Cob: Update: rubble trench, rethinking roof, attitudes

[Waiting4 TheDay]

Amanda,

Actually, I'd like to see a cob house myself LOL.  I'm building on faith, 
plus a few pictures and the common sense of it all.  As far as I know there 
aren't any cob houses around here -- say from St. Louis to Memphis.  Is 
there any kind of national directory of cob buildings?

I was peeling fresh-cut swamp maple logs in February of last year with a 
long-handled scraper.  I guess it wasn't too bad so long as the tree was 
fairly young...seemed that once their bark began to furrow the going got 
tough.  I had taken down an elm to expand the nursery and decided to give it 
a go...for about three feet.  At that point I'd spent more time and energy 
than if I'd done 12' of maple.  I've read some articles about maple not 
being long-lasting, but those logs I did have been out in the weather 
uncovered (but up off the ground) for over a year now and there's no rot or 
insect damage.  What I also like about the maple is the quickness of drying 
and the lightness once it was dry.  Hmmm, I better watch it or I'll convince 
myself to go back to the original plan....there's just something so right 
about exposed timber rafters.

Chuck

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