Cob Size Estimates

[Mike Carter]

>On Wed, 28 Jan 1998, Will Firstbrook WCB of BC wrote:
>
>> Hi fellow Cobbers,
>>
>> I have a question for some of the experienced cob builders on this list.
>> Based on your experience what would be reasonable size cob building to
>> complete in 1 summer with 2 people working full time, 200, 500, 600,
>> 1000 sq. ft? I am currently working out details in our design and I'm

I think that sq. ft. is a very misleading measurement to use with Cob, due
to the thickness of the walls (do you measure from inside or out) and the
ability to include "furniture" directly in the walls.  Also, are you
planning on more than one story tall?
>[SNIP]
>Shannon Responded:
>This would depend on the physical strength and/or limitations of the two
>people, whether or not any mechanical mixing methods are used, the amount
>of interior cob walls, the height of the walls, how much time (if any)
>will be required for hauling materials to the site, how much site
>preparation and foundation work will be required, etc..  That having been
>said, I believe it is possible for two people to complete all the walls to
>the 1000 square foot structure in one summer without using any mechanical
>mixing,[SNIP]
I agree with Shannon.  But note that you asked about completing the
building, not just the walls.  You also need to plan for finding and
obtaining materials, windows, doors, lighting fixtures, electric service,
plumbing, septic system, fireplace, doing the plastering, building
scaffolding, the ROOF, protecting it from rain, etc.  Our little test module
(2 stories, 15' exterior diameter) will have about 7 person-months into it
when we are "done".  Maybe 1/3-1/2 of that time is actually Cobbing.  So I
would vote for the 200-300 "sq-ft" range to actually complete something.
There is a lot more to it than the Cob!

Can you give us more details of your project?

Mike Carter