The+cob+builders+handbook

Becky Bee
> **- 173 pages - 1998** - download for free from Permaculture media blog > From rear cover notes: "...Cob (an old English word for lump) is old-fashioned concrete, made out of a mixture of clay, sand, and straw. Becky Bee's manual is a friendly guide to making your own earth structure, with chapters on design, foundations, floors, windows and doors, finishes, and of course, making glorious cob. "I believe that building with cob is a way to recreate community and experience the joy of working together while taking back the right to build our own homes and look after our Mother Earth." She loves doing something that makes sense in a world where lots of things don't." >> Table Of Contents:
 * **The cob builders handbook: You Can Hand-Sculpt Your Own Home**


 * Acknowledgements and Warning

INTRODUCTION


 * What is cob?
 * Why build with cob?

DESIGNING YOUR HOME SWEET HOME!


 * Things to do to get ready
 * Think Small
 * Think Rounded
 * Make the Most of the Climate
 * Design with passive solar access in mind
 * Other things to think about when designing
 * One Story or More?
 * Noise
 * Plan for Future Additions Now
 * Designing the Entrance
 * Buttresses
 * Permits

CHOOSING YOUR SITE


 * Here's a list of some things to consider when looking for land:
 * Finding your home site
 * Choosing the house site includes:
 * Put the house where it belongs
 * Pick a site that is naturally comfortable
 * Passive solar planning
 * Harvesting your own wood
 * Wind
 * Noise
 * Boundaries
 * Getting the site ready to build!

GATHERING MATERIALS

DRAINAGE


 * Test Holes
 * Making Your Drainage
 * Creating drainage on a flat site
 * Berms
 * Ditch drains

THE FOUNDATION


 * Making the foundation
 * Planning the foundation (Footing or Plinth)
 * Designing the door area
 * Setting up the door frame
 * Tamping tips
 * How deep do I make the foundation?
 * How wide do I make the foundation?
 * How high do I make the foundation?
 * Moisture barrier between the foundation and the cob?
 * Getting plumbing and electric wire into the house
 * Stone Foundations
 * Choosing stones
 * Making a stone foundation
 * To Mortar or not to Mortar?
 * Some Other Foundation Options
 * Poured concrete
 * Concrete blocks mortared together
 * Railroad ties and gravel
 * Earth-filled tires
 * Agricultural bags filled with earth and tamped
 * Foundation and drainage summary

FLOORS


 * General Info to Consider
 * Make the floor higher than the ground outside
 * Making the floor
 * Tamping the ground
 * Finding level for the floor
 * Base (or layers of base materials) under the floor
 * Floor base options
 * Cob floor surface
 * Floor surface recipe
 * Putting down a cob floor
 * Drying your earth floor
 * Sealing an earth floor
 * Caring for a cob floor
 * Repairing a cob floor
 * Some other floor surface options

COB GLORIOUS COB!


 * Making Test Bricks
 * More details about cob ingredients
 * Sand
 * Clay
 * Straw
 * Tools
 * Here's how to make cob
 * Putting the cob on the wall
 * Cobbing by foot
 * Cobbing by hand
 * Tapering your walls and how wide to make the top of the foundation
 * Putting the cob to bed at night
 * Control the wall drying
 * Sculpting cob shelves and furniture
 * Burying in shelves, counters, and loft floors
 * Scaffolds
 * Electric wiring
 * Other things to think about
 * Termites and silverfish
 * Planning for future additions
 * Interior walls
 * Tips for happy cobbers
 * The cob builders checklist

WINDOWS AND DOORS


 * Arches
 * Lintels
 * Putting the windows and doors in the wall
 * Things to consider before putting in the windows and doors
 * Passive solar design - getting the most out of your windows
 * Ventilation
 * Views
 * Noise
 * Magic windows
 * Some glass safety tips
 * Getting rid of unwanted windows
 * Fun window ideas
 * Replacing broken glass

ROOFS


 * Components of a roof system
 * Beams
 * Rafters
 * Nogs or blocks
 * Bracing
 * Vertical Posts
 * Roof sheathing
 * Gutters
 * Some common roofs
 * Domes and Vaults
 * Cone shaped roof
 * Shed roof
 * Gable roof
 * Gambrel roof
 * Hipped or Pyramid
 * Organic shaped roof
 * Roof design and planning
 * Building the roof before the walls
 * Putting the roof on as you build the top of the wall
 * Roof surfacing
 * Some roof surface options
 * Insulation
 * Ceiling
 * Possible ceiling materials

PLASTER (RENDER)


 * Purposes of plaster
 * Mixing plaster (render)
 * Basic earth plaster
 * Plaster additions
 * Applying the plaster or render
 * Other Plasters
 * Alis and Paint
 * Some ideas on adding color

FINISHING TOUCHES

BACKWORD

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