[Cob] asking for a few ideas

[Amanda Peck]

I'm with you on indoor plumbing, it's a good thing.  Also on Mark's website 
and pictures.

It's not really purist, but consider putting the ROOF on before the walls.  
Ianto Evans apparently has put a roof up on removable poles, then lowered it 
onto a small building.  "Small" (or access to a large crane!) would be the 
operative word.  Other people make the walls non-load-bearing, put the roof 
up on permanent poles.

If your electricity supply is poor-to-nonexistent, you could do what they 
did in an early book for Canadian homesteaders--put a tank in the attic, 
manually pump it full from cistern or (shallow) well.  Unfortunately that 
means you will have very low water pressure (roughly 1/2 a psi per foot of 
elevation--those demand gas heaters require 20psi, standard city water is 
closer to 40.  Sometimes you can substitute large pipes for pressure.).  
I've never tried to do plumbing with copper pipe, but the plastic and iron 
stuff are easy.  Making sure that the drains all slope downhill can be a bit 
of a trick, I've only watched on that.

But make sure that one way or another you allow enough room for BOOKS!  
(separate building, only needs a bit of light, be water- and relatively 
insect-proof?)
...........
Mary Lou wrote:

First a  BIG THANK YOU to Mark Piepkorn for the great links.  Some of the 
most inspiring fotos I've seen yet!  What I'm needing advice on is, HOW DO 
YOU GUYS DO IT!!!    I'm married to a teacher who doesn't make a fraction of 
what he's worth.  I've had some health problems which has probably numbered  
how long I will be out there working.  Money is tight.  I've been hoarding 
here and there and I think I could probably get a small start but with cob 
being affordable it also seems to have the drawback of needing to have the 
work proceed continuously so it stays wet on wet so the clay continues to 
adhere to itself.  Hopefully, I'll be able to give my building project one 
day per week spring, summer  and fall.  Nothing during winter.  I will be 
working alone most of the time.  When it comes to roof work, I will have to 
hire some helpers.  My husband thinks I'm nuts.  After all, building a house 
from dirt is considered nuts by most folks.  I am envisioning a hybrid 
cob/cordwood for the needed insulation for our Iowa weather and I believe it 
will take me around three years if everything goes well.  But the building 
medium will probably not accept that schedule.  On top of that , my husband 
has a deep and abiding affection for indoor plumbing and in the dead of 
winter, I must admit that I wholeheartedly agree.  So, our reasonably 
sized,earth-friendly house will need all the amenities.  I can do all the 
cold wiring so I'm not so concerned about that  but  plumbing makes me 
nervous because I am totally clueless on the subject.  I'm one of those 
people that  if I read something I've not handled before, it doesn't always 
sink in  My uncle showed me wiring so I've got it in my head for life.  I 
can also wire a house for phone or cable, shingle and build a little less 
than totally square cabinets ( which will probably be whats necessary for MY 
house)  I would like to go to a cob workshop but don't have the time or 
money to be gone like that.  I would need a few days of cob day camp within 
a hundred mile radius of my home and I don't see that as a possibility.  So, 
in a nutshell, I'm working by myself, with very little money and very little 
time.....tell me what to do.  Thanks now for any insights you have to offer.

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