Cob: Builders with disabilities

Mon Jan 20 13:29:48 CST 2003

Hello --
I too use a wheelchair sometimes-but-not-always, so I have an idea of what 
you're talking about.  It seems to me that you could do a lot of this 
stuff, and that you definitely want other people to do the heaviest 
parts.  For examples, it seems like you could easily do the packing of cob 
around windows and doors, earth plasters (except the ceiling and highest 
parts of walls), making the windows and doors or rehabbing used ones 
(scraping, sanding, repainting, etc.).  A lot of the heavy stuff sounds 
like you COULD do it too, like mixing the cob or shoveling ingredients into 
a mechanical mixer, but anything that involves shoveling or heavy lifting 
is SO much easier for someone who can use their legs for leverage.  So if 
you have other people who can do it, it would be a lot less work for them 
than it would be for you. I dunno about piling the mixed cob to make the 
walls.  Maybe you would just need to try and see?  Some other things, of 
course would be basically impossible to do yourself, like raising heavy 
beams and maybe the roof in general.

And of course you would probably want to sit on something other than your 
wheelchair, so it won't get covered with mud :-).  A stump, or a cruddy old 
stool or kitchen chair from Goodwill.  If you need to roll around (for 
example, doing the plasters) you could probably sit on a tarp that drapes 
all around the wheelchair like a Christmas-tree skirt, and lift it up and 
tuck it under your legs when you roll.  I have been known to do this myself 
:-).

I hope I'm saying something useful here, and not just stating things that 
are already obvious to you. Good luck, and please remember not to push your 
body TOO hard :-).
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<html>
<font face="Arial, Helvetica" size=2>Hello --<br>
I too use a wheelchair sometimes-but-not-always, so I have an idea of
what you're talking about.  It seems to me that you could do a lot
of this stuff, and that you definitely want other people to do the
heaviest parts.  For examples, it seems like you could easily do the
packing of cob around windows and doors, earth plasters (except the
ceiling and highest parts of walls), making the windows and doors or
rehabbing used ones (scraping, sanding, repainting, etc.).  A lot of
the heavy stuff sounds like you COULD do it too, like mixing the cob or
shoveling ingredients into a mechanical mixer, but anything that involves
shoveling or heavy lifting is SO much easier for someone who can use
their legs for leverage.  So if you have other people who can do it,
it would be a lot less work for them than it would be for you. I dunno
about piling the mixed cob to make the walls.  Maybe you would just
need to try and see?  Some other things, of course would be
basically impossible to do yourself, like raising heavy beams and maybe
the roof in general.<br><br>
And of course you would probably want to sit on something other than your
wheelchair, so it won't get covered with mud :-).  A stump, or a
cruddy old stool or kitchen chair from Goodwill.  If you need to
roll around (for example, doing the plasters) you could probably sit on a
tarp that drapes all around the wheelchair like a Christmas-tree skirt,
and lift it up and tuck it under your legs when you roll.  I have
been known to do this myself :-).  <br><br>
I hope I'm saying something useful here, and not just stating things that
are already obvious to you. Good luck, and please remember not to push
your body TOO hard :-).  </font><br>
</html>

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