[Cob] community college classes

[Amanda Peck]

Any kind of building would help.  Volunteer for Habitat for Humanity (build 
a house with Jimmy Carter!)

I was a carpenter's apprentice for a while.

If I were taking a class today, I think it would be masonry.  But there are 
probably a few welders I can count on, say to weld up a solar hot water 
system, the inside workings of a masonry stove, and so on.  If I thought I'd 
enjoy/be good at welding, I might try that class next.  It's useful when you 
are homesteading.

Now I'm trying to finish the pole barn a man who had done it before was 
working on.  I watched a lot, but didn't get dirty much.

It would be good to know a fair amount about wiring and plumbing.  But 
either--possibly both--might have to end up done by professionals in a 
building with honest to gosh mains electricity. If you're doing PV yourself, 
take a workshop for the electric part.

(Plumbing and electriciy? the only reason I suggested it was that around 
here you have to have a septic tank in order to get mains electricity)
...................
""   "" (ataraktos?) wrote:

with a future owner-built cob home in mind, i'd like to take some community 
college classes. i'm reading 'the hand sculpted house' and the authors keep 
emphasizing "skill" - unfortunately, i don't have very much! at least, not 
in terms of any kind of building experience. i can drive a straight nail 
(90% of the time) but that's about it ...

so, i was wondering if anyone had any input on what would be the most useful 
types of classes? the nearest community college has welding, carpentry, 
electrical, pipefitting and masonry ... i'm sure all of the courses would be 
useful, in some ways, since building a cob house (with electricity) demands 
all of these skills (and probably many more). i don't have the money to 
afford comprenhensive study of all of them, however, and am wondering which 
one(s) may give the maximum benefit after taking a class or two. most of the 
course descriptions indicate the classes are focused on industrial 
environments.

i'd also plan to attend a workshop before delving into cob building (at 
least on a large scale), but i'm sure the more general stuff i knew 
beforehand, the more i'd benefit from a workshop.

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