[Cob] birth of the home building professional

[Molly Coghill]

Jennifer,
You have very eloquently, IMHO, stated some of the best reasons I've
encountered for building with alternative methods/materials, and many of the
reasons that I myself have decided to go this route.  May I borrow some of
your eloquence when I plead my case to the local permit department? :)
-Molly (first-time poster)

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Jennifer Hileman-Reinhart" <jennlynn at kiva.net>
To: <coblist at deatech.com>
Sent: Friday, July 23, 2004 6:02 PM
Subject: [Cob] birth of the home building professional


> Here is something that I find myself thinking about. (Sorry if I am
> being redundant or if I digress a bit- I get the digests each day
> sometimes I miss stuff! ) Anyway - my two cents.
>
> When did building homes become a profession?  The cob homes that have
> been standing in the UK for 450+ years - who built those?  I know that
> there is a history of architects and builders creating massive and
> ornate buildings - usually public or religious places.  But it seems
> like for many years creating shelter was the domain of the person
> needing that shelter, supported by their family and community.
>
> Everyday I drive past homes that are still lived in - built by pioneers
> of the early 1800's.  They were not professional home builders.
>
> Every conventional home I have lived in has a mold/mildew problem -
> some oldish and some new - but there is mold in the basement on a moist
> wall or in the kitchen behind the fridge - sometimes much worse.  . . .
> some to the point where I have broken the lease and moved out.  All of
> them built by "professionals"
>
> The women of mexico who plaster their homes each year - are they
> professionals?  They make no money for it.  They have no formal
> education.  It is a way of life.  All over the world people create
> their own shelter.
>
> I think that "Natural Building"  offers us an opportunity to recapture
> what we have lost in this era of having more money than time and so we
> pay someone to build something that is standard.  I helped my parents
> build part of our home that I lived in as a child.   My three year old
> is helping us build our cob/bale home right now and he will grow up
> totally immersed in this - I hope that someday he will build his own
> home and he will teach his children these skills.
>
> Can we reclaim the building of a home as something that most people
> know how to do?   That people do, rather than builders.  That the
> builders are the owners.  Or at least that is an option for those that
> choose to.  I would argue that as one of the big reasons why I chose
> cob and bales.  Because I can do it. We have learned in hands on
> workshops from experienced builders.  We have considered things like
> moisture and freeze thaw cycles.  We have done the research to know how
> to build walls to carry the clay tile roof we will have.  We have
> learned how to use plasters and applying them is not rocket science -
> If we have a question we seek out someone who will know the answer.
> All of our decisions are made with great care.
>
> Unless we foster a network of people who are able and willing to answer
> the questions for owner-builders the ownership of a home will remain
> out of reach for many.
>
> I know that even with folks that are considered experienced - there
> have been some real tragedy's when they push the envelope and try new
> things.   But I think also it is a real shame to think that
> "non-builders" playing around with alternative methods is so
> detrimental to the movement.  There is much to be gained through
> experimenting and making mistakes and if we are to live in fear of what
> might happen if we do something different - well I would hate to
> imagine where we would be today.
>
> I am experimenting with cob and bale cob hybrids and things that are
> far from mainstream - I am building my home - I will live in it and it
> will be mine.  I am not building it for a resale value.  I am building
> it because I want it to be a space that I am comfortable in.  And the
> fact that I could go to most malls and spend more on one outfit than we
> will on the entire house is phenomenally interesting to me.  I have a
> home that is mine.  Outright.  And that is security - not knowing that
> I have a home with resale value that I will work the rest of my life to
> pay for and what if I lose that job. . . . .
>
> I guess we might be totally unique - Our decision was that if our
> cob/bale home rots to the ground we will build another one. It is
> simply a matter of a few months to do that labor- we would be able to
> reuse all the roofing material, windows and doors and do it another
> way.
>
> If I have a mortgage and my home starts to mildew/mold/rot it would be
> a real tragedy. . . .
>
> There will always be folks who need tried and true methods and folks
> who are willing to experiment and push the envelope.  Everyone finds
> something that works for them and my take on the bale/cob combo (where
> my interior wall is 6inches of cob that comes in direct contact with a
> bale) is that I won't really know if it works until I actually do it.
>
> -jenn
> __________________________
> May you live every day of your life
> -Jonathan Swift
>
> _______________________________________________
> Coblist mailing list
> Coblist at deatech.com
> http://www.deatech.com/mailman/listinfo/coblist