the muddy boot

other blog

2010-08-03T09:53:00.000-07:00

i can't seem to locate a lot of photos of our house on the computer
but i actually keep another blog that i update almost daily...so you'll have to do some searching but if you are at all interested here is the address:
http://thegreengate.blogspot.com/
if you click in the archives you can see gorgeous photos of the snow!
and lots of garden and house pics and chickens in there too =)
our house house is not yet finished...we sort of stopped working about 2 years ago after my husband broke his neck (all better now!)
anywho...you'll see we are still going to finish tile and siding before we move!

our homestead for sale! alas!

2010-08-03T09:45:00.000-07:00

so, my husband josh is applying for firefighting jobs ...
and asheville seems very probable...we'll know next week
so we are probably moving!
it is so hard to imagine after all we have put into our little spot of land...
but i know it will be an adventure..a good one...even as it is still going to be hard to leave.

we just had a surprise party for our friend faye in the cob...
i am glad of the timing bc it helped me to really get it all cleaned up...and i would not have liked to leave it in disarray...

so, if you are interested in buying a little homestead outside of athens, georgia, let me know!
claredms@yahoo.com

we have 89 acres...almost all wooded with 2 streams...very hilly
2 bottom "pastures" which would have to be cleared...about 30 acres of the 89...right now it is just a haven for deer and birds =)
our regular house josh built when our son jack was born and then we added on when esme was born...
it has 4 bedrooms...plus one office/playroom which could be another playroom
the kitchen is cozy and we don't have central heat or air...we use a wood burning stove
tile and wooden floors
we have a large chicken coop with 20 chickens and turkeys
about a 1/4 acre fenced in for sammie our sheep and a little sheep house
a fenced in garden area to protect our veggies from hungry roaming chickens
the cob house which is 1200 square feet...great for a homeschool house (my dream) or a studio or carpenter workshop...or it wouldn't take a lot of finish it...a floor, insulation and ceiling...power and water...well, ok, yes, it would take quite a bit =) but we had thought of finishing it and living it and renting out the big house...i'll get some photos on here of our regular house
a 10' x 12' pump house...made from cob with a little loft...we moved a whole small storage unit of stuff when we moved up to the loft...
and that's about it
we cut a trail through the land bc we do benefit 5k's out here....the trail is almost 2 miles...
we then added another trail but haven't connected them yet...
we used to just start them up the dirt road a bit to make the 3.2 miles =)

we are asking $420,000 and would leave our tractor (not worth that much...about $3,000.00)
we are 20 minutes from downtown athens and situated in oglethorpe county

and hilarious that i have the first pic of a toilet!
THAT will sell a home for sure!
=)

2010-08-03T09:30:00.000-07:00

2010-08-03T09:29:00.000-07:00

2010-08-03T09:28:00.000-07:00

how to....

2010-07-23T19:20:00.000-07:00

so, i was a little skeptical about laying tile onto cob....i just wondered if it would really stick or not!
but it definitely did with no problems!
i used the $25 a bag stuff and it took me 2 bags bc i had to be liberal ....bc the floor had dips and bumps...
i wet the floor a bit and then wet the back of each tile with a sponge (well, actually an old glove...but in a perfect world, a sponge =))
plonked down some thin-set (or had it plonked by my husband's friend korry who unknowing stopped by and became quickly roped into mixing and plonking mortar) pushed the tile down pretty hard to make sure it was suctioned all around...and moved on to the next
didn't use spacers...should have i know
next day i mixed some grout and filled it in...
cleaned it up and voila!

o, i should say that under the tile in about a 4 inch layer of packed cob...and under that is about 6-8 inches gravel....i just did the gravel so long ago, i don't think of it as part of the process...but it is an important one i think.

i plan to try some earthen finish layers in the hallway just outside the loo....it isn't a big space and i want to practice...i feel like it will accept my dips and bumps a lot better....i am just not a perfectionist..alas...so i accept there will be dips and bumps =)

and then the composting toilet
i read a book called the humanure handbook...
wonderful stuff
and just made the simple 5 gallon bucket toilet...
here is the link to the humanure chapter....that will be better than my description anyway =)

esme trying out the loo

2010-07-23T17:05:00.000-07:00

a few new additions

2010-07-23T17:03:00.000-07:00

i made a little shelf in the window for the kids...
and painted the blackboard with paint...
and the kids drew a photo of me =)
and the loo!
i am so proud of our loo!....
i laid some tiles....
and put in a composting toilet....
and hooked up a sink...but not the drainage yet...

2010-07-15T17:29:00.000-07:00

working around the steps area

2010-07-13T18:57:00.000-07:00

so this will one day be a chalk board for the kids....
i actually just ran out of wood to side the wall, so i needed to break it up with something else and had a piece of plywood =)
there will be cob steps inside the main staircase...to the right of the table so the kids can crawl up on the table...it is more like their shelf =)
and the stairs to head upstairs will be cobbed around too...
that is my goal for this winter...to be finished with that cobbing....before it gets too cold

the kids and i just work a little here and there....certainly nothing is fast...
but i love it...and i love being down there with them...and listening to them chat away and play in the mud and create mudpies and castles...
i really do think that using an imagination leads to a deeper understanding of how things work....
and fit together....

floor and beginnnings of a wall

2010-06-27T17:30:00.000-07:00

here and there

2010-06-17T17:48:00.000-07:00

so lately, the kids and i have been working a bit on the floor of the soon to be bathroom and hallway from the side door into the kitchen
i am laying about 3 inches on top of the gravel we shovelled in eons ago...the gravel was to level the floor so in some places it is 12 inches and in others it is 3 inches....
and then the 3-4 inches of cob on top mostly levelled...
and i can't decide if i want to use up old tiles on top of this when it is dry or try my hand at a true earthen floor...
i really really want to try the earthen floor...from what i read and from ones i've seen it is just so beautiful and soft...and kinda amazing...
but i have this old tile and i'd love to get it cleaned up from under our house....so maybe we'll do the loo with tile and the hallway with earth =)

and i've finally made it safer up top...just enclosed the top of the stairs so no little people (or big =)) can fall into the hole =)

spiral stairway coming along

2010-04-06T17:07:00.000-07:00

sanding a bit

2010-03-30T20:01:00.000-07:00

i feel like i need some more support around the pole, so i made some washers from old plywood...to go inbetween the divider and the tred....we'll see how it works out! my shins are bruised and my wrists are sore from drilling so many holes! the hole saw kept getting hung up and i am not quite strong enough to hold it in place .....so it spins around and hits me!
anywho....did a lot today...it felt good =)
took the dividers to the welder for another cut....now that i added the washers, i only need them to be 6 inches long..
maybe i can put it together tomorrow! yippe!

wes the welder

2010-03-25T17:13:00.000-07:00

so my idea is to insert little cylinders in between the treads =)
here's the start
the welder in town is so nice

cement pad and a sammie the sheep print

2010-03-20T17:46:00.000-07:00

planning the spiral stairway

2010-03-18T17:25:00.000-07:00

i just finished flooring a bit more of the ceiling...does that make sense? =)
so that only a 4 x 4 square is open...so i can make some spiral stairs there
but bc i only have a 4 x 4 bit of space, the treads will be less than 2 feet long! kind of tiny
hmm....

we'll see
i also took down the inner wall upstairs so that it is all one big room...

First of the plaster and getting ready for a Christmas party

2009-12-10T04:05:00.000-08:00

we are having a nativity this weekend with carols and our sheep sammie =)
so the kids and i have been decorating and plastering...
i love the light the thick walls allow ....the shadows and rays....it adds so much i htink.

First day of plastering

2009-12-02T03:29:00.000-08:00

i've decided to do a base lime coat of plaster
1 part lime putty to 2-3 parts rough grain sand
i just wet the wall, mixed it up and put in on with my gloves
(which weren't long enough and i burned my wrist! yikes!)
over time it will turn back into limestone and be quite inert
i didn't get too far on the project yesterday....this will take longer than i supposed..
i wanted to finish before it got too cold but we'll see, i may have to wait until spring to really get it all done.

changing the corner a bit

2009-11-17T18:20:00.000-08:00

i decided it was just not right having the medicine cabinet and little tunnel between the kitchen and eating area....
so i knocked it out and we've put in a little wall with a wrap around bench...
i framed out the windows a bit too...
the photos aren't too great...but that's ok =)
you can see a bit anyway...
it is wonderful how much the kids like to be down here and play...esme especially enjoys putting cob on the wall...all 2 feet of her =)

step 3 on the rocket stove

2009-11-05T15:40:00.000-08:00

this week has been great bc i've had some help with the kids for about an hour a day....and the weather has been so good the kids have been helping me with the cobbing!! yay!!!
for cutting wood, i don't like them around....it is just too loud.
anywho...
we managed to almost finish the cob bench....though it needs some drying out before i finish it so it doesn't start to slump...
it seems to work well but then again, it hasn't actually been cold =)
but it doesn't smoke so that's good!

Step 2 of the Rocket Stove

2009-10-24T04:52:00.000-07:00

the kids and i laid out the pipe where they bench will go...
placed 2 cleanout holes...
and
insulated the "j"....
but i did make the cage around the j too big...so i redid this later....

Step 1 of the rocket stove

2009-10-10T10:08:00.000-07:00

i made a quick mortar from sand and clay which i should have sifted through a screen but didn't....i just didn't have on eon hand...
anywho...i made a base to level out the floor with the mortar...then laid the first course of brick....
i had only 40 fire brick so used regular soft common brick for areas that wouldn't get as hot...like the feed tube and its base
i then put up the first course on edge ...
bc i want the heat to transfer quickly through these bricks...not get too "stuck"
then the bridge or tunnel with fire brick...this part gets super hot as the fire burns sideways...
then the flue out of fire brick...
i tried to mortar any holes ...
and this mortar will turn to brick anyway as the fire temps get hot

a visit to the brick yard

2009-09-28T15:38:00.000-07:00

today we bought fire bricks and a drum to make a rocket stove!! yay!
what is a rocket stove you ask? check out this guy's site for a little video and photos
basically you build a "j" with fire brick, place a combustion chamber on top of the small part of the "j", fix an exhaust near the bottom of the "J", run the pipe through through a mass of something (cob bench, floor etc...) and out the side of the house!
they are super efficient bc the recirculate the smoke and re-burn it in a sense...so you use all the available fuel instead of wasting it out the pipe....almost no smoke you see?!

2009-08-30T15:03:00.000-07:00

Slowly but Surely

2009-08-06T04:38:00.000-07:00

i finished the kitchen cob! yay!

5K benefit for Griffin

2009-07-24T10:28:00.000-07:00

Cobbing Cobbing Cobbing

2009-07-12T05:25:00.000-07:00

with the 5k ending at the cob this weekend, i want to get it at least "safe"...with no low walls for kids to fall over and too uneven floors...so i have been cobbing as much as i can to get some height....and then concreting the floor out back...

Hanging out with Friends

2009-07-04T04:02:00.000-07:00

The Arch over the Kitchen Door

2009-06-25T10:55:00.000-07:00

well, i've finished the arch this week over what will enter into the kitchen...
i am so not good at arches...
i know you are supposed to do all this corbelling stuff...but i am lazy...i just add a bit each day so i am waiting for the bit to dry and hold from the day prior...it works mostly well...just takes longer...
this one even has some fencing in it...i attached it to a rafter...what a cheater! =)

Today's Work

2009-06-09T17:08:00.000-07:00

we placed a few more windows and started leveling out where the concrete floor will go out back...i think we'll do an earthen floor in the main part of the house....but that back room is too low to the ground...and i haven't dug a true foundation...so just a slab will be cool i think.

Windows Making Progress

2009-05-29T17:36:00.000-07:00

the past couple days i have had some good hunks of time in the afternoons (bc both kids have been sleeping at the same time) so have been able to put some windows in place to be cobbed in...
each step now makes the house feel more real and liveable one day...i can imagine it with painted walls and ceiling...
sitting reading a book with tea staring out a window =)

Repairing the Cob of Winter...

2009-04-24T04:55:00.000-07:00

destruction =)

A Window

2009-04-14T16:58:00.000-07:00

it is nice to be able to take off the plastic sheeting from the back of the cob now that there is mostly a roof...
i can really imagine it now...so much better than before...ie..without a roof...

A Window to be!

2009-04-13T15:53:00.000-07:00

well, you can't tell a lot from this photo...i was nailing in the wood on the outside when i heard esme on the monitor...so snapped a quick photo and ran up the hill...
will photo more tomorrow...but you can see the roof from the loft! and the window to be!

More Roof!

2009-03-30T10:59:00.000-07:00

even if it is just a few sheets each day, the roof is coming along!
josh and andy raised this big cedar post for me yesterday...there is a channel of it that is rotten, but i like it so much, i think i can grind that out no problem...there is certainly enough good wood there...
i have almost finished the shed part and will start the framework for the "3rd" roof which will be a shallow angle compared to the steep lofty part...
and then it will be quite warm enough to get cobbing again!

Covered a Good Bit of It...

2009-03-26T15:33:00.000-07:00

before the rain started!
i have a long way to go but at least a good bit is out of the weather...the main part that has taken such a beating over the winter!

The Final Rafters ...

2009-03-20T16:09:00.000-07:00

on the loft part of the cob....
i was a little nervous to put the last 3 on each side...
they are in the stairwell..so nothing really to hold the ladder underneath...
so josh was home early from work today and did it for me!
YAY!
i think there is rain coming in ....a couple of days from now...so i am so anxious to get it covered!

The Pitch of the Roof

2009-03-18T17:18:00.000-07:00

i finished the south side wooding today...and started on the rafters for the loft...i like the pitch but i was thinking steeper in my mind. anywho...
it's coming along! yay!

The Shed Roof on the South

2009-03-18T11:57:00.000-07:00

The Roof Begins!

2009-03-18T11:55:00.000-07:00

and you can see my vain attempts to keep the water out!

Supports for the Roof

2009-03-18T11:52:00.000-07:00

this was just a few weeks ago...after a long winter of just trying to keep the rain and then freezing off of it (freezing water is TERRIBLY DETRIMENTAL)
we are beginning the roof!!!!
these 4 x 4's are from a friend's old clothes line!

Cob Pump House

2009-03-18T11:49:00.000-07:00

Josh, Jack and the Chickens

2009-03-18T11:43:00.000-07:00

having a deep conversation outside the cob shed

Metal Detecting for my lost ring!

2009-03-18T11:41:00.000-07:00

my wedding ring no less!
i was heart broken...but he FOUND IT!!!
our dear friend adam came in the COLD and wet and searched and searched...
it was actually on the ground in the mud...
we took down A LOT of cob though before we found it...
but hey, i am just so glad to have it back!

Getting there!

2009-03-18T11:38:00.000-07:00

we added some posts to hold a "center" beam (actually off center but who's measuring?"

And he's only 3!! =)

2009-03-18T11:35:00.000-07:00

i love that jack will know how to build cob ...and never really NOT know how to do it...
at nearly 3 here he lets me know when it is time for the straw...or time to roll it over...
he has such fun!
he is also VERY much in love with tools....
and loves to hammer and use wood...so i think we have a full blooded all around carpenter on our hands! =)

Lintels

2009-03-18T11:32:00.000-07:00

josh salvaged these cedar posts and graciously gave them to the cob effort =)
AND cut and lifted them into position...

Back walls...

2009-03-18T11:29:00.000-07:00

taking shape...
this was near the end of oct last year...

Thirsty?

2009-03-18T08:17:00.000-07:00

harry the dog drinks off the ground...why can't i?
o goodness.

Making and Using Slip

2009-03-18T08:16:00.000-07:00

one of jack's favorite games =)

Clay Delivery

2009-03-18T08:12:00.000-07:00

Windows and Shelves

2009-03-18T08:10:00.000-07:00

The Granite Foundation

2009-03-17T18:00:00.000-07:00

this was last year...probably around the same time actually...marchish 2008 right after esme was born and jack and i laid some more stone to the right of the doorway...

My Heart

2009-03-17T17:41:00.000-07:00

when i first heard of building with cob, i assumed as many would that this method entailed corn cobs...and was so stubborn to ask for clarification from a certain male friend so went on thinking this (and that he was slightly off his rocker) for quite some time.
it wasn't until i perused a book in barnes and noble entitled "the hand sculpted house" by ianto and linda that a great dawning went off in my head...(and of course a renewed belief in my friend =))
there is something so basic, so human...and yet so beautiful and timeless about cob building. it not only allows for amazing creativity but reflects structures from ages past...it calls up the ancient at a glance while at the same time can be modern and sleek.
i took a 3 week course in 2003 from ianto and linda in oregon...and returned then to georgia to build a small round chapel on a friend's horse farm.
we began our project and realized we were fighting uphill against the 3 things ianto said not to do....
1. build out of season (over the winter)
2. build round (needing a conical roof we thought)
3. building quite large (not huge but certainly not a first time oven or anything)

i will drum up some photos of the completed project ...it was a wonderful time for me...
i was needing to grieve the loss of my mum and working in such a beautiful environment with a dear friend (she came to be over the course of building it) was the balm of gilead.

when my husband and i married in 2004 and bought some land outside of athens shortly afterwards, we decided to build a cob home. we labored on the foundation for MONTHS...my husband josh is precise and hardworking to the core. near the end of the foundation (hand dug 4 foot trenches for stem wall...mortared granite stem wall, 4 feet tall in some places), i became pregnant! yay!

we were of course delighted and decided to put the cob plans on hold.
josh build us a little wooden 1 bedroom cabin and we live there now (though we added on with the birth of our second child)

when jack was 4 months old, the cob bug started buzzing in my ear again...so i built a small cottage around our well (sure hope we never have to have another dug in the same spot)

and then when esme was 3 months old, i started work on the big cob foundation josh and had started a couple years before.

jack is now 3 and esme is 1.....and this week i am roofing the cob house! yay!
it has been a LONG process as i cob when the kids nap...and actually do a lot when jack is with me and esme sleeps..a little here, a little there...it is coming along slowly but surely.

in my heart, i feel like this little home will be useful for someone....maybe people in transition or needing a place to stay for a while...
i have a strong faith that God leads our steps in everything and uses our talents...or just hard work for His good..and i pray that is true for this little house!