Building a cob palace | Construction and DIY projects | Forums

I'm really fascinated by alternative building methods, especially those that involve plastering or adobe.  I think the cob houses that are plastered and colored with natural pigments are beautiful.  This house is one of my favorites, with the hobbit-like dwelling and the attached greenhouse..

http://www.beingsome.....rcroft.htm

Just recently I watched a couple of documentaries that had old plastered viaducts or sewers and I'm amazed at how well they've held up for hundreds of years with just a bit of maintenance.  It blows my mind that cob will last even in rainy places like the UK (this one even has a thatched roof....

http://www.inspirati.....riors.html

My father in law was a plasterer as one of his first construction jobs.  He retired as a concrete foreman, but one of his last big jobs was repairing a plastered wall at an old pumping station, and he was pretty geeked to pass on an old skill to a bunch of younger workers.  The wall itself was 40 feet high and about a hundred yards long, so they all got a bit of practice. 

I really want to build something out of cob even if it's just a decorative wall in the garden.  I've even tossed around the idea of building an earth sheltered greenhouse with a rocket mass heater  and a cob heatsink.  I don't think I'd ever be able to convince the wife to live in a cob house, though.