[Cob] metal roofing, location, permits, codes & house size.

[Dorothy Bothne]

Hi Jill,
I've been sitting back and watching all the discussion
and decided to put my two cents in.
metal roofing:
my first cob structure was a combo chicken coop,
greenhouse & garden shed ~ 288 sq ft of metal roofing.
 I ordered the roofing from home depot and I think we
paid about 350$ to 400$.  we installed it ourselves.
location:
we're building a cob home in Travis County just north
of Austin, Texas (outside the city limits).  we
originally purchased the land (about 3 acres) with
electric/water/septic in place for a mobile home.  we
purchased a repo'd mobile home to live in while we
build our house.  purchase price of the mobile home
was less than what you'd pay for a new car.
permits:
When I applied for a permit to build our house, what
they were interested in was the location of the
proposed house on our property, and the size of the
home relative to the size of the septic tank.  I
provided them with a drawing of my lot showing the
footprint of the house and the location of the septic
system (public records had a copy of the original
septic system permit).  since a portion of my property
is below the 100yr floodplain, we have to show that
our final finished floor elevation is a minimum of 1
foot above the 100yr level.  
They did ask me what type of construction we were
going to use and when I tried to explain cob I just
got a blank stare, so I told him to just record it as
"post and beam with infill", and they were satisfied.
codes:
In my work, I have to deal with the City of Austin
Plan Reviewers on a regular basis.  In my experience,
I've found if you can show that you are trying to meet
the  "intent" of the code, they'll work with you. 
I've found them to be a good source of information and
help.
I know I'll probably get slammed for saying this, but
please remember that the code minimum standards were
developed to protect you.  Don't ignore them or try to
side step them.    
house size:
I can see the value of small houses when considering
time & materials, but with a whole bunch of grandkids
and a husband that's like a grizzly bear who enjoys
his own space with peace and quiet, we opted for a
larger house that could be built in phases, with
independent heating/cooling systems for the different
zones.  that way, we can close down parts of the house
when all the grandkids go home.  for the
heating/cooling system, we're going to install
geothermal water source heat pumps (very energy
efficient).  We're also installing a grey water system
to capture all drainage water from the house with the
exception of the kitchen sink and toilets.  the grey
water will be used for vegetable garden and fruit
trees.  We also plan on installing rain water
collection for potable water use.
the pictures on our homepage are a few weeks old. we
hope to be finished with phase 1 by next summer, at
which time we'll move the mobile home off the property
and give it to one of our grown kids. 

Regards,
Dorothy
http://home.swbell.net/bothne/bear_cave.html



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