[Cob] Engineered Cob House Plans

[Jill Hogan]

Hi,
Cob houses are beautiful house no matter what their design is. THe 
loving energy set gently into the walls radiates out and embraces one. I 
cannot get people to leave my home. We are building a second one down at 
the bottom of my property pictures on  www.mat.org.za  Our building 
inspector has passed the house and visits regularly. She is working 
towards being the first accredited building inspecterqualified to pass 
natural houses. The Heritage body here in South Africa is working with 
her to achieve this. My houses have been passed conditional to them 
being passed by a structural engineer
We are very excited about this. The house we are building now is tiny 
but the government dimensions for low cost housing as we want to show 
what can be done.

Jill

On 2010/02/12 11:03 PM, Janet Standeford wrote:
>
>> Damon Howell wrote:
>>
>>> I'm sorry, but every time a new formless  building is erected with 
>>> cob a disservice is done to our current  predicament . That would be 
>>> that honest individuals who want to obey  the law cannot build 
>>> because most cobbers are looked at as clueless.
> Janet wrote:
> /Hi Damon, I completely agree. The officials I am working with are 
> prety open though somewhat dubious in large part because they have 
> seen a strawbale house go up and look presentable to the market. They 
> also see the benefits. So long as mine fits into their idea of a 
> reasonable house, the next cobber will have an easier time of getting 
> plans approved and will most likely be allowed a bit more leniency. I 
> really don't mind the small current sacrifice/ /of not having curvy or 
> not rounded walls. Inside I can make all the cubbies I want and build 
> in anything I want. Again, those will be made with care to showcase 
> the beauty and versatility of cob/.
> Brina wrote:
>> I live in an ugly box.  I don't want to live in an ugly box.  
>> Everything about those "formless" houses speaks to me on a deep and 
>> visceral level.  And this is coming from one of the most practical 
>> people you'll ever hope to meet. I'd make a very poor flake.
> Janet wrote:
> /Hi Brina, I hope you can see that a cob home built in such a way as 
> to ease the minds of officials can still be very beautiful and 
> comforting./
>> Brina wrote:
>> In my experience, ignorance is often cured with information.
> Janet wrote:
> /You are right Brina. But we are not dealing with ignorance here. We 
> are dealing with officials who are bound by the tangle of codes they 
> and others before them have enacted and they must try to uphold those 
> codes. It is up to us to help them see that they should include code 
> for cob and to teach them that cob must breathe. For instance, I am 
> faced with having to use portland cement as a plaster outside (inside 
> will be natural plaster). I will try to "educate" them last minute 
> regarding the need for the walls to breathe but if all fails, I will 
> use portland cement to help pave the way for others./
>> Damon wrote:
>>> And from what we keep hearing, it's not  about numbers. They will 
>>> accept it if they are liberal enough. And  the best way to gain 
>>> their approval is show them something they've seen before and make 
>>> one change (it's built with cob).
> Janet wrote:
> /The perfect way to put it./
>> Brina wrote:
>> Except (again) I don't *want* to live in that house. Fabulously 
>> wealthy people get away with what amounts to structural insanity (I 
>> have a vague memory of giant house with a fish tank over the entryway 
>> in a seismic zone...might have been here in Seattle or in Cali.).  
>> But we po' folk are expected to toe the structural line, despite our 
>> expectations being far more modest.  It's MADNESS.  And I'm 
>> unconvinced the best way to deal with madness is to cave to its every 
>> demand.
> Janet wrote:
> /We don't have to cave in. We have to compromise for awhile. When cob 
> houses are finally viewed as safe and desirable by officials, they 
> will be more than willing to listen to those at the legal end of this 
> endeavor. When you are being battered are you willing to listen to the 
> batterer? Show them the honey "finished, nice, marketable homes" and 
> they will show you the codes./
>> Brina wrote:
>> California-style Class K owner/builder permits are the best 
>> solution.  And getting them involves direct, productive action, not 
>> accepting the status quo.
> Janet wrote:
> /I like the idea of this type of permit. Again, we must show them the 
> possibilities and they will be willing to work with us more./
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