Cob: Quiet List

[Dog In The Yard]

kathryn marsh wrote:
 
> Some fifty years or so my grandparents lived in an A frame wattle and
> daub cottage in the English fens - the house is alas now gone in the
> fifties zeal to demolish the unhygienic but the relevant points of
> the construction are as follows.

Kathryn,

Thank you!! How fascinating!
 
> Demolition revealed that
> the oak A frame timbers at each end had each been floated on a
> cowhide filled with melted tallow. About two feet of pea gravel had
> been laid over the peat before the timber frame had been put in

This is really fascinating. I was at Lee Valley Tools yesterday, about the only
place one can still buy a draw knife, and I notice that they sell a wood
stabilizer. The stabilizer is meant to coat green wood to keep it from checking
(cracking) while drying out. It's main ingredient was wax. I am thinking that
the parrafin will be the way to go. I do not expect this structure to last
forever, and I will be amazed if it survives a decade...but I think that rather
than doing nothing to try and treat the wood, that the wax will give it some
protection. Other than that, I will simply ensure good drainage as best I know how.
 
> The rest of the construction was a double willow wattle construction
> with clay infill and daubed and whitewashed coating inside and out.

I am planning one interior half-wall that will be willow wattle and daub.
Otherwise, the whole rest of the structure will be a kind of wattle..just really
big wattle :-).

> My grandparents were very careful about the maintenance of the
> whitewash for obvious reasons. On occasion the coating would be
> damaged and some of the cob would crumble, sometimes revealing sound
> willow wattle and sometimes falling into holes right through.

I will also inspect, repair and maintain on a regular basis. It will be very
interesting to see how long this little structure can last.

We have twenty-two acres here. Most of it is still treed (about 15 or so acres
of it all poplar of two varieties) and the fall colors are really beautiful.
There is a pungent smell of wild cranberries constantly in the air. I am really
enjoying the time I'm spending each evening working on the "pit". My two dogs
and two cats venture out and either lay around or snoop through the woods while
I work. I am trying, as long as the weather is clear, to do at least an hour
every evening after work.

Last night, just as the sun was setting I heard a racket I had never heard
before. I wasn't sure if it was a plane or what it was...as the sound became
clearer, I realized it was literally hundreds of Canada geese passing. I
couldn't see how many there were, and trust me, I know the sound of geese, but
there were so many of them that the sound of their honks were all blended
together in what could best be described as a very loud drone. It was an amazing
sound. Also, one of the dogs spooked a grouse who had been scratching in the
underbrush. He perched precariously but safely out of reach of the dogs.

It is a lovely fall here, and this "pit house project" is very good for my soul!

Karen Clouston
Edmonton, Alberta