the full series of Debbie West's photos of the cob project are here.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/42433046@N00/sets/72157594185107592/
copy and paste into your browser's address line it if it doesn't work from here as a link.
Hi, I'm back in the world of computer owners. Just got a new MacBook laptop, the base model, should do me fine for writing and such. So I'll probably write entries more often again. The cob house is basically done. I finished laying the second layer of the cob/adobe floor a couple days ago but the weather is so cool and damp now that it will take awhile for it to dry out. I have been firing up the rocket stove frequently to get it to dry faster. The rocket stove, for those who have never heard of it, it basically just a special kind of wood-burning unit where the smoke and heat drafts down and through a short internal brick chimney then through duct that runs through a thermal mass, i.e. a cob bench which thus heats up and stores the heat for hours, before exiting the house at a fairly low temperature. Thus it is far more efficient at extracting heat from fuel than a conventional woodstove or fireplace which just whooshes it uselessly straight up and out into the night. The rocket stove was the most technically demanding part of the whole project, along with the roof structure, but in the end was not that difficult. These things are basically like following recipes. Pay attention to the instructions (if any are available, otherwise just use your brain) and materials, and you'll get a finished product.
Oh, the days are getting so short. The dark season is upon us again. The veil between the realms grows thin. Ancestors beckon. Give them a nod, they brought us here.