Cob update

[Jeanne Leimkuhler]

Since you are asking for updates on buildings in progress, I thought I'd
give you ours. We are building a small guesthouse outside Bloomington, IN.
which I described previously on this list. Working only on Saturdays
progress has been slow but we are happy with what we've done so far. We
started last May digging for a rubble trench and two weeks ago poured the
one foot concrete cap on that. This weekend we start building the 2 foot
stone plinth on top of the concrete. We also cut down 2 dead standing
cedars for the posts, which will go at either end of the length of the
house, and moved them up to the building site. We have had inspectors out
twice and they have had no problems so far with what we are doing. They
seem more curious than concerned.

One of the reasons things are going so slowly is that my husband is an
organic farm inspector and many more people are getting into that business,
which is a good thing, but that takes him away on weekends in the summer.
Since our progress has been so slow, we have decided to do everything but
cob this year and start with cob next spring. This way we can work on
getting our windows, lintels and sills all prepared to place into the cob
when we need them, frame the door in and maybe get a temporary roof up so
that we can work in all kinds of weather.
Anyone living in this area, keep us in mind for next spring and summer if
you would like to help out cobbing.

Jeanne and Joe


Jeanne Leimkuhler
Senior Designer
InterArt/Sunrise Publications
Bloomington, In