Winter In A Cob House

In this blog I try to mix in the facets of life that interest me such as social media, technology, music, travel and environmentalism. Through environmentalism, I've sort of become a source of information in building, living and maintaining a cob house (this remains one of my top search terms) thanks to my good friend's the Mullenneaux's and their journey in building a cob house.

As many readers stumble here for cob updates (it's very much long tail, very few people blog about cob houses, I've looked) I promised to follow up with them to see how they've dealt with their first Iowa winter in their cob house. Their insights are both helpful and interesting.

What's the latest with your cob house in the winter?

First, the confession. We just returned from two weeks in Florida. It wasn't that the cold forced us out, however. The house has been cozy throughout this harsh winter and a friend stayed there while we were away. Most of the lessons we have learned this winter are not particular to cob, but here they are.

What were some unforeseen challenges you faced?

An entryway that is closed off from the house is important in a cold winter climate. We hung a quilt on a curtain rod inside the front door to block blasts of frigid air coming in when the door is opened. Later we found out that this kind of thermal door curtain is a common practice in England.

If you are using a wood stove as your primary heat, give it a central location and outside air intake. A tight house and a wood stove drawing air from the living space is not a good combo.

Even though this is the most organic house we have ever been in, it is not the same as living outdoors. Moving indoors this winter was a challenge for Lin and I because we had been bathing, working, cooking, and eating outside all spring, summer and fall. The tiny camper where we slept barely separated us from the bugs and rain. To soften this seasonal transition, we are contemplating an attached building that would have a greenhouse on the south wall, an internal water wall for heat storage and solar heat collection on the roof. Hopefully, it will be a winter garden similar to what Anna Edey achieved on Martha's Vineyard: http://www.solviva.com/

What are you grateful for with your cob house?

Driving back from Florida, we listened to Garrison Keillor talk about how nature periodically tries to kill off anyone foolish enough to spend the winter on the northern plains. Native Americans didn't maintain year round communities in this region. They would head to the protected woodland valleys until spring. Eventually, our house will be sheltered by forests. For now, it is a wonderful place to live and dream.

The Mullenneaux's Cob House at Christmas, 2008. Photo Credit: The Mullenneaux's

Here is another great article in Radish Magazine, "Comfort of cob: Fairy tale cottage takes shape with mud, straw" by Linda Egenes who wrote the original article on our home.


For more information here are the rest of my cob house posts:
Building A Cob House
Building A Cob House-Follow Up
Cob Houses Around the World

Cob Houses Around the World

The idea of living in a cob house is still very whimsical to me. It's efficient, inexpensive, cozy and environmentally conscious. From my past two posts on Building A Cob House and the follow-up with the Mullenneaux's I focused on the building of their cob house and then what it was like to be living in one. Today, I thought it would be nice to visually represent a few beautiful cob houses from around the World. Please feel free to share yours if you live in one, know of someone who does, or stumble across a cob house that I haven't.

San Bartolo, Mexico-Photo Credit: Cobworks

Mayne Island, B.C. Canada-Photo Credit: Cobworks

Devon, England-Photo Credit: Cob Cottage

Vancouver-Photo Credit: Flickr neil-san

Orgeon-Photo Credit: Hub Pages

California-Photo Credit: Cob Cottage

Building A Cob House-Follow Up With the Mullenneaux's

In early November I wrote a post on "Building a Cob House" about the Mullenneaux family, and their personal cob building community story. The responses from readers were fantastic and inquisitive, so I felt a follow-up was necessary. I reached out to Hap and Lin Mullenneaux with questions readers had asked and how it felt to be living in their new cob house the past month. They happily obliged and also offered to serve as a contact for anyone else interested in cob houses. I hope you enjoy and learn from their responses as much as I did.

GB: With your cob home finished, how does it feel to be living in a home that you created solely with your own hands (and feet), especially with the help of Fairfield (Iowa's) supportive community?

HLM: We have been living in the house for one month. It feels more like a part of nature than a conventional house. As something natural, it is easy to accept it as it is. While there are some things that aren’t finished, we are beginning to realize that this house may never be finished because that is a static condition and this house is alive. We do look forward to running water inside and taking baths at home, coming as soon as the pond fills. Since summer ended we have missed our outdoor shower.

Loft Bedroom. The ceiling is bamboo matchstick blinds over reflectix. Photo Credit: Hap and Lin Mullenneaux

GB: What specific environmental benefits have you noticed in your new cob home?

HLM: In building this house we used much more “waste” than we created. Now our use of energy and water is a fraction of any house we have lived in before. We use rainwater from the roof. We heat with wood from the scrap pile at a nearby sawmill. Our total monthly housing costs are under $100, mostly phone and internet.

Cozy Kitchen-Photo Credit: Hap & Lin Mullenneaux

GB: In my previous post, I received a question regarding cob homes' flexibility and durability for various climates. Can you answer that comment, especially in light of Iowa's notoriously cold winters, wet springs and hot summers?

HLM: At this stage of our experiment the jury is still out. The season in question is winter. Cob walls give you excellent thermal mass. Heat them and they will radiate that heat back to you over time. But what happens when there is a sub-zero wind chill hitting the other side of the wall? Stay tuned!

GB: Are there any challenges you've noticed since moving in?

HLM: Balancing the heat was a challenge because we put the woodstove by the stairs. We are closing it in so that the heat spends more time downstairs. Condensation was an issue at first. We made the house very tight and there was still cob and plaster drying when we moved in. Add the vapor that we contribute from cooking, etc and you have high humidity. This is becoming less of an issue as winter progresses, but the interior plaster absorbs moisture easily and down the road we may cover it with something less permeable.

GB: So, if someone were interested in building their own cob home what insights, resources and advice would you give them and why?

HLM: In a climate with real winter you need to use every bit of the building season to finish a cob house before freezing begins. Keep the design small. Have the foundation and stem wall ready in the spring. Do the roof first on either permanent or temporary posts. We had to work hard to protect our walls before we got the roof on. Enjoy the process and encourage everyone to enjoy it with you. Cob is not meant to be done alone. To give cob a fighting chance in cold weather, do everything you can to help it. We made the house tight with good windows that are strategically located. We insulated the roof properly. We probably should have done more to insulate our stone stem wall. Keep the cob walls thick. In places where we sculpted seats or niches into the wall the thin wall tends to be cold and damp. Finally, don’t let heating be an after thought in a cold climate. Make sure you will have heat where you need it with proper placement of the woodstove or other heat source. Some folks who built a cob house in south central Iowa said that their home was a bit chilly when the woodstove was located on the north wall. The next winter they moved it closer to the middle of the house and were much more comfortable.

Be sure to get some hands on experience before you start your own project The workshop that we took at Cob Cottage was a blast. http://www.cobcottage.com/

Here are more great teachers we have met:
http://www.housealive.org/
http://www.emeraldearth.org/
http://www.cobincornwall.com/

We are happy to answer questions and share our experience via email: haplin[at]gmail[dot]com

Thanks for doing this, Grace.
Hap & Lin Mullenneaux