luna acres

clay sand straw (and some water) smoosh it all together stir it up eventually you will end up with a pile of cob like this   Tractor Cob -a much faster method of mixing cob than by foot -roughly 3 buckets of clay, 2 buckets of sand, 1/2 bale of straw -spread out each ingredient and run over it thoroughly before mixing with the bucket -add the hay after the dry ingredients are combined, cover the pile completely -soak the whole mixture down with the water hose -tractor cob must be mixed wetter than by foot, it may need to dry out before use -larger, more heavy duty forms must be used with tractor cob as so much weight will be on them scraping out the tractor cob spreading out the cob watching :) the heavy duty braces for the tractor cob wall That's our instructor, Diane, climbing in the frames to stomp the cob! The second day of the workshop, after we learned to mix the cob by foot, we learned how to make it with the trac

a cobbers thumb stuffing the walls Recipes for Cob -Sand 70-80%           provides compression strength           use coarse sand (like mason's sand) with sharp edges that will lock together -Clay 20-30%           sticks it all together           test to be sure it's not silt           it should be glossy, not slimy -Straw lots of it           provides tensile strength (like rebar)           NOT HAY - it will decompose           longer pieces are better           break open bales to check for mold or mildew first Mixing Cob -brick tests are the easiest way to determine the best mix           combine various ratios of sifted clay and sand and press into small bread or muffin pans           try 50/50, 75/25, 25/75, etc           let the bricks rest for a few days           if they crack there is too much clay, if they crumble there is too much sand -mix the dry ingredients first -add water gradually to make bread dough c

foundation It's finally time, what probably none of you have been waiting for! A review of our cob workshop! I'm going to divide the workshop into several posts, from the ground up. I am going to provide all the notes I took from the workshop lectures first, then a summary from our trip and any notes I have to add. If anyone has any questions feel free to ask! First up- foundation!  Think about piping first! -a perforated pipe drained to fresh air -water lines -drainage below foundation Recipe for Lime Putty -2-3 inches of water in five gallon bucket first -add hydrated lime gradually until greek yogurt consistency -use builders lime - NOT garden lime -mix with a paint mixer on low speed to blend Recipe for Lime Mortar -1 part lime putty -1 part coarse sand -1/3 part grog -grog is a powdered fired clay used as a hardening agent to set foundation up well -can be found at most builders supply stores or pottery supply -the grog can be u

the view from the second story we were building onto the cob house I am so behind! The past few weeks have been so hectic, I just haven't had time to catch up. It doesn't help that my laptop will no longer pick up the internet, making it more difficult for me to update conveniently.  I just need to work out a new routine. Anyways, onto some of the things you've been missing! - We spent five days in Kentucky at Disputanta Cob, where we learned how to build a cob house from the ground up. It was an amazing trip, truly life changing for Jonathan and I. We feel so confident in our abilities to provide for our own construction needs now. I will go into more (much, much more) detail about the cob workshop in upcoming posts. - My baby sister, Amy celebrated a birthday. She has always been my best friend in the entire world, and we are closer now than ever before. We had a cookout at her house on her birthday with my parents, then on Saturday we went to dinner at a