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Cob
Building Tutorial
Chapter
3: Selecting a Site
Finding
a site on which to build your cob home is the most critical decision in
the process. If you haven’t purchased a site for your home yet, this
chapter contains guidelines on making a productive decision. If you’ve
already purchased a parcel, don’t worry. These guidelines will help
you maximize the land you already own.
 Before
picking a place to put your home, consider every part of the decision.
Then consider everything again. Then go behind, check everything one
more time, and consider it again. The reason for this is that once
you’ve decided where to put the home, you can’t just pick it up and
move it if things don’t work out!
If
you have the time, it’s generally a good idea to visit the site in all
seasons and in all types of weather so you can determine any sun and
wind patterns, water and drainage flow, and other seasonal
considerations. Talk to the neighbors before purchasing the site. Make
sure they’re not going to cause trouble for you once you begin
construction by complaining. Tell them what you plan to do. Who knows,
you may discover that you have allies, and you may even find a few
willing participants in the process!
A
perfectly level piece of property is a rarity. This isn’t a problem
though. Since most lots have a slope, such a slope can be used to your
advantage, especially if you’re building with natural materials.
Slopes will direct water away from the home. Consider water flow
patterns before picking a site for the house. You don’t want water
pouring in your front door every time a little rain falls! Skillful use
of landscaping and berm walls can minimize this problem, but it’s best
to prevent it at the start by locating the house in a place (e.g., the
top of a hill) where water is flowing away from the house. If you’re going to be using a cistern to store water, locating
the cistern above the faucet will allow the water to be gravity-fed.
This means you don’t have to have an electric pump. If you’re
building into the side of a hill, such an arrangement, placing the
cistern over the faucet, is much easier.
 Since
you’ll need a source of materials to build the wall with, you’ll
probably be excavating somewhere on the site. For maximum thermal mass,
a cob wall needs to be about two feet thick. So for a 20-foot round
house, you’d need about 120 cubic feet of material. That’s a square
about eight feet by eight feet, two feet deep. I mention this because
you can use the excavation as a design element. Cutting into a side of a
hill allows you even more thermal mass, and building a home into the
side of a hill will allow you to take advantage of that thermal mass.
Bear in mind that digging is hard work. If you’re a purist who wants
to keep all of your home ‘built by human hands’ only, this might be
a factor; however, if you don’t mind renting excavation equipment for
this portion, then digging into a hill may be a bit easier.
If
you’re planning to use passive solar design for your home, remember
that if you live in the northern hemisphere, a south-facing slope is the
best choice. Of course, if you live in the southern hemisphere, the
opposite is true. To get an idea of where the prevailing sun falls on
your property, face due south (in the northern hemisphere). Now hold out
your arms at a 90-degree angle. The space between your fingertips is
where the prevailing sun will fall.
 Visit
your site at least one time after a good rain. Notice where water
puddles up on the property. If possible, get a land survey map from your
local building inspector or county agent to determine what parts of your
property may lay in a flood plain. If the ground feels soggy under your
feet as you walk, avoid that area as a building site. Well-drained soils
are best. Avoid seasonal creeks and gullies. Also inspect the ground
closely for signs of rapid drainage. Once you’ve found a site that
appears to be relatively dry, dig several test holes at least a foot or
two deep. If the holes fill up with water, avoid building in that area.
If
you are planning to build your own home out of cob, it helps to have a
source of water on the property. If you have a creek, spring, or a pond,
you may use the water from these sources to mix your cob. Make sure the
water source isn’t stagnant. If it is, then your walls will have an
odor you won’t soon forget! It’s best to get your water from a
moving stream. If you’re planning to dig a well or have a commercial
water tap (county or city water), it’s best to have the water tap
installed already before beginning construction. You’ll use a lot of
water mixing the cob. I suppose it is possible to carry the water to the
site from another source elsewhere, but I’m willing to bet that after
a day or two of hauling large water jugs, you’ll wish you had a faucet
on the site.
 This
is why it is important that your water source is convenient to the
building site. If you have an existing water tap, this problem can be
easily resolved by using a hose to direct water where you want it. If
you’re getting your water from a creek or a stream, the less distance
you have to carry the water, the better. The trick in selecting a home
site is to get it close enough to the water source so you don’t get
exhausted hauling water, but far enough away that the home isn’t in
danger of being washed away if the creek floods.
Since
most cob builders are also gardeners, you’ll want to find the good
growing sites on your property and leave them intact. Don’t try to
build your home on the best piece of garden soil on the property. It
would probably be a good idea to build close to such a patch, though.
Imagine the convenience of walking out your kitchen door directly into
your garden, and design accordingly. When designing your home, make sure
that the building isn’t blocking the sun to your garden, and make sure
that the walls face south to maximize passive solar benefits. This can
be tricky, since both your garden and your southern-facing walls require
sunlight, but with a little ingenuity and creativity, this can be
achieved.
 If
you have an area on the building site with a lot of shade, it’s best
to put that shade on the southwest corner of the building to maximize
solar benefits. If you don’t have a pre-existing shady patch, consider
planting deciduous trees or vines at the southwest corner of your home
site. Deciduous trees block sunlight and provide shade in the summer,
but let sunlight in during the winter months after the leaves have
fallen.
It’s
also a good idea to find out where the prevailing winds come from. You
can use these winds to your advantage, especially on summer days, by
placing screened windows on that side of the house to take advantage of
the breezes. If you’re planning to use alternative energy in the form
of wind turbines, this information will also come in handy in placing
your wind generators. It also helps to know which way the wind is likely
to blow the leaves, so they don’t pile up in inconvenient places
against your house. Try to avoid low spots in the landscape where frost
tends to accumulate in the winter. Such places don’t get enough warm
air, and locating a home there could cause problems in the winter
months.
When
selecting a site for your home, consider the possibility that you may
need to expand later on. Make sure there is enough room for any
additions you may wish to add in the future. Also consider how you will
access the property. Where will the driveway be? How will you use the
outdoor portion of the site? What sort of landscaping do you plan to
incorporate? Try to see it all as it will look when finished. If
necessary, built a model of your proposed home out of modeling clay or
cob so you can get a three-dimensional idea of how it will fit into the
overall landscape.
While
you’re designing everything, consider your utilities. How will you get
them to your site? Will you have power cables and plumbing running to
your building? What design concessions will have to be made in order to
incorporate these elements?
Bear
in mind how you’re planning to deal with sewage. If you’re planning
a septic tank on the property, the leach field for the tank could
compromise a great deal of the landscape. This will have a major impact
on where the building is located. Depending on the ‘perk’ of the
soil at your site, a septic tank could take up to a half-acre or more.
If you have a lot of trees on the property, this could be a problem. A
possible alternative is a composting toilet. If you plan to go this
route, check with your local health department to see if they allow
composting toilets, and what the criteria are for obtaining a permit.
While
planning your site, consider using local materials as much as possible.
Is there a ready source of clay, sand and straw on your site? What about
harvesting lumber from your site as well? If you’re handy with a
chainsaw, and you have a lot of trees on the property, you may be able
to obtain most of the lumber directly from your property. Consider
salvaging windows and doors from other building sites. You may also shop
at salvage stores such as those provided by Habitat for Humanity and
Goodwill. You can often find bargains on windows, doors, furniture and
other fixtures. Many cob builders have used old glass bottles instead of
windows! These have the advantage replacing windows inexpensively.
You’re also recycling by using glass jars and bottles that would have
been thrown away otherwise.
 Before
beginning any construction, check out the local land use regulations.
Make sure you won’t be violating any zoning restrictions by building a
cob home. If you’re still laboring under the illusion that America is
the Land of the Free, a quick reading of the local building code should
disabuse you of that notion! Double-check with the building inspector
and any other authorities to make sure your plans are allowed. Then
check again. Cross-check among government agencies if possible. You’re
likely to hear different stories from different people as your project
progresses, so try to get as much as you can in writing.
If
everything has checked out so far, the next step is to check out privacy
issues. Are the neighbors quiet? Are they nosy? Is there a noise source
nearby (airport, racetrack, stadium, etc.) that might be an intermittent
annoyance? Is the site secure from natural and man-made threats (natural
disasters, bad neighborhoods, etc.)?
When selecting a site, you should probably consider what sort of
neighbors you’d like to have. As a general rule, the more isolated the
building site, the less zoning restrictions you’ll have to
accommodate. If neighbors are an issue with you, it might be difficult
to find those who understand what you’re trying to do. You’ll have
to strike a balance between how many neighbors you want and how much
privacy you want.
While
we’re on the subject of neighbors, don’t forget to check for
easements on your property. Easements are permissions for others to use
your property, usually for a specific purpose. For example, suppose your
neighbor has a pasture behind your property, and the only way to get to
it is to drive through your land. He may have a legal easement that
gives him the right to use your property for that purpose. It’s best
to know about easements up-front so there are no surprises later on.
A
few more things that people don’t usually think about until it’s too
late, especially in rural environments, are noise, smells and light.
I’m assuming that your home site will be in a more rural area, simply
for the fact that most subdivisions will have restrictions against
unusual techniques like cob building.
I
can almost guarantee you that if you live in a rural setting, at least
one of you neighbors will have a dog or two. When you’re looking at a
building site, you don’t really think about dogs barking. This issue
usually makes itself known after you’ve built a home. Once you’ve
been awakened at 3 o’clock in the morning by a barking dog, it’s too
late to change your mind about buying the land. Another common malady in
rural areas is ATVs, dirt bikes, and other motorized machines that
people like to make as loud as possible for some reason. Yet another
thing to watch for is people who have loud hobbies…like carving wood
with chainsaws or shooting shotguns in the woods. The best way to guard
against these nuisances is to visit the property you’re considering at
several times of the day in several different seasons, if feasible.
While cob walls generally absorb more sounds than traditional
stick-built walls, they are not entirely soundproof. So you might want
to make sure your future neighborhood is peaceful before you sign on the
dotted line.
In
rural settings there is also the danger of being downwind of livestock.
Such odors can spoil an otherwise lovely breakfast, so scout out the
surrounding properties to make sure there’s no danger of smells from
pig farms, chicken houses, or factories.
Finally,
visit the property at least one time at night to check for light
pollution. You don’t want to place a bedroom window where a street
lamp will be shining in your
face all night.
When
purchasing property, check with your local planning office to find out
what sort of development has been slated for your area. You don’t want
to find out too late that you’re building right next to a site for a
proposed bypass or shopping mall. While you can’t guarantee that
you’ll be free of development and congestion forever, you can at least
get a good idea of what to expect in the way of development in your
neighborhood over the next dozen years or so.
 As
you plan your home, try to work organically. If there’s a particularly
nice view in one direction, plan a picture window there. If there’s a
nice patch of ground that’d make a good garden, why not place the
kitchen door close by? Try to consider the wildlife on your property as
well, and build accordingly. Determine the habitats of the native
animals and plants, and try to build your home to accommodate them as
much as possible. Trust your intuition of what ‘feels’ right as you
design. I’d suggest not putting anything down on paper until you’ve
first visited the site itself. Try to envision what sort of building
would fit right into the property. Try to see the future rooms
incorporated into the natural lay of the land. When designing, try to
keep as much of the land intact as possible. For example, if you have a
two-tiered hill on the property, why not make two rooms at two levels on
the hill, so you don’t have to undergo extensive excavation to level
off the property? Try to make the building fit the landscape as much as
possible.
As
you walk the property looking for a building site, try to avoid placing
a building on the ‘magic’ spots on the property. Is there a place
that sings out to you? Maybe instead of building the house there, you
could just put a bench on the site and use it as a meditative sacred
spot. Choosing such spots as building sites will destroy the magic they
possess. Why not enjoy them instead?
 One
final thing to consider in selecting a property is the daily commute. If
you’re looking at sites far away from your place of employment, the
savings you get from the lower construction costs could be offset by the
expense of the daily commute, especially as gas prices continue to rise.
It’s up to you to decide how much of a tradeoff you’re willing to
make in this area.
The
main thing to consider when choosing a building site for your cob home
is that such homes look right at home in nature, because they are built
with materials straight from the site. So when building with cob, try to
leave the site intact as much as possible. There’s no need to dig up
all the native plants in order to sod the site with a lawn. Leaving the
site as natural as possible is a great complement to the natural look of
a cob structure. Such buildings are in harmony with nature, so try to
leave some nature on your site!
About the pictures in this
tutorial: Not all of the cob structures in the pictures shown here
were built by the Culture Artist Cobbers. Many are from cobbers at various
sites around the world. I have attempted to get permission for all the
photos used on this site, and to properly credit them wherever possible.
When the cobbers in question have a website, I have tried to link the
picture back to their site, or list them in the Cob
Builders' Directory, or both. I have made every effort to gain
permission for all the pictures shown. If I inadvertently used one without
permission, please contact me at chuck@cultureartist.org
and I will either credit the source or remove it. Thanks!
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