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[Cob] mixing cob with rototillerbill@auburnacupuncture.net bill at auburnacupuncture.netSun Mar 3 09:59:20 CST 2013
Thanks Kristen, So the cement mixer will do ALL the mixing!? I've seen people make the, "slip" in a C-mixer, then stomp straw into that manually, but you put ALL in ingredients into the mixer successfully!? Any detailed tips to be successful, or just go for it? Thanks, Bill Sent from my Verizon Wireless 4GLTE smartphone ----- Reply message ----- From: "Kristen Davenport Katz" <kristen at boxcarfarm.com> To: <avjyoung at shaw.ca>, <coblist at deatech.com> Subject: [Cob] mixing cob with rototiller Date: Sat, Mar 2, 2013 8:44 pm We use a cement mixer. We got one for like $350 and it has lasted five years so far. It definitely makes the whole thing easier. Once mixed, we dump the cob in the cement mixer into a wheelbarrow and push it over. We put the cement mixer as close to the structure as possible so it's not a long haul. Then you just lift handfuls and add it to the growing cob wall. The hardest part is pushing the wheelbarrow. It's work, but it's not backbreaking. We've put up two small structures this way and I wouldn't hesitate to build a whole house like this. So if you have electricity, you can do this. Kristen -----Original Message----- From: coblist-bounces at deatech.com [mailto:coblist-bounces at deatech.com] On Behalf Of avjyoung at shaw.ca Sent: Saturday, March 02, 2013 9:38 PM To: coblist at deatech.com Subject: Re: [Cob] mixing cob with rototiller Chiming in here because we have experience of mixing with rototiller and small digger.... We borrowed a small digger with tracks, an arm, and a bulldozer blade from a neighbour for $25CDN an hour and parked it at our place so we could use it whenever we needed. We used the scoop as a measure for making cob, and ended up with a pit in the driveway to help contain the cob so it didn't spread all over, then scraped it out when done so it was easier to access. Eventually the neighbour needed it back, so we got a second-hand rototiller. We built a platform about 9' x 9' from thin scrap wood and that works fine to prevent the tines and cob from disappearing into the earth. The tines need cleared of long straw sometimes, and I mix a bit more straw into the cob manually as the rototiller doesn't seem able to get quite enough in. I think you can blunt the tines with an angle grinder if they are chopping through the straw too much. Rototiller cost $50CDN. Amounts; mixing a small batch with a digger (one scoop clay, two pumice, two sand, straw and water to taste), gives a lot of cob. We had layers of tarps over it in the shade to stop it drying out and sprayed it with the hose when it felt too dry. It was good for doing walls with, when I was getting through a lot of cob very quickly. With the rototiller, we mixed using a wheelbarrow as a measure. It ends up quite wet, more so if you don't cover it with plastic against the winter rains. I put a load in a wheelbarrow at the front and keep a flake of straw at the back, and mix a handful of straw into every fork load of cob. I think this helps counter straw rot from the longer drying time in winter, and helps to dry it out a bit. Still wetter cob, but smaller quantities, which works well for the interior furniture and walls I am doing at the moment. I just do multiple thin lifts to let it dry enough. Cost; if you can figure something out like our arrangement with a neighbour, it's way cheaper than a hire from the tool rental place. The one time we did this, it worked out about $100 an hour for a little bobcat. You only need it for 3-4 hours to mix a batch, but still have to pay all the delivery fee etc. A rototiller is cheaper again, and doesn't usually make more than one person can easily use, so it's not sitting too long. Overall, I would rather do either than mix by hand, as there are just so many other things that need done to build a house / raise a family, and mixing by hand is very time consuming. We are keen to get done so we can move in, after 7 years building so far, so saving time is getting more and more important for us. Hope this helps your decision-making, Anna cob/bale timberframe in Victoria, BC _______________________________________________ Coblist mailing list Coblist at deatech.com http://www.deatech.com/mailman/listinfo/coblist ----- No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 10.0.1430 / Virus Database: 2641/5643 - Release Date: 03/02/13 _______________________________________________ Coblist mailing list Coblist at deatech.com http://www.deatech.com/mailman/listinfo/coblist
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