You can build your own earthen home with your own hands and feet, with materials that are available almost everywhere for cheap or for free, without power tools or previous building experience. Earth is one of the oldest building materials on the planet and still the most common. Thousands of picturesque cob homes in England, Ireland and Wales have withstood centuries of rain, snow, and gales, and remain comfortable and joyously inhabited today. Currently, cob is enjoying a revival of interest both in Britain and in North ...
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You can build your own earthen home with your own hands and feet, with materials that are available almost everywhere for cheap or for free, without power tools or previous building experience. Earth is one of the oldest building materials on the planet and still the most common. Thousands of picturesque cob homes in England, Ireland and Wales have withstood centuries of rain, snow, and gales, and remain comfortable and joyously inhabited today. Currently, cob is enjoying a revival of interest both in Britain and in North America. This book tells you how to: -- build with cob, a traditional mixture of earth, sand and straw; -- select building materials and determine the best mixture for a given soil; -- sculpt a personalized house with built-in seats, counters, shelves, and niches -- evaluate natural alternatives for roofs, floors, plasters, and insulation -- reduce your dependency on money and environmentally harmful practices -- avoid the costly mistakes made by many novice builders. Michael G. Smith was a founding director of the Cob Cottage Company for four years and has taught over 30 week-long workshops on cob and other natural building techniques. He is a founder and organizer of the Natural Building Colloquium.
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