.
• People shovelled or stamped the mixture together, after
which a cob fork was used to ladle it onto a stone
foundation, before workmen on the walls trod it into place.
• It was quite possible to lay a course or "lift" of cob between
150mm and 900mm high (but usually averaging 450 mm) in
a single day.
• After it had dried - which could take up to a fortnight
- the next lift would be added.
• The walls would be trimmed to plumb and straight as
they rose and made between 500mm and 900mm
thick.
• The builders would either leave openings for windows
and doors, adding stone lintels as they went, or carve
them out later. It was a community effort, with men
working one day a week to build a house in a season.
Modern Construction
• The biggest development has been Oregon cob,
where people mix the material into mud loaves,
then add them individually to the wall before
treading them in.
• This method means houses can have walls that
are stronger and thinner (generally 300-
500mm thick on load bearing walls, as little as
100mm on others).
Foundation
• You need to start with a foundation that's wider than your wall
will be - 300mm wider is recommended - and deep enough for
the load.
• Usually you'll build a cob house on a stone plinth or a concrete
base, raised off the ground about 600 mm - for obvious
reasons it can't come in contact with the ground. There are any
number of foundation options you can use, like a rubble trench,
earth bags, or even rammed tyres.
• You'll also need a good roof overhang to protect the cob, at
least 200mm. If you find any vertical cracks, use cob or even
clay tiles to fix it before moisture can penetrate.
Types of Foundation
• RubbleTrench- For proper drainage, it’s important to build
a rubble trench below the perimeter of your cob building.
It’s located beneath the stemwall and is filled with drain
rock (small stones or round gravel).
• Once the trench is dug, it is good to cover the bottom with a
few inches of drain rock and then lay a 4-inch perforated
polyethylene drainpipe along the bottom to improve the
drainage runoff. The bottom of the trench should also be
sloped.
Stemwall
Stone-You can use any type
of stone that you like. Stones
give the house a natural and
homey charm to a cob
house.
However, the stemwall may
be one of the most expensive
parts of building a cob home
due to the cost of some
stones.
Stemwall
Urbanite-If you want to save
money constructing your
stemwall then you may want
to consider using urbanite
instead of stone. Urbanite is
recycled concrete that
comes from old sidewalks,
buildings, etc. It is very
versatile, free, and lasts
practically forever.
Stemwall
Fired Bricks-
Another option is to
use fired bricks. They
can be any type. The
price can vary, but
you may be able to
find old ones to save
on money.
Stemwall
Concrete Blocks-You
can use solid concrete
blocks or cinder blocks.
Cinder blocks work, but I
would not recommend
them due to their fragile
sides. That’s just my
personal preference
though.
Stemwall
Poured Concrete-You can
also create forms and pour
concrete for your stemwall.
This just seems like a lot of
extra work to me though.
Creating forms and filling
them all with cement. It is
more technical and doesn’t
look as nice or natural as
stones.
Cob under construction

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