The Cob Builders Handbook

[JohnUbele]

I read this book back in 2008. It is a good book for a construction method to build low cost housing. The technique does have some drawbacks to it, but I think it could be helpful for more people to learn about it.

Source:
https://store.motherearthnews.com/produ ... s-handbook

[Jim Mathias]

Essentially a mud hut, making something out of the materials you have at hand. Quaint, and do-able in a pinch for those with an intrepid spirit.

I did something similar with construction scraps scrounged as a kid in my grandmother's wooded acreage. They were called "tree forts" and were anything but square. "Lean-to's" might have been another way of describing them. Putting together a makeshift woodstove to heat it was tried too, but caused a lot of worry that us kids would "burn the woods down." Causing anxiety is what kids do, and I was guilty for doing my part. We had a blast.

[JohnUbele]

Essentially a mud hut, making something out of the materials you have at hand. Quaint, and do-able in a pinch for those with an intrepid spirit.

I did something similar with construction scraps scrounged as a kid in my grandmother's wooded acreage. They were called "tree forts" and were anything but square. "Lean-to's" might have been another way of describing them. Putting together a makeshift woodstove to heat it was tried too, but caused a lot of worry that us kids would "burn the woods down." Causing anxiety is what kids do, and I was guilty for doing my part. We had a blast.

This passage is near the beginning of the book:

"...There is evidence that cob building began in Europe about 800 years ago. Some buildings that were built in the 16th and 17th centuries are still standing today. In England, there are approximately 50,000 cob buildings still in use today..."