Cob Mauritius

Cob Mauritius Cob houses projects in Mauritius Cob is a building material that is made from a mixture of sand, straw and clay. Cob works well in all but the coldest climates.

The materials are mixed wet, by foot or with a machine (tractor or mortar mixer). The word “Cob” comes from an old English word meaning “lump” or “loaf.” We often form our cob mixture into loaf-shaped blobs for ease of transport. The wet cob mixture is used to build thick earth walls; the building technique is very similar to sculpting with modeling clay. Because cob building requires no forms, w

e can build our walls into any shape we choose. Curves, niches, arched windows and built-in furniture are common features in cob buildings. Cob building requires no cement, no expensive tools or materials and is a “people friendly” way of building. Often we can find the bulk of the materials on or nearby the building site. Once the material is dry, cob is incredibly strong. Although there is little conclusive research about how cob buildings perform in earthquakes, there is much empirical evidence that they would survive very well. Many cob buildings in New Zealand have survived major earthquakes. The country of Yemen in the seismically active Persian Gulf has many 10 story cob buildings that have survived for over 500 years. One of the most commonly asked questions about cob is “What happens when it rains?” The cob tradition originates in England and Wales, no dry countries by any standard. These countries have whole villages of cob buildings, many of them hundreds of years old. The secret is the same as that of any building style: A good roof and a good foundation are the keys to survival in wet climates. If it gets too cold, it is easy to add extra insulation on the outside of a cob building. Cob houses benefit greatly from good passive solar design. For all these reasons and more, cob is an almost ideal building material. It is easy to learn, inexpensive, beautiful, healthy, comfortable and the materials can be found almost anywhere. It is no wonder that about half the world population lives in an earthen house. In the United States, cob is experiencing growing popularity. Besides the above mentioned advantages over conventional building methods, cob can offer people a way out of the crazy real-estate market, an unhealthy lifestyle and a job with no joy. Many people who never considered themselves builders have created a cob house for themselves. There are now hundreds of cob buildings in the USA, with a concentration in Oregon and California. From: http://housealive.org/natural-building/cob-building/

Very happy to see that there is renewed interest in cob building. Consider supporting Karl Ahnee in his cob journey. htt...
06/07/2024

Very happy to see that there is renewed interest in cob building.

Consider supporting Karl Ahnee in his cob journey.
https://www.crowdfund.mu/formation-en-ecoconstruction-2138.html

All the best Karl !

Funding Proposal for Cob House Eco-Building Training INSTRUCTORS: Claudine Desiree & VIVA HANSEN - CruzinCobGlobal   Description of Eco-Building and Cob House Eco-building is an approach to construction that aims to minimize the environmental impact of buildings. It is based on the use of s...

20/05/2024

Hi Everyone! Just a quick pin to let you all know that I'm hardly on Facebook.
Contact me on my email address [email protected] if needed.
Concerning Cobby, he's doing well, still very strong, alive, and kicking. 😄
Take care, and if you are a cob builder yourself... Happy cobbing!

Send a message to learn more

For its 3rd birthday, Cobby has been given a brand new hat: a green roof !Great for thermal insulation, I wonder why we ...
18/02/2019

For its 3rd birthday, Cobby has been given a brand new hat: a green roof !

Great for thermal insulation, I wonder why we don't have more of these in Mauritius..
This one is inspired by traditional Norwegian roofs.

Ingredients:
- wood planks (Balao)
- waterproofing membrane "Bituflex" (Palco)
- drainage layer "Draina G10" (Palco)
- soil.

Now let's watch plants grow wild on this beautiful planter as the rainy season comes.
Or I'll just throw on some herbs (thyme, mint, basil..), far away from the "courpas".

Many thanks to the brother for the help :)

4 weeks later..
13/12/2018

4 weeks later..

For its 3rd birthday, Cobby has been given a brand new hat: a green roof !

Great for thermal insulation, I wonder why we don't have more of these in Mauritius..
This one is inspired by traditional Norwegian roofs.

Ingredients:
- wood planks (Balao)
- waterproofing membrane "Bituflex" (Palco)
- drainage layer "Draina G10" (Palco)
- soil.

Now let's watch plants grow wild on this beautiful planter as the rainy season comes.
Or I'll just throw on some herbs (thyme, mint, basil..), far away from the "courpas".

Many thanks to the brother for the help :)

Construction stages, step by step diaporamaIt took about a month of work, by myself, 3-4 days a week.
18/02/2018

Construction stages, step by step diaporama

It took about a month of work, by myself, 3-4 days a week.

Step 0, "foundations"Existing concrete "foundation", was supposed to be a duck pond or something. No idea how deep and s...
18/02/2018

Step 0, "foundations"

Existing concrete "foundation", was supposed to be a duck pond or something.
No idea how deep and solid these are..

These foundatione gave the overral size of the building (approx 1.5 x 1 m)

"Cobby" the Cob test building is now 2.5 years old.It's getting through its 3rd rainy saison, experienced half a "cyclon...
16/02/2018

"Cobby" the Cob test building is now 2.5 years old.

It's getting through its 3rd rainy saison, experienced half a "cyclone", and is still standing strong !

Here are some updates and observations...

- Structure
Not a sign of weakness
While the walls got wet when it rained for days, they dried up pretty quickly, in a matter of days, when the rain stopped, even the shaded parts.

- Lime Plasters (la chaux): outside
Worked perfectly. With time and rain, the most exposed parts started to get stained, probably by the earthen layers underneath getting wet and "colouring" the snow white render.
After a year or so, a quick layer of fresh lime it got white and clean again.

Tried also to colour the lime wash with earth "juice" (clay slip) before applying.
Worked like a charm and gave a great light yellowish-brown (natural!) color.
Once dried, it left a bit of dirt residues. After a quick brush with a wet sponge, nothing came off anymore.

- Earthen plasters
The area most exposed to rain is crumbling slowly, but most of the plaster still there ! I was actually expecting it to come off entirely after 1 or 2 rainy seasons...
The interior and more sheltered exterior plasters are still smooth and beautiful.
A few cracks are noticeable around the wooden edges (door frame, lintels..), but nothing major, expected behaviour of clay expanding and shrinking with variations of humidity levels.

Conclusion: lime plasters work great for exterior / exposed areas and earthen plasters are amazingly durable (and smooth and beautiful) on interior / sheltered parts.

- Earthen floor
While I tried 2 different techniques of finish (oil and wax), and even if very limited amount of traffic went through, it is crumbling quite a lot.

I am not convinced with earthen floors. I guess other natural materials like stones, wood... would do a much better job.
(unless I find a better way to get a more durable finish)

- Doors and windows
I unfortunately used recycled wood found here and there, and the termites loved it.. :( especially part of the door frame.
The window is in perfect condition.

- Roof
Nothing to report.
A few dents on the corrugated iron as branches (tamarind) fell on the roof. Apart from that, nothing to declare.

Conclusion: very conslusive first test, despite the very narrow eaves that expose the walls to a lot of rain.

Coming soon another natural building experiment !
Watch this space..

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