Cob: cobbing in New Mexico

[Kristina Orchard-Hays]

Greetings fellow cobbers,
 
My partner and I recently purchased 20 acres of land near Taos, New Mexico and are now in the process of building our cob home on it.  We're camping on the land full-time (very dusty and windy!) and learning as we go.
 
Upon reflection, we decided to make our first building the outhouse for our composting toilet -- that way we could practice and perfect our cobbing techniques on a small rather than larger structure.  So far we have dug the foundation trench, filled it with gravel that we harvested from our property (using screens) and are now mortaring larger rocks and boulders on top of it.  Does anyone have any suggestions on how high our stemwell should be?  Also how thick to make the cob walls?  We've been reading that cob is not quite as insulatory in cold winter climates so are a bit concerned.  Is this true?  How cold do Taos winters get anyway?  We've looked up the numbers but have yet to actually experience one.
 
Also, for our larger cob building, we want to put up the roof first so we can cob underneath it.  We imagine using four posts on which to nail the roofing material.  However, we can't seem to find any info on how to plant/mortar the posts into place -- does anyone have any experience with this?
 
Thanks in advance for any and all suggestions.... also, there are three other 20 acre parcels on sale next to us if anyone is interested.  The land is completely off the grid, west of the Rio Grande Gorge.  Full of sagebrush and red clay dirt.
 
Thanks,
Kristina
 


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<DIV>Greetings fellow cobbers,</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>My partner and I recently purchased 20 acres of land near Taos, New Mexico and are now in the process of building our cob home on it.  We're camping on the land full-time (very dusty and windy!) and learning as we go.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Upon reflection, we decided to make our first building the outhouse for our composting toilet -- that way we could practice and perfect our cobbing techniques on a small rather than larger structure.  So far we have dug the foundation trench, filled it with gravel that we harvested from our property (using screens) and are now mortaring larger rocks and boulders on top of it.  Does anyone have any suggestions on how high our stemwell should be?  Also how thick to make the cob walls?  We've been reading that cob is not quite as insulatory in cold winter climates so are a bit concerned.  Is this true?  How cold do Taos winters get anyway?  We've looked up the numbers but have yet to actually experience one.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Also, for our larger cob building, we want to put up the roof first so we can cob underneath it.  We imagine using four posts on which to nail the roofing material.  However, we can't seem to find any info on how to plant/mortar the posts into place -- does anyone have any experience with this?</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Thanks in advance for any and all suggestions.... also, there are three other 20 acre parcels on sale next to us if anyone is interested.  The land is completely off the grid, west of the Rio Grande Gorge.  Full of sagebrush and red clay dirt.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Thanks,</DIV>
<DIV>Kristina</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV><p><hr SIZE=1>
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