Cob: Size of buildings

[Shannon C. Dealy]

On Wed, 30 Jan 2002, Jennifer Roberts wrote:

> 
> Would a smaller cob structure with a liveable attic be any easier?
> I am just thinking there would be more square feet for property codes
> and less taking up of land by going up instead of out.

This is essentially what Linda and Ianto's cottage is, with a loft
where the attic would be.

> Is it possible to finish a "medium" building in one season?

Yes, even a large building can easily be done in one season, the problem
is one of having enough time and man/woman power to do it.  You can
of course reduce the time/labor requirements by getting lots of help
(either hired or volunteers) and/or using mechanical aides to mix the
cob.  I have heard of at least one case where a woman and her young
daughter built a 400 - 500 square foot house by themselves in one
season.  I believe that all the cob was done the hard way, using just
hands and feet.

Shannon C. Dealy      |               DeaTech Research Inc.
dealy at deatech.com     |          - Custom Software Development -
                      |    Embedded Systems, Real-time, Device Drivers
Phone: (800) 467-5820 | Networking, Scientific & Engineering Applications
   or: (541) 451-5177 |                  www.deatech.com