Cob: thinking thru house details & convenience

[Charmaine]

Amanda, that was the best described "think & plan" piece I have seen in 
ages.

I laughed when you wrote "a shelf for groceries at the back door"   I 
just hung a coat hook bar for the wet gear, dog leash,  etc. right 
outside the back door- finally ( this has been a really wet winter) . 
and I happened to have two  32 gal  lidded totes lined up beside the 
door ( full of sand an clay for future cob experiments) and I found I 
kept sitting on them to remove boots, wipe down the wet dog after a 
rainy walk, etc.  So now  I KNOW I need a real bench there,  LOW to the 
ground for easy shoe putting off & on , and underneath storage for the 
muddy boots...If I hadn't gotten into this routine I would have missed 
the opportunity to make life a little easier for common tasks.
(A warm water hose  near by for washing off shoes and the dog would be 
great..gotta work on that!)

On wall and window detail...just moving a window location a foot can 
make a terrific difference for solar gain/ avoiding over heating,  or a 
better view of a favorite tree or hillside...all can be done by just 
standing there and "dreaming" while building..pretty soon it seems to be 
intuitive HOW it should be for comfort and pleasure of your new home.

as a last thought one idea that has merit in cob  homes is planning for 
glass doors between rooms, or at least door quilts. this saves so much 
heat/stops drafts, etc. that I am surprised more homes don't have them. 
   I saw some sliding pocket doors with home made stained glass and 
leading  on Extreme homes...really looked good and worked well in 
winter.    OPEN floor plans are popular in conventional houses but 
 don't take heat loss into consideration.

ok I blabbed enough. : >

Ms. Charmaine  Taylor/ Taylor Publishing
http://www.dirtcheapbuilder.com    http://www.papercrete.com
PO Box 375, Cutten (Eureka) CA 95534
707-441-1632     tms at northcoast.com