[Cob] blueprints

[Amanda Peck]

Three (maybe four, well, five, the last being don't build there) 
possiblities.

1) probably the most expensive.  Hire an architect to both work on the 
design AND draw the blueprints, and possibly oversee the construction.  
There are probably a couple around that COULD, maybe even WOULD do it.  If 
you have to have a STAMP, it means that the architect or engineer not only 
believes that the design is OK, but I'd think also that you are capable of 
doing it right.  Their licenses are on the line if it's a pile of junk.


2) probably the cheapest, if that's all you end up having to do--but you may 
have to do 1) or 3) as well.  More work in advance on your part.  Maybe even 
some decisions you'd rather not make this early in the process, but all of 
them have to be made at some time.  Get your facts together, finalize your 
design, including what EXACTLY you are going to do for foundation/footing, 
plumbing, HVAC, electricity/wiring--yep, where each switch and outlet will 
be located--take this, and maybe gift copies of The Hand Sculpted House and 
the rocket stove booklet to your friendly local INDEPENDENT DRAFTSMAN.

You might well end up having to put copies of the books in the hands of the 
planning department--although you might make a point of "lending" them 
there, so they won't think it is some kind of weird and totally insufficient 
bribe.  And everything from Ian up in BC on shake tests, and Gernot Minke's 
little booklet (pointing out that cob is really reinforced, and what is in 
the booklet is not at all reinforced and your design follows the guidelines 
anyway).

Ask BEFOREHAND, does "blueprints" in this case mean that you need an 
architect or structural engineer's STAMP?  Somehow I don't think that an 
inependent draftsman can do that for you.

There is an adobe code, reproduced on the web and in various books.  You 
will have to at least look at it--although it calls, IIRC, for a lot of 
concrete.

And at least one person on the list has gotten codes approval for a building 
by saying (and doing!) that what they wanted was post-and-beam infill--they 
may have started with a non-codes shed so that it could be looked at.

3) structural engineer.  One on the list--he has been hired.  Local might be 
better for getting along with your codes department.  And there are those 
people in Canada also on the list, who just sort-of finished the shake test 
of the model.  You need to have done just about as much advance work to talk 
to a structural engineer as you would to an independent draftsman.  And you 
might end up HAVING TO do both.

4) I haven't looked for this with respect to cob, but I've run into 
blueprints for straw bale houses for sale on the web.  Complete with 
architect's stamp.  My recollection is that you couldn't pay me to live in 
one of them, but I'm weird.  I feel that way about most published designs.

handful of links


Article about the adobe code and seismic considerations--I've recently read 
Sara Andrews' mystery "Aftershock" (?) learned more than I ever want to know 
about earthquakes in the process, including her heroine's discussion of sand 
shapes, and the fact that the deadliest possible earthquake would be in an 
area that hasn't had one in a couple of hundred years--she thought "Boston."

http://www.deatech.com/natural/cobinfo/adobe.html

Minke--been posted here a few zillion times--all it costs is your what comes 
from your printer--there seems to be a new one on building with pumice:

http://www.gtz.de/basin/publications/books/ManualMinke.pdf

Ian, BC, Canada = Stanley Park Cob.  They're pretty interested in structural 
ideas/working in cities.  They're the ones who sponsored the shake 
test--information here.

http://www.stanleyparkcob.ca/



..................
Greg asked:
the city i live in requires a blueprint of what we want to build before
we can get permits. how does one put together a set of blueprints
for a cob house?


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