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Cob and Adobe Homes

Cob is an earth building material made of clay, sand, straw, water, and earth. Sometimes substances such as dung and wheat paste are added for more cohesion of the earth plaster. It is an ancient building material - from the cob houses in Britain, to the earth homes in Africa. I have seen pictures of earth buildings still standing in the desert of Egypt. It is inexpensive (free on site!) and is used on a variety of building methods - strawbale, earthbag, earthships, and more.

Adobe is essentially the same as cob- clay, sand, straw, water, earth, dung, etc. - but can also be easily formed into bricks using frames and then dried in the sun. Believe it or not, dung is added to repel insects, and doesn't smell! The Adobe style of building is especially popular in hot, dry climates such as New Mexico and Arizona in the United States. The earth homes provide a cool shelter. Adobe/Cob is also fabulous for heat retention. The sun can shine through a window onto the earth wall, and this heat is retained, lowering heating costs in the winter. These homes can have sculptured walls with unique design elements such as inlaid tiles, mosaic designs, or coloured glass allowing sunlight through the walls.

Rammed Earth

Rammed Earth is another building method that uses Earth. Damp earth, mixed with clay, sand, sometimes gravel, and a stabilizer like lime, blood (traditional) or cement (modern) is compressed to form walls. Often the earth is compressed by hand with tampers but can be mechanically compressed for less manual labour. Forms are made out of wood for the walls, and the earth is compressed within the forms. The forms are then removed and the walls start to cure. It takes a couple years for the walls to cure or dry completely because they are so compressed. However, once completely cured the walls are akin to handmade stone in their strength. It is recommended that the walls be sealed to prevent cracking.

The structure of the rammed earth buildings is very strong. They are fireproof, you can bang nails into them and patch them easily, they are soundproof, and they heat during the day, and release the heat slowly in the cold nights. However, in colder climates they would need to be insulated.

Using earth as a building material is very ancient but innovative in the modern world. It is much healthier because you aren't using chemically treated building materials, And there is just something fun about the idea of getting your hands in mud when you're building your house!

Videos About Cob, Adobe and Rammed Earth

Videos courtesy of Youtube and Google Video and Copyright to Their Owners


Cob Building Examples	Cob in the United Kingdom	Cob Cottage -Oregon, USA


Casa Nuaanarpoq	Natural Building Alternatives	Earth Building in Ghana