Cob House

[Short.Circuit]

ok, so a "green" friend of mine is planning on building one. I don't know much about cob, hay bales stuck 2gether with plaster? she also sez, she wants compacted dirt floors. i dunnnoo, this all sounds nutty. its in the columbia
gorge, foothills of mt. hood in oregon. douglas fir capital of the planet. lots of rain there 2. so anyway, i guess, pvc pipe to plastic boxes everywhere? i hope she doesn't have issues with using plastic.

anyone know about these type of homes ??
thx...

 

[alfiesauce]

I think if it's a strawbale home system you can just use romex. I think what you end up doing "securing" boxes to the framing members for switches near doors, and then "securing" wood to "secure" your boxes too for regular outlets. I'd love to have a house like this...
Dirt floors are great heat ballasts for a home.
This site has a picture-
http://www.buildingwithawareness.com/Article-electrical-wiring-for-straw-bale-house.html

If it's a cob house- then you'll probably be looking at some pvc or something... But I would think that a cob house would have very little electricity in it. Basically your building a sand castle out of mud and straw... And typically they are pretty small.
http://www.cobhouse.net/

 

[nakulak]

any green house worth its salt runs on PV, bicycle generator, geothermal, hydro power, windmills, rain, or some other green power source. Tell her you have a conscientious objection to running poco power to it.

 

[Buck Parrish]

You should tell her the story of the Three Little Pigs.

 

[smo]

http://www.buildingwithawareness.com/Article-electrical-wiring-for-straw-bale-house.html

http://www.cobhouse.net/

If you read that article carefully it implies that you need to use type UF\Direct Burial cable.

 

[wireguru]

i saw this on Dirty Jobs. I believe poo is an ingredient in a Cob House. I would pass.

 

[Short.Circuit]

Thx 2 everyone who replied. Lo & behold, she's going to mix horse crap with the hay/plaster mix. This is insane, but its $$$... The greenest thing about this place is going to be mold...

 

[Fulthrotl]

Thx 2 everyone who replied. Lo & behold, she's going to mix horse crap with the hay/plaster mix. This is insane, but its $$$... The greenest thing about this place is going to be mold...

don't forget the $$$... that is green as well....

just paste those boxes to the wall with pure, unadultrated, horseshit.
(that is not a profanity, it's type specific building material)