[Cob] roofs in Malta and Rocket stoves in Bulgaria

[Susan Hagan]

HI Everyone,

 

Absolutely FASCINATED about the cob roofs in Malta and since I have been invited there for a holiday would love to know more about them and see photos so that I can see them when I am there. Thanks so much for the posting. 

 

I have just finished the bare bones of my massive rocket stove in the middle of my barn and want to let everyone know how successful it is. The 'Dragoness' burned for 48 hours after her first firing and kept this large, not fully leak proof, barn lovely and warm. I hope Ianto reads these posts as I want to thank him for the skill learned from his book, and all the cobbing skills he taught me! I believe this may be the first one in Bulgaria and since everyone I know here thought that I was really a mad woman I had a lot of credibility riding on the success of it. I had to have a huge H chimney top made for it by a local but the minute that was added we have seen no smoke at all. All the villagers who have watched this process now want one!  

 

Thank you to everyone, Michael Smith, Meka and anyone else that I bothered with questions during the building of both the prototype from scrap materials and the final one that is roaring away as I write. Some photos posted on my Facebook page if anyone wants to see.  

 

Have a great cobbing day to all,

 

Su Hagan (Hotnitsa, Bulgaria)


00359(0)895195318 (Bulgarian Mobile)  00359 6128263 (Bulgarian Landline) 

With Thanks. Susan Hagan.


 

> From: coblist-request at deatech.com
> Subject: Coblist Digest, Vol 8, Issue 11
> To: coblist at deatech.com
> Date: Wed, 13 Jan 2010 12:00:02 -0800
> 
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> Today's Topics:
> 
> 1. Malta roofs (Quinn)
> 2. cob roofs in Malta (Kathryn Marsh)
> 3. Cob roofing in Malta (neva)
> 4. Next step (Janet Standeford)
> 
> 
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> Message: 1
> Date: Tue, 12 Jan 2010 15:33:34 -0600
> From: Quinn <cowgrrlquinn at gmail.com>
> Subject: [Cob] Malta roofs
> To: coblist at deatech.com
> Message-ID: <A99A865A-2B94-4BD8-B5CF-AA3039FC5FD8 at gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=WINDOWS-1252; delsp=yes;
> format=flowed
> 
> Very interesting. Do you know if the limestone pebbles become powder 
> with the pounding of the mallets? Seems like they would but then 
> again, they're wooden. And if it does all become powder, I wonder 
> why they wouldn't just powder the limestone first? Save a step? You 
> didn't actually see anyone doing it, I guess?
> 
> Seems like it must stand up to weather pretty well.
> 
> Quinn
> _____________________________
> 
> 
> It takes more than 100 million trees to produce the total volume of 
> junk mail
> 
> that arrives in American mailboxes each year? that's the equivalent 
> of clearcutting
> 
> the entire Rocky Mountain National Park every 4 months. Stop Junk Mail
> 
> 
> On Jan 12, 2010, at 2:00 PM, coblist-request at deatech.com wrote:
> >
> > ------------------------------
> >
> > Message: 2
> > Date: Tue, 12 Jan 2010 17:30:37 +0000
> > From: Kathryn Marsh <kmarsh at iol.ie>
> > Subject: [Cob] Cob roofing in Malta
> > To: coblist at deatech.com
> > Cc: Kathryn Marsh <kmarsh at iol.ie>
> > Message-ID: <A0475622-5238-4FE8-BDA9-833C6B75ADD1 at iol.ie>
> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
> >
> > Just back from Malta where I was fascinated by the the ancient cob 
> > flat roofs which are used to collect water. The island has no 
> > natural water and is entirely dependent on a combination of small 
> > natural underground lakes, which collect what seeps through the 
> > limestone rock, and cisterns carved out under the houses. Many of 
> > these cisterns are hundreds of years old and the water for them is 
> > collected from these flat roofs. Nowadays they are membrane lined 
> > but I saw many, including one on my friend's house, that are made 
> > of cob. A mixture of clay and very fine limestone pebbles is 
> > pounded with wooden mallets until it is completely plastic and 
> > smooth and then simply left to dry. When the roof develops leaks 
> > another layer is added. I saw some that were up to fifteen inches 
> > thick. The houses are built of limestone, including the roofs which 
> > are made of long limestone blocks known as xorocs, with corbelled 
> > supports, and the cob bowl that collects the water is built up on 
> > top of them, draining down to a channel that leads into limestone 
> > down pipes that feed into the cisterns under the houses. Building 
> > up the cob surface is regarded as women's work but I couldn't find 
> > any young women who had ever learned how to do it or were 
> > interested in learning. I did meet a couple of very aged women who 
> > saw it as being as normal a part of house maintenance as painting 
> > the shutters
> >
> > kathryn
> >
> >
> > ------------------------------
> 
> 
> ------------------------------
> 
> Message: 2
> Date: Tue, 12 Jan 2010 21:50:57 +0000
> From: Kathryn Marsh <kmarsh at iol.ie>
> Subject: [Cob] cob roofs in Malta
> To: coblist at deatech.com
> Cc: Kathryn Marsh <kmarsh at iol.ie>
> Message-ID: <1ED3E7D4-6793-4ECD-BA92-3A8ECE87315D at iol.ie>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
> 
> If anyone wants a photo please write - it isn't very good but it is comparatively recently built. To those who asked about what happened to the limestone pebbles I think you can see how much they break down. The limestone is very, very soft when it is first cut, but it hardens on exposure to air. And you need to remember that Malta has a very dry climate from late spring to December so the water catching is all done during three winter months
> 
> kathryn
> 
> 
> ------------------------------
> 
> Message: 3
> Date: Wed, 13 Jan 2010 00:38:28 -0600
> From: "neva" <neva at cowboy.net>
> Subject: [Cob] Cob roofing in Malta
> To: <coblist at deatech.com>
> Cc: kmarsh at iol.ie
> Message-ID: <C50E883A6E8A411ABA387D4051541376 at neva>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
> 
> Fascinating. Did you take lots of photos and possibly post them
> somewhere we can link to see?
> 
> --Neva 
> ________________________________________
> Date: Tue, 12 Jan 2010 17:30:37
> From: Kathryn Marsh <kmarsh at iol.ie>
> Subject: [Cob] Cob roofing in Malta
> 
> Just back from Malta where I was fascinated by the the ancient cob
> flat roofs which are used to collect water. The island has no
> natural water 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ------------------------------
> 
> Message: 4
> Date: Wed, 13 Jan 2010 11:40:39 -0800
> From: Janet Standeford <janet.standeford at gmail.com>
> Subject: [Cob] Next step
> To: Cob List <coblist at deatech.com>
> Message-ID: <4B4E21B7.4020203 at gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=windows-1252; format=flowed
> 
> Thank you Bill. My next step is to give more detail on things like cob 
> floor layers and cob recipes plus I need to make some test samples for 
> psi testing, specs on appliances, etc.
> Does anyone here think the following is helpful to our cause? I didn't 
> submit it yet because I don't know if the tests were great or detrimental.
> 
> EARTHBAG HOUSING: STRUCTURAL BEHAVIOUR AND
> APPLICABILITY IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
> by
> Bryce Callaghan Daigle
> A thesis submitted to the Department of Civil Engineering
> In conformity with the requirements for
> the degree of Master of Science in Engineering
> Queen?s University
> Kingston, Ontario, Canada
> September, 2008
> Copyright ? Bryce Callaghan Daigle, 2008
> 
> 
> 
> ------------------------------
> 
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> 
> End of Coblist Digest, Vol 8, Issue 11
> **************************************
 		 	   		  
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