Cob: cobbing in canada

[dtebb]

Hi Wendy

I always tell people who are interested in building a cob house to go visit
some cob homes first and volunteer on a construction project first. Lucky
for you there is lots of cob around Victoria. Cortes, Saltspring, Denman,
Hornby, Mayne, Galiano all have cob buildings. I believe that Cobworks is
working on a cob structure at Our Eco Village up at Shawnigan Lake. There
is a cob garden shed down at the Menzies St Community garden by the
government buildings. Here in Vancouver, I built a small guesthouse in my
backyard and there are two garden sheds being built in Vancouver this
summer. Cobworks out of Mayne Island are the folks who are doing much of
the building now. Contact them for more info. I also caution people who
want to build a cob house. From my experience it can be alot of work. You
need a strong back,lots of friends and/or lots of time. Think small. Forget
about a 2 or 3,000 sq ft house as that quite possibly may be too much work.
The best way to get your cob house built is to set up a workshop. The
beauty of cob is that it is relatively easy to build so it can be cheaper
if you build yourself, but like any building type, there are pros and cons
with cob. Do your research as there are of course many other considerations.

Ian Marcuse
Vancouver

>hello all,
>
>i live here in victoria, british columbia, canada, and was recently
>introduced to the cob concept by my brother. he bought a book called the
>Hand Sculpted House and i've started reading. the whole idea so impressed
>me. it seems like, finally, an affordable alternative, but more than that,
>the pictures of the actual houses were like a fantasy. beautiful beyond
>any conventional type house in any price range.  i guess my question is,
>is building and owning one Really possible? cob houses just seem too good
>to be true.  i know you are all busy, so if anyone lives in canada and
>could share a bit of insight into the do-ability of canadian cob, i'd be
>appreciative. i don't want to get my hopes up any uneccessarily.
>
>i am wowed,  and congrats to anyone working on any project,
>
>wendy
>
>
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