[Cob] smallest house design / kitchen appliances

[Shannon C. Dealy]

> In an attempt to plan the smallest cob house possible, per the advice
> of the cob-building books I have, I am having trouble with the design.
> Most, if not all the houses that I see, both online and off, don't have
> a bathroom or a place for a washer/dryer, much less a refrigerator. Any
> resource suggestions?
[snip]

As someone who lives and works in a very small cob house (70 square feet +
loft -- 120 sq. ft. footprint, 10 foot above grade max height), I can say
that it is certainly possible to put at least minimal bathroom facilities,
kitchen, etc. in the house, though I have opted not to have any bathroom
or laundry facilities inside, I could certainly manage it (I do have
cooking facilities and a small refrigerator).  If you want to get
some ideas of what is possible in a small space, go look at the smallest
motor homes that include most/all facilities.  After looking at these
motor homes, then try to think not in terms of what appliances they used
to fit into a given space, but rather how things were laid out to maximize
the use of space (compartments over and under seating areas, etc.).  The
needs of a motor home or apartment are not necessarily the same as your
needs for your small house.  For example, in the smaller motor homes, the
toilet is part of the shower unit and acts as a seat you can sit on while
taking a shower -- this unit would probably cost a fair bit to purchase
new in single unit quantities.  Using the same general idea, it occured to
me that you could make a shower using a large plastic tub with shower
curtain tucked into the sides, and when not in use as a shower, you could
set a sawdust toilet inside the tub and drape the shower curtain around a
larger area outside the tub as a privacy curtain for the toilet, giving
you an inexpensive toilet and shower in a very small space.  I took a
picture of this arrangement setup inside my house to show what was
possible for a presentation I gave at this year's Natural Building
Colloquium in New Mexico (yes I do plan on posting it to the web site,
though it may be a month or two before it's up -- I will notify the list).

The point is to look at how things are done in small spaces by others,
then look for a solution that better fits your goals, budget, etc.

This link may also be of interest to you, though it's been awhile since I
looked at it:

   http://resourcesforlife.com/groups/smallhousesociety/


Shannon C. Dealy      |               DeaTech Research Inc.
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