Cob New to cob

[coblist Conference @ txinfinet.com]

mike at chook.demon.co.uk,Txinfinet Incoming writes:
Hello,
Three months ago my wife and I moved house.  We are now the latest, proud,
owners of a 17th century cob farmhouse.  Neither of us has ever lived in
a cob (or thatched) house before but so far we have no regrets.
Wow, I am jealous!
Is there anyone else in the group living in an old cob building?  
The closest anyone that I know comes to this is a man that I have communicated
with via email whose mother grew up in a cob house in England that is now 400
years old. This guy stayed in this, his grandparents' house several times
without realizing it was cob.  Unfortunately, his grandmother had to sell the
house when her husband died because the house had such a high value.
Next year we hope to remove an ugly blockwork garage extension from the 
rear of the house.  So I am thinking of replacing this with a new cob 
building.  Is it safe to try and bond new cob walls to old, or should the 
new room/s have 4 walls rather than 3?
Yes, new can be attached to old.  You have some wonderful sources of
information available to you in the UK...perhaps someone from the Cob Cottage
Company (CCC) will read your message offer some better advice on who to
contact, but here are a few from the CCC's Reader:
Devon Earth Building Association, 50 Blackboy Road, Exeter
Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings, 37 Spital Square, London E1
6DY, Tel. 071 377 1644
Devon County Council, Historic Buildings Section, Tel. 0392 382261

For passive solar fans, you might like to know that in its original
form the house had 5 windows on its south wall and 1 to the north.

-- 
Michael Saunby
Teachmore Farm, Inwardleigh, Okehampton, Devon, United Kingdom. EX20 3AJ
Enjoy that house!



--

Gayle Borst
gayle_borst at greenbuilder.com
Sustainable Building Calendar at http://www.greenbuilder.com
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