Adobe
Barefoot Builders
Cal Earth
Cob
Earth Bags
Earth Ships
Hall, Chuck
Hubbell,
James
Landscapes
Rammed
Earth
Stone
Strawbale
Treehouses |
Cob is a mixture of
clay, sand and straw. It is similar to adobe, except
that instead of making bricks, you make balls, called
'cobs,' which are then pressed into each other to form
walls, etc. The advantage of cob is that it allows for a
more free-form building style, like modeling clay.
In my opinion, cob is one of the most versatile building
methods on the planet. It can be used in any
environment; even in environments with a lot of rain. In
such a case, all you need to do is to make sure your
roof has an adequate overhang. In extreme cases, the
walls can be coated with a waterproof plaster and/or
linseed oil for weatherproofing. Cob is literally dirt
cheap, since the main ingredients come from the soil on
the building site! The only tradeoff is that it is
labor-intensive, but that's not usually a burden because
cobbing is FUN! Just ask anyone who's ever done it.
Something about cobbing touches the kid in us all. If
you can make a mud pie, you can cob. It is also a very
artistic medium that can be sculptured to create
imaginative artistic effects, as these pictures will
demonstrate. |
The pictures in this
gallery are from cob artists all over the world. Every
effort has been made to give credit where credit is due
for these works. If there is a photo here of your work,
please email me and I'll be glad to link back to your
website and list your name here, or if you prefer,
contact me and I will remove it. |
