Just watch the whole load more of your videos you are truly an inspiration thank you so much for sharing your knowledge and skills I will be pulling your example. I might use a double layer of pallets and filling between the double layer with full bales of straw for extra insulation. Effectively a hybrid of Pallet/Cob/straw bale. i’ve previously built from wood shed garden sheds and compost areas out of pallets.I’m always amazed how these things are seen as waste when they are amazing building materials and you can get them for free.
Hey thanks for your message. Glad you are inspired to build a Palletable Cobin. Yes you can totally put the pallets on either side of the uprights and then put straw inside which would give you a good 12 in of insulation. I'm not sure how you would put a full bale of straw in there though. If you do end up building I would love to see photos of your process. I agree with you that pallets are such a great resource to use as they are usually just thrown away.
Hey Miguel, can you bring the oven up to cooking temp before adding the insulation layer? Thanks for sharing your con building videos. They’re super helpful 🙌
Hi Miguel, We live in Northern Nevada High Desert next to the Adobe Range in Osino. We get extremely cold weather and snow in winter. We are contemplating making a pallette cob dome type family area with bath and kitchen. We are thinking of making a rocket stove type oven and heating bench for bread and pizza. Thanks for your video, as it is very informative. Wondered if you ever made a rocket stove oven? We will be using refractory bricks for the feeder and heating vortex rise interior and cob on the outside, perlite and clay, and cob for the dome like you just demonstrated and vent the riser vapor through the stratification chamber warming cob sofa. Thanks again!
Miguel! Keep putting out this content! Love it. Couple of questions after watching. Why do you put refractory cement over the firebricks? Does that make the bricks hold up better over time? Do you just plaster it over the firebricks? Never heard of that so just wondered if you'd be willing to share. 2nd QUESTION: In your arch way you used common brick that you then clay plastered over. I've only seen people do a brick archway where the bricks show. My thought is that a brick arch way holds up way better over time and use and doesn't allow for that common crack and chipping that happens in the doorway over time. Would you add anything to that or maybe there is a reason you plastered over the bricks in the archway? Any share would be much appreciated :)
Hi Mateo I'm glad you liked the video, I actually didnt end up putting down the refractory cement over the fire bricks but if I did it would get hotter faster and retain the heat for longer than fire bricks. I did that on another oven in Florida where it wasn't able to find clay bricks and so I used cement pavers for the floor but the floor was not getting hot because polymers had been added to the pavers to prevent it from getting hot in the Sun. Putting the refractory cement over the papers in this case definitely helped. Yes I have done arches with keeping the bricks exposed but I actually prefer the look of covering the bricks and to make it all blend in with the rest of the oven. It's just an aesthetic thing. We actually haven't had any cracking in the oven around the doorway, so its all good ..
Hi Miguel, I have some questions regarding my heavy heavy clay and the mix. I was always going to build with cob...and then I stumbled on what you are doing and fell in LOVE with the resourcefulness and upcycling waist products which is tight up my alley. Do you have a email or contact so I can pick your brains please.. all the way down here in the beautiful New Zealand
For sure it will last forever. The three Cardinal rules of thumb to ensure a cob structure is longevity is that it needs a good pair of boots jacket and hat. I've had ovens last over 20 years and they're doing great. You just need to be smart about it and protect it right
just curious but, I've been thinking for months now about light clay straw and planning on retrofitting my house in the most anti-mold way possible. i found out that mold can't grow on lime and i wanted to avoid as much wood as i could. but i also like the idea of using straw in my walls. and i kept asking myself and googling around, why has no one ever made a light lime straw mix? i know lime can burn the skin. but i can't be the only person who wants to coat everything in lime including the straw in the walls right? i saw someone making a light clay straw and mention is molded slightly in the beginning when everything was initially wet... i do not want that. so, why can't i lime it instead of use clay? can i add in a bunch of lime into cob to make it more resistant to mold? also... i wanted a lime plaster for the inside of the house and tadelakt bathrooms and i do not like the color brown. but i also don't want a boring solid white wall. i was considering taking a stencil and putting up patterns on the wall. white wall with silver pattern, or grey wall with silver pattern. i was thinking the pattern might be lime and after i remove the stencil and it is dry maybe i lightly sand it to knock off the edges. and the only solid color surface be where i did tadelakt because i can't figure out how one would pull off a stencil and keep the pattern without smearing during the compressing phase of doing tadelakt.
Sure, if it is a project I resonate with... Im in Sebring now, curious where xou are? What do you have in mind? Perhaps you can send me an email at cobalot9@gmail.com Miguel
Actually, this oven works great. I have found that a chimney does not make much of a difference other than loosing heat. The opening of the door is 63 percent of the height of the hearth to allow the right amount of air to come in to oxygenate the fire without losing too much heat through the front door. Once you have a good fire going using nice dry firewood there really isn't any smoke at all.
Wow! Your place looks amazing! Looks like you have lots of natural building at your place. Need another cobin, or perhaps a cob oven? Id be super interested in going to your sanctuary...
30% clay = cracks. I am almost sure you dont know the amount of real clay in that cob :) Plus Florida is poor in clay and I doubt you would buy add that much, so 30% should be a VERY rough guesstimate..
