A Cob House, 63 Acres, Garden and a Chicken Coop...My Small Budget Survival.

Such a great plan!!! You have given me so many idea's, I appreciate the research you have provided

I am going back to school shortly for my Seasonal type ii law enforcement license, and plan on working in our US National Parks on a Seasonal Basis to begin. This will allow me the time to research and purchase a similar property (fingers crossed). I love the look of Cob Houses and the ones you have shown are impressive to say the least. Let me know what your plans are for insulation as my purchase will most likely be up north as well. (Question answered:up

Good luck with your venture!!

Thats awesome, I'm just finished clearing out some of my forest on my 40 acres where the opening drops downhill to a huge weeping williow, a perfect quiet location im going to build my hurricane proof solar cottage soon as I get the land cleared real nice, I love the entire cob idea, mine is simply going to be made with 4x4's instead of 2x4's cinder blocks, rebar and concrete. I'm going to make a 5 inch thick layer of concrete on the roof, with gravel on top with a solar mount and 2 nice sized crop growing boxes.

I am still deciding on exactly how I want to do it, but I do plan on the cemented-gravel roof.

Originally posted by dominicus
Hey Jude11,
You better rethink the cob house if your acreage is in Canada. Cob will not withstand the Canadian winters (especially the lows + winds). Cob is good for places like new mexico, Cali, Florida, the Carolinas.... But the Insulation value of even 2 foot wide wells will not be enough for your winter needs.

Your better off doing a strawbale house. Thats one of the only styles that will keep you toasty in the winter and can be budget friendly.

Im doing the same thing as you, only my acreage will be in the Appallachian Mountains. I was looking at cob for years, got books, studied, and visited some...but many owners tell me its good for 3 seasons but for winter its just too cold.

Straw bale is the way to go for your climate

With the research I've been doing, as winter draws closer the sides will be shored up with bales and the shape I plan is more of a yurt style so as to take advantage of the shape for heat distribution.

It looks like it'll work. In fact, the first vid in my OP are showing Cob Houses in Canada!

The yurts have been used in Mongolia for centuries and still today. In fact, they have been used all over the World, even in Alaska.

Here's the site that shows more:

www.yurtco.com

This is Awesome. Congrats on your purchase and your new land. Your the proud owner of serenity.

One more thing: Are you accepting roommate applications!?!?! I'm a hard worker and I love that kinda lifestyle. When and where can I pitch in. I got 4k i cna donate

Originally posted by Sp33d
This is Awesome. Congrats on your purchase and your new land. Your the proud owner of serenity.

One more thing: Are you accepting roommate applications!?!?! I'm a hard worker and I love that kinda lifestyle. When and where can I pitch in. I got 4k i cna donate

Thanks.

Nice to keep in mind.

Got a few emails stating the same as well. It's amazing how many people want to do the same.

Let that 4k grow to about 8-10k and you can get a piece for yourself as well.

GL

I certainly like the look of the houses, they somewhat remind me of the hobit houses

When one plans such a house, if you are not a woodworker, and cannot afford to hire one, then keep all the openings (Doors and windows) in off the shelf configurations. In the first video, it showed some very unusual doors, which I liked, but shuddered to think of how to build and maintain a good seal on such an opening. A rectangular opening is much easier to fit.

Next is the roof. If in a northern climate with deep snowfalls, make sure your roof is at least a 6/12 pitch. That means 6" of rise for every 12" of run. Steeper is better. A snowfall than can either slide off, or at least shed any water rather than it seep into the living space. I'm a fan of a well applied metal roof. Other materials are acceptable, but I like fire resistant and metal or tile, or slate will give you that.

Heating is a major concern in cold climates. If the power goes out for an extended period, and you don't have dependable back-up, then be sure to have an efficient wood or coal stove which will offer heat and cooking options. One of the houses in the first video shows a multistory great room. This would be a disaster to heat if there were no fans to circulate the air.

Remember to provide lots of storage cabinets, preferably ones that are rodent tight. Nothing worse than having BEN eat or destroy your foods, or clothing, or blankets. Watch for cabinets on Craigslist. Sometimes they are free, most times they are very reasonable in price.

In my area, the Amish are buying up land for twice the local value, this is driving up land values unnecessarily. I'm too old to start over, so I just bide my time.

reply to post by Benchkey


Thank you for the advice!

I'm sure many will put it to good use, as I will.

Cheers!

Another great piece of advice on food. They got chickens too!

Building Community Food Security
www.motherearthnews.com...

If my family were hungry, I wouldn’t think twice about climbing over a neighbor’s fence to steal a chicken or two. If our neighbors were hungry, I would expect them to do the same. Given this, none of us can feel secure about our own food supply until the food supplies of our neighbors and communities are also secure. If we use what we learn while producing our own food to help our community members produce food of their own, we can take great strides toward reaching community food security. Read more: www.motherearthnews.com...

Nice stuff OP. I'm young, as in 19, but I have been worrying about self-sufficiency for a while. I have been trying to think of inexpencive ways to own some land and this is probably the best way I have seen yet. Thanks for all the info, and good luck.

My question would be that if you still owe on the land how can you build on it legally? I have always been under the impression that land must be paid for prior to building. Maybe that is based on State-to-State laws.

Also, what happens when the Dollar collapses prior to pay-off? Who owns it then? Does this give the "authority" to remove people and displace them as they see fit?

I do like the homes! I have thought about a Yurt because it can be moved and is roughly about $17,000 fully loaded.

However, at this point, I am fully confident that none of us are going to make it and those that do can simply pick and choose what is left and live where ever they want.

I loved the Op. What a joy to know that you are doing what so many people only dream of, and if a SHTF scenario never happens then you will still be living a beautiful life imo.

Keep us informed and get loads of pictures ok?

Originally posted by Greensage
My question would be that if you still owe on the land how can you build on it legally? I have always been under the impression that land must be paid for prior to building. Maybe that is based on State-to-State laws.

Also, what happens when the Dollar collapses prior to pay-off? Who owns it then? Does this give the "authority" to remove people and displace them as they see fit?

I do like the homes! I have thought about a Yurt because it can be moved and is roughly about $17,000 fully loaded.

However, at this point, I am fully confident that none of us are going to make it and those that do can simply pick and choose what is left and live where ever they want.

You will have more equity into the land once you build, so yes you can build on your property, quite the thing to do...

When the $$$ collapses, everyone will be in the same boat, there will be NO money circulating.... the authorities will also be in survival mode...

Could be a pick and choose, or small communities will spark up which will be for those who wish to work together.

I an in the process of attaining my LA Master Gardners Cert. and I would like to add a couple of things to the list on the gardening side.

Get a couple of garden sprayers for the following applications:

Neem Oil-$10 a bottle and a capfull in one gallon of water. Neem Oil is an all natural insecticde that does not kill on contact, but rather shuts down the insects ability to produce offspring and supresses their appetite. Once a week throughout the growing season will keep the critters at bay. One container will cover One acre for a fiscal year.

Fish Emulsion-$12 a bottle and this is an all natural fertilizer. One OZ for 2 gallons of water and once again, you spray direct onto the foilage. Fish Emulsion is full of essential nutrients and minerals that plants need as they grow. The best part of Fish Emulsion is that it will not burn your plants. Spray once a month.

Liquid Seaweed- $12 a bottle and this is a natural fertilizer as well. 1 oz to a gallon of water and once again you spray direct onto the foilage once a week. Seaweed is again, great natural fertilizer to soak seeds in and is typically a little higher in nitrogen, so it is great until the plants start to bloom and at that point you would move into the fish emulsion which is typically a little higher in phosphorous.

If you spent about $100 to get 2 bottles of each and a couple of sprayers, this will give you a great, ALL ORGANIC way to give your crops what they need without the worry of burning and killing precious resources.

reply to post by armtx


Nice info! Copied and saved.

Thanx for the input. The more we share here, the better for all.

Jude,
One more thing I thought I would do if I was ever able to build my dream home retreat was to include a Russian oven as the centerpiece. Basically, it's a massive brick maze that helps trap the heat inside. I found one video that shows it.



I have heard that such ovens only require adding fuel every couple of days and that they will hold heat for up to 3 days even after the fire is out. If it works in Siberia it should work for you as well.

Might be a bit costly on bricks but the fuel savings would probably cover the costs in a just a few years.

Originally posted by Asktheanimals
Jude,
One more thing I thought I would do if I was ever able to build my dream home retreat was to include a Russian oven as the centerpiece. Basically, it's a massive brick maze that helps trap the heat inside. I found one video that shows it.

I have heard that such ovens only require adding fuel every couple of days and that they will hold heat for up to 3 days even after the fire is out. If it works in Siberia it should work for you as well.

Might be a bit costly on bricks but the fuel savings would probably cover the costs in a just a few years.

Now this is intriguing!

Great info. I'm definitely going to investigate this further.

Thanx!

Nice little community project:

Google

631 Cypress Ave
Pasadena, CA 91103-2905

Path to Freedom - Urban Homestead

I am REALLY impressed with this family.

Originally posted by hederahelix
Google

631 Cypress Ave
Pasadena, CA 91103-2905

Thanks.

Yup, that's the same family from the video I posted in the OP.

Love that place! 1/10 of an acre and 3 tons of food annually.

reply to post by jude11


This is a great thread! So many interesting things to investigate and consider. S&F!!! and good luck with your current endeavors. Did you notice that they had a little cob pizza oven?