Thursday, December 18, 2014

TINY Cob home layout

The first photo is a doodle we drew up. The cob home takes the shape of a spiral, similar to a sea shell or snail shell. I'm still unsure of the window facing North East. This is where the sun starts to rise, but I have heard from other cob builders that you'll lose heat having windows facing North East. I am definite on small windows in the South East and West, and a large window facing South.

As of now, the trench spans 26 foot wide and 26 foot in length. I'm not too certain it's that length and width because I was using my foot to estimate, since their around 10 inches. I'll get exact measurements later....
There will be 2 foot of cob walls on the outside. The entrance will be about three foot wide, depending on the door we find. The living space will be an open concept (with the kitchen counter, couch, and stove), spanning 8-10 feet in length and less than 22 feet wide. The bedroom will be surrounded by 2 foot wide cob wall spiraling inwards creating a nook. The length of the bedroom comes to 17 foot and the width of the bed about 8 foot.
Most likely, the measurements are off, especially considering I was using my feet as measurement. Since writing this post, I have already dug the trench deeper, as well expanding the house another 4 feet.
On a piece of paper, you don't realize how small this house will be until you look at the photos I posted below. Already, we have dug out the trench, which we will be digging deeper about a foot or two. Really the trench I dug is a visual of the shape of the house.

I need to save up money for a small stove to heat the house, which will have a pipe going up the wall out of the roof. In the sketch below, I have the stove up against the wall facing the living space. The wall behind the stove will release heat in the night, making our bedroom warm and cozy.



In the following photos you'll notice a trench in the shape of a half circle. Also notice the four sticks marking the entrance of the house, and one of the sticks represents the wall extending in the house creating the wall for our bedroom.
The square sheet of plastic, you see in the photos, represent the living space where the couch and stove will be placed.









My vision for the home will look similar to Ziggy and April's creation, seen below. Their home was small but efficiently designed to save space. The picture here is the outside, and the second picture is a panoramic of the interior.


I have videos discussing my process for outlining the home and digging the trench here: Digging outline/trench for cob home (video). Also, I have other posts on the topic of cob homes. For more details on cob homes and building houses for free and with all natural materials, click the links here: Constructing our own home: cob building, homesteading, & free materials and COB BUILDING (Straw, clay, & Sand for building DREAM EARTH HOME

Again, I understand that this is an incredibly TINY home to some people. I grew up in a trailer and a small house with five other people. I usually shared beds and slept on floors. I am used to living in a small conditions. I do not intend to have a shower or toilet in the house either. My only intention with this home is to have somewhere to sleep warmly at night and store food and books.

It's actually liberating to live in a small home because you understand what's most valuable in the home. Possessions are overrated and too many possessions causes a feeling of "weighed" down or you feel like you could never pack up and leave. You'll always worry if someone will rob you of your stuff as well.

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