The Gable Ends
10/17/06 07:02 PM Category: House Construction
For the gable ends, we are using another natural building technique, where a lath is stuffed with straw that has been coated in a a clay slip (clay blended in water to make a thick, latex like liquid). This is what creates the insulation, and then the wall can be finished in any way desired, inside and out. Earthen plasters work exceptionally well, because they "grab on" to the straw and form an extremely strong bond.
We have finished stuffing one gable end, and just started on the other today. We plastered the inside of the one with 4 coats of earthen plaster. Our mix was similar to the mix that we used in the cordwood, only we used an extra part manure in place of the sawdust and doubled the flour glue, psyllium and kefir. The outside will be finished with cedar shakes next spring.
It's a pretty bad pic, but it's all we've got for now...
Metal roofing going on. Turned out to be a pretty straight roof for round poles, if I do say so myself.
We have finished stuffing one gable end, and just started on the other today. We plastered the inside of the one with 4 coats of earthen plaster. Our mix was similar to the mix that we used in the cordwood, only we used an extra part manure in place of the sawdust and doubled the flour glue, psyllium and kefir. The outside will be finished with cedar shakes next spring.
It's a pretty bad pic, but it's all we've got for now...
Metal roofing going on. Turned out to be a pretty straight roof for round poles, if I do say so myself.
Building and Using Outdoor Cob Bread Oven
10/17/06 01:22 PM Category: General
The kids and I had fun building our bread oven in a day. It was a little easier for us because we had all of the cob-making materials and pits on hand. I also took the easy way out and used cinder blocks for the base. That's what we had on hand, and they seem to be working just fine.
The process was to first pour about 8 5-gallon buckets of sand in the area that I wanted to build the oven and level it. Then we laid the cinder blocks, leveling them as we went. Then we built up an egg-shaped mound of wet sand, again using about another 8 buckets of sand. We used bricks to help contain the sand while we built it up.
When we liked the shape and size of the sand mound, we covered it with wet newspaper.
Over that, we put a layer of sand/clay cob a few inches thick, and then another layer of my regular cob mix, another 2-3 inches thick.
Then we allowed that to dry for 4 or 5 days. The weather was cool and damp.
Next, we cut out the door and made a fire. We cooked bread in the oven, and the next day made pizza. It was good, but a little sandy and gritty. Then we learned to mop out the ashes with a wet mop (improvised with a big rag on a stick). We have cooked in the oven several times since.
We also decided to add more layers to the oven so that it would hold the heat longer. We added about 4 inches of clay/sawdust, and then covered that with another layer of plaster cob.
When I've done it right, the bread and pizza have been far and away the BEST I've ever had, but I've had a few flops in figuring out the best method/temp. One thing that I've noticed is that the bread keeps much better than my regular oven baked bread.
The process was to first pour about 8 5-gallon buckets of sand in the area that I wanted to build the oven and level it. Then we laid the cinder blocks, leveling them as we went. Then we built up an egg-shaped mound of wet sand, again using about another 8 buckets of sand. We used bricks to help contain the sand while we built it up.
When we liked the shape and size of the sand mound, we covered it with wet newspaper.
Over that, we put a layer of sand/clay cob a few inches thick, and then another layer of my regular cob mix, another 2-3 inches thick.
Then we allowed that to dry for 4 or 5 days. The weather was cool and damp.
Next, we cut out the door and made a fire. We cooked bread in the oven, and the next day made pizza. It was good, but a little sandy and gritty. Then we learned to mop out the ashes with a wet mop (improvised with a big rag on a stick). We have cooked in the oven several times since.
We also decided to add more layers to the oven so that it would hold the heat longer. We added about 4 inches of clay/sawdust, and then covered that with another layer of plaster cob.
When I've done it right, the bread and pizza have been far and away the BEST I've ever had, but I've had a few flops in figuring out the best method/temp. One thing that I've noticed is that the bread keeps much better than my regular oven baked bread.