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Cob House
W
hat is a Cob House you might ask.
Cob construction uses sand, clay
and straw, mixed well this special
mud is applied to the foundation
in continuing layers. Each layer
must dry so that it can support the next, and the
wall is tapered in as you build up. When it is dry,
the walls are very hard and load bearing. The roof is
built directly on to the walls, as the walls themselves
are the support structure. This technique requires
almost no money or skill, and involves very little
environmental destruction while at the same time
allowing for creative and organic designs which
blend into the surroundings.
One Cob House that has caught the public’s
attention is that of Architect Féile Butler and her
husband Colin Ritchie’s in County Sligo. Having
trained with the Cob Cottage Company in 2005, in
2006 they attended the school of Natural Building
in Coquille in Oregon which is run by Cob Cottage.
Two years later, in 2008 Féile and Colin embarked
on building their own 130m2 hybrid cob and timber
frame home. The house was completed in 2 LH[