Cob: Cob questions

[Shannon C. Dealy]

On Wed, 4 Oct 2000, jennifer duran wrote:

[snip]
> begin building my cob home in about a year. I need to save up money and find 
> a place to build and do more research. How do I start? What do I do first?

Well, to start with, I am assuming by Austin, you mean the one in Texas
(there are several others).  If that is the case, I would suggest you get
in touch with Mike Carter and Carol Cannon, their web site lists their
address as being in the Austin area.  The web site is located at:

    home.sprynet.com/~cobcrew/

They should be able to provide you with some first hand information on
cobbing in your area.

> 1. How much money should I have to start this project?

How much money is required is a function of what features you want to add
to the house.  A simple house that just provides shelter can (depending
on local resources) be built for nothing.  Starting with that, each
additional item, or upgrade in materials will raise the price accordingly
(electrical wiring, plumbing, carpet, wallpaper, dishwasher, cabinets,
etc.).  Generally speaking, if you are not obsessed with the consumer
life-style, I think the primary financial issue is acquiring the land you
are going to build on, rather than the house itself.  In some areas,
building code issues can run a fair bit of money as well.

> 2. How long do you think it will take? (I know this question is hard to 
> answer because it probably depends on how much time you put into it).

This not only depends on how much time you put in, but on your physical
condition, cob is alot of work, so people in poor physical condition will
generally work more slowly.

> 3. Is Austin a good place to build? It tends to be humid here, but not too 
> much.
[snip]

Since Mike and Carol built there, I assume this is not a problem.


Shannon C. Dealy      |               DeaTech Research Inc.
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