I just started to setup the ground to do the Cob Cabin, I'm 62 years Old, I live off grid in South Central Missouri in my SUV and in a budget this will help me a lot since my income is limited, I did the dirt test as you showed and is all clay no sand. I thank you with all my heart Miguel since this will help me get out of my SUV that been hard on me specifically winter.
Hi Jose, glad you are inspired to build a Palletable Cobin. Hope you have access to a truck to bring all the sand you will need for your cob. If you are able to send me photos along the way, perhaps I can offer some assistance from afar...
Built a cheap diy greenhouse out of old junk/pallets. The world is too our oyster!!!! My fam & I live in SCMO as well. Howdy neighbor!!!! You can do it!!!!! 😃♥️🙏
Most underrated cob creator on youtube! Thanks for the wonderful explanation and sharing of knowledge in this densely packed video! I will be re-watching it many times lol thanks again!!
I met you years ago at the first seed expo in santa rosa. Then I looked you up (don't you have a book?) and was impressed at how artistic your constructions are. I have been following you since. This latest version of your work using pallets is most awesome. These videos are encouraging me to try to build a studio. Its' so kind of you to provide the step-by-step. You are an unsung asset to Norcal. Thank you, Sir Cobalot! EDIT: I will be starting by building myself an outdoor shower! No top, and 3 sides!
FABULOUS... and great detail... We bought land, will be planning helping our 22 year old son to build his, my she-shed, and our bigger "homestead castle"...you made it all feel very doable! My husband and I are 62... we CAN DO THIS!
Thanks, I found this video a few months ago and had to give it a shot. I'm currently building a square version of this to use as a temporary living space while I build an earthship. It will eventually be my tool shed, but I'm stoked to have an affordable and quick solution to a shelter. Thanks again and keep it up.
We just completed our build using this method and are so thrilled that we had this step by step guide to rely on throughout the process. We built ours with just the two of us without any prior construction experience. It wasn't always easy, but if we can do it I am sure anyone else can. We will do a full video in the coming weeks on what we wish we would have known going into this project, but this video and channel is a great start for anyone that is looking to construct her/his own economic natural home. Here is the link to our tour in English: ua-cam.com/video/pfTorMOjUo8/v-deo.html We will upload videos of our whole build in the coming days/weeks! Thanks again for sharing all your knowledge Miguel!
Hi, i would like to say big thank you for sharing all the info about your cobins. Yours videos are very inspirational. I am from the Czech republic and right now in the proces of building this cob structer. It brings me so much joy. The cool thing is that everybody is able to build it! Thanks again for spreading this low cost way of construction! Keep up the good work!
Bohol Philippines is one of the island that got hit by typhoon signal #5 and houses are damage,short of materials for rebuild as nearby islands also got hit so this would be a good way of people rebuilding their homes,thanks for sharing.
God bless you miguel 🙏🏼 I hope you realize what a blessing you are offering to the world by sharing your knowledge 🫶🏽 I just moved to zanzibar bought a piece of land and can’t wait to get my hands cobing 😁 you give hope to all people who want to live natural and simple 🙌🏽 Blessings to you bother 🤍
Cob is awesome. I made a few chicken pens out of pallets and cob and it’s so cheap to do. My chickens have also been protected from this heat wave in NM. Like you mentioned too it’s also therapeutic. I am an oef oif vet and it helps with ptsd.
Coming from a background of building with Adobe, cob and light clay straw this is fantastically fast and easy. Wow! I can’t believe I never heard of it before, very inspiring, thank you!
My family and I are putting this method to work for our new homes at a count of 4 new tiny homes. We were going to do two with earth bag and two traditional cob. We have all the foundations in currently, but we are going to have to modify and use the downed trees on our land from last winters terrible snow storm and cut the wood slats ourselves because here pallets aren't free anymore and we do need a use for the downed trees anyway. The houses are a bit larger than these but I still believe with a bit of finesse this method should still work. The walls are thicker of course but again with some finesse the modification will just add for more insulation. Thank you so much for the step by step process this is going to save my/ our backs, legs and arms!!! Not to mention time!!! Love from Virginia!!!
I'd been thinking about this idea for a long time and this video is exactly what I needed! You've figured out all the details and I am extra excited to start my ecovillage now. I hope we can meet someday Miguel. Thank you so much!
Thank you for the videos and the inspiration, a group of friends and myself are looking at making sustainable low cost housing here in South Africa, and we've landed on Cob as one of the best means available for us in South Africa, seeing this method of using pallets as WELL makes it even more feasible so thank you very much, if possible could you share those engineers specs to make it to code. As we would also love also work it to be in line with our our building regulations here.
Hi there, cool,.glad.to hear you are trying out the Palletable Cobin there in South Africa. Sure, if you send me your email to cobalot9@gmail.com I'll respond with those engineered plans...
Thankyou for posting. I've built with rammed earth and cob. And I've built from pallets . even built from tires. But never all together. Brilliant work. Thankyou for sharing and best wishes
My husband of 43 years are wishing we had been interested in this when we were younger. This is so cool. Thank you Michael for your great ideas even if it's now my daydream. I'm not a spring chicken anymore but it is a wonderful idea.
Yes!!! What a confirmation because I have been envisioning the same thing using 4x4 uprights with lightweight insulatable scaffolding between. Cobb has to be so massive in order to get the insulation factor and being able to move a tiny home seems very important with alternative structures for DIY earth and recycles projects. Thank you so much for inspiring people to create their own homes inexpensively.
Hi! dennis here. I live in Welland, Ontario, Canada, where in winter we still get snow, at times between October and March, perhaps. We can also have times now with climate change where we are without snow, but still have COLD! We also have folk who are homeless that I would like to see housed without them having a heap of debt.
I love this idea. Just one thing…. I was under the impression that you are supposed to use straw as opposed to hay to pack the walls? My brother has built several straw bail houses and he told me that the reason they use straw and not hay is the cellulose content. My understanding is that hay will break down and want to decompose over time whereas straw is more cellulose so not a problem. (?)
Yes hay is for horses straw is for houses. I always insulate my walls with straw instead of hay. Hey Will start to smell when it heats up and also it can sprout. Did you see somewhere in my video where I say that I add hay instead of straw?
Santa Rosa??? I’m in Sonoma County too and my desire is to someday build a cobb village!!!! My husband and I are in our 70’s so it’s not something we can do as we are….but someday, according to our hope for the future!!! But we can hope….right???? I watch your videos and try to learn all I can!!! We have 3 grown kiddos and spouses…so who knows. Love the idea of sculpting artistic expression etc…..thank you for sharing!!!
Love this project. We have lots of metal roofing remnants that we will use. What considerations should be designed in the beginning for plumbing and electric? While we are fine with a compost potty and water catch tanks we will use this as a guest house. Thanks. 🌞🌱❤️
G'Day from Australia. Thanks' for sharing all your knowledge, inspiration and skills. We have just moved into our next home. It has a defunct inground swimming pool that I'm hopping at some stage, to convert into bespoke sunken guest accommodation! It won't be the easiest thing to achieve (as it's a kidney bean shaped pool) But myself being OK on-the-tools, and thanks to inspirational videos like yours, I'm keen to have a crack at it, I love a building challenge!
Oh wow, just found this video. This is so great! Thank you so much for taking the time to do this tutorial. I have been wanting to do a cop house for years. Just a lot of trials and stuff that are taking up so much timeare getting in the way. One day though I will do it. In the meantime I keep watching videos on how to do it and this one was excellent. Thank you so much
@@cobalot9 siii me encanto mucho! I actually didn't realize what a hub it is for natural building and only stumbled upon the Earthship Patagonia hostel while visiting for a quick day trip. Definitely need to go back next time and connect with that whole community! Pretty amazing you helped lead the minga culture and building with natural materials though!
@@cobalot9 Yes, Very inspiring! I hope to learn the skills one day to build in this style to live in. It would be great to take a workshop with you someday! Love your videos! Thanks again for sharing.
Great way to.use up all those pallets now being sent to the dump. For insulation using up some of our old clothing, which is now being sent to Africa, where they do not want it. We could shred it for inusulation.
But also I have been learning soo much from you! I want to thank the time you put into these videos they are awesome and I love that this is given to the community to learn from! You are definitely a role model!
This is really cool! An innovative approach to an already great building method. A few related questions though. Is the distance between the posts too wide? Not sure if the pallets would provide enough lateral strength. Is this why you build round? Wondering if a more linear design would work. Thanks for so generously posting this!
Hi! Glad to hear you've been inspired to build a Palletable Cobin' there in the UK. As you probably know there are lots of Cob houses in England with all the rain so it shouldn't be a problem especially if you build the roof first with a good roof overhang. Do a lime plaster on the exterior to help protect it from the water. I'd love to see photos of your progress if you are able to share
A cob house is my dream home!! I want basically a cob castle though 😂 I want at least 5 decently sized bedrooms. My dream closet and beauty room. 2 living areas one with a sunken in floor for a conversation couch and a sun room. A corridor that’s a green house combo. I have met many builders in my area and none of them have ever heard of a cob house I met one native man that was building in this elite neighborhood a home enforced with metal bars and concrete that knew somewhat of it and he told me a story of a cousin he had that married a New Mexico native and he built her a house outta mud and left the floors as dirt and she said I’m not living in a dirt floor house you may as well take me back to Oklahoma that’s exactly what he did dropped her ass off back home with her dad 😂😂 hopefully my dream house will come true though ❤😂
Really great idea to use pallets with the cob,I would imagine it goes up very quickly compared to pure cob. Regards the video - it would be helpful to spend a lot more time demonstrating what you are explaining, would give a much better idea of what needs to be done.
I absolutely adore cob, do you ever have hands on workshops? I want to eventually build a cob house in florida but their building codes are extremely hard to work with. I've been told by friends. I've done research on cob for almost 4 years now and watched a million videos on it but still believe It would be more beneficial to have hands on, so I can better understand all my reading material.
Miguel, much love for this!! Just genius!!! And so beautiful.. I am in love with cob for so many years now, and you have come in the perfect moment to make possible the construction of a little hut to begin with. Great, great work and spirit!! I´ll try to register my own as you did. And if you come to Brazil one day (I hope so..), please, let me know!! There is a lot of wonderful possibilities and people here, plenty of materials, and much interest in this kind of investigations. So, best wishes friend! Thank you so much for sharing your work!!!
Hey Neta, thanks for writing I'm glad you are enthusiastic about Cob building and like my palatable cobin design. I am curious where in Brazil you have land to build on? My buddy Joe is here with me and he goes to Brazil a lot and speaks Portuguese fluently. If you have photos of your land I'd be happy to see them take care and good luck with your project I'm open to coming down to Brazil one day. Joe is coming down next month and may be able to visit your property if it's near where he is going.
@@cobalot9 Hi Miguel, well that's good news!! I have a land in Minas Gerais near São Paulo. It is near the city of São Bento do Sapucaí, and the region is called Serra da Mantiqueira. We have water abundance and cold whether during approximatly two months, but the rest of the year the temperature is ok. My goal is to improve my skills on rocket stoves building, both for outside and inside banches and hot showers. And a cob house as well. Where can I send some photos? By email? Where does Joe usually travel around here? Great to hear from you 👍💓!!!
Thats great. Yes, my friend Joe is going very near there in a month or so. He would like to come visit. He had been working with me lots and has great skills .. you can send pix of your property to my email cobalot9@gmail.com Miguel
@@cobalot9 Wow, some more great news that you friend Joe is coming soon. Let's talk more about It by email and I'll send you some photos! Best whishes 🤗🌈
Awesome video! Turns out were doing quite similar things :) So nice to pick each others brain by displaying what we are doing. Going to chec out the rest of your chanel as well Be well
Thank you for sharing this documentation and your enthusiasm. What do you think about a structure like this in a coastal climate of central America? Are there any good examples or do you have ideas how this could be extended, modified to be in the best resonance with the elements such as much warmer temperatures, months of heavy rains and times of high winds, possibly hurricane style? Thank you Miguel for your continued efforts to educate and inspire.
@@cobalot9 If I'm understanding you correctly, a tropical design isn't much different and you would encourage a similar design for a structure built in Central America. Thanks for clarifying.
How well would this work in the upper midwest/northeast? My plan is to use a framework of timber from trees to support the living roof, stone exterior, strawbale (set on edge) insulation and a cob interior. In your experience, do you think that it would be suitable for a climate that's much more extreme than California?
aloha Harry, Yes, you can build these in cold snowy climates for sure. There are many earthen structures built in snowy climates, especially strawbale, which has excellent insulation value.
Could you build one of these where the winters get a lot of snow and if the winters are very harsh would it be possible to make the walls two pallets thick for more insulation? I love the accessibility and flexibility of these, plus they are so cute!
Hello 👋 I just found your video. Love this simple, economic and sustainable way of building. I wanted to ask you, how do the palates and non-treated 4x4s stand to the humidity in Florida? I'm concerned about termites. Also, how about rain & wind? We have really nice hurricanes that visit us from time to time 😢 Much appreciation goes to you for sharing this creative way of building 🙏🌎
Hi Maria, glad you like my form of building. I have not had any issues with termites eating my 4x4 uprights. You can use pressure treated wood if you are concerned about this. Once it is encased in cob there is no off gassing so it's totally safe.
would this be suitable for tropical weather? And what happens when it rains when you are doing the cobbing? It wouldnt dry mutch i suppose and it might all collapse? Do you cover it up? Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge!
Yes it would be totally fine in tropical weather. If you are concerned about the rain, you can build the roof first before doing any cob. I have never had any of my cob collapse. If I dont have a roof on it, then sure, Id cover it up with a tarp if its raining. Once it had a good hydraulic lime plaster on it though it can handle some water on the walls.
Thank you so much for sharing your technique How’s the insulation with this method of cob? Also what do you do about plumbing? Lastly, what’s the largest structure you’ve with this method?
Hi the insulation for a pallet cob structure is pretty good to insulate from the cold but not great from insulating from the heat. The pallets can be filled with Earth or more mass. It is possible to put plumbing into the structures no problem the largest palate carb structure I built has been 350 sq ft but I don't see why you can't build bigger than that
Hi Miguel. Great instructional video. Thank you! Love the natural building material. Would this design have a high enough R-value for colder climates, such as more northern parts of Canada? Would the walls need to be thicker, perhaps doubling up on the pallets and using more straw? Also, can a wood stove be installed for heat? I’m seriously considering a cob cabin, perhaps 400~500 sf or so. For ease of construction, I plan to build a simple rectangle shape. Would straw bale with cob be warmer? Just starting to research natural building more now. Again, wondering if suitable for Canada’s colder, often wetter climate. Thanks in advance for sharing your opinions.
Hi, Yes, you could build these in Canada. You would still want to use some sort of heater though. You could double up the pallets but that would make framing in the windows and door more complicated
@@cobalot9 Hi Miguel. Thank you for your reply! I really like the natural cob material for building. My biggest concern is making it warm enough. I expect it can be done. Canada dies get more rain, so wondering if this may be a problem, or not?
My children live in South Korea. Visiting, I learned that they have a lot of masonary structures. Masonry roofs as well. What I really want to mention is there type of heating. These masonry structures have there heating in the floors. They have a boiler on the outside of an outside wall with hoses that are set into the floors, Naturally, for the portion of hose that travels outside from the ceiling height efficient oil or gas boiler, toward the cement floor, said hose is covered with insulation. I mention this because I think that such an insulated, from the ground, base for a small building enclosure would also be a fire safe structure to stay warm in! By using an anti-freeze solution in the hoses and a coin operated payment for fuel, if necessary, would give the occupants the choice of how much heat or cold they chose to endure. Now, the question remains, how to make such a structure legal, and affordable, self built, & mortgage wise.
These earth/con houses are so cool. I’m building a treehouse . May incorporate your technique . Right now I’m using tree bark for the outside so it’s somewhat camouflaged.
Cool Michelle, Yes, I have wanted to build a Palletable Cobin' in a tree, just havent yet. Its a good idea... Hope you have help hauling the cob up there ..
@@cobalot9 almost finished. I’ll post finished product on my Chanel & send you the link. Some will say it’s good from a far…, far from good.😂😂😂😂🤷♀️. Or that’s pretty cool.
Hi I was thinking to use wood chips for insulation to fill the pallets instead of straw, Im in Hawaii and had to cut my way through dens thickets of guava trees and branches to clear a spot to build my structure, I used the bug guava logs for building but got huge piles of small branches, I could use.
Hi Sasha,sure, dried wood chips would work. I'd be concerned though if there is still moisture in the wood chips & branches, that it might rot inside the walls causing the cob inside to smell. When I've added hay into the walls instead of straw, we could smell it when it heated up.
I just started to setup the ground to do the Cob Cabin, I'm 62 years Old, I live off grid in South Central Missouri in my SUV and in a budget this will help me a lot since my income is limited, I did the dirt test as you showed and is all clay no sand. I thank you with all my heart Miguel since this will help me get out of my SUV that been hard on me specifically winter.
Hi Jose, glad you are inspired to build a Palletable Cobin. Hope you have access to a truck to bring all the sand you will need for your cob. If you are able to send me photos along the way, perhaps I can offer some assistance from afar...
I live in SW MO and I am beginning my cob journey, as well! Best of luck ❤️
Do it brother …. Work , work ,work …. Absolutely fantastic
How amazing that you are building your own home. Good for you. You’ve inspired me to want to get out othere myself.
Built a cheap diy greenhouse out of old junk/pallets. The world is too our oyster!!!!
My fam & I live in SCMO as well. Howdy neighbor!!!! You can do it!!!!! 😃♥️🙏
Most underrated cob creator on youtube! Thanks for the wonderful explanation and sharing of knowledge in this densely packed video! I will be re-watching it many times lol thanks again!!
Wow, thank you!
Finally a video that actually shows you all the details on building everything.
I met you years ago at the first seed expo in santa rosa. Then I looked you up (don't you have a book?) and was impressed at how artistic your constructions are. I have been following you since. This latest version of your work using pallets is most awesome. These videos are encouraging me to try to build a studio. Its' so kind of you to provide the step-by-step. You are an unsung asset to Norcal. Thank you, Sir Cobalot!
EDIT: I will be starting by building myself an outdoor shower! No top, and 3 sides!
FABULOUS... and great detail...
We bought land, will be planning helping our 22 year old son to build his, my she-shed, and our bigger "homestead castle"...you made it all feel very doable!
My husband and I are 62... we CAN DO THIS!
Yes, you can do this! Hope this video is helpful for you!
Thanks, I found this video a few months ago and had to give it a shot. I'm currently building a square version of this to use as a temporary living space while I build an earthship. It will eventually be my tool shed, but I'm stoked to have an affordable and quick solution to a shelter. Thanks again and keep it up.
Great! Hope your build goes well. A roof for square structure is much easier than a round cobin.
We just completed our build using this method and are so thrilled that we had this step by step guide to rely on throughout the process. We built ours with just the two of us without any prior construction experience. It wasn't always easy, but if we can do it I am sure anyone else can. We will do a full video in the coming weeks on what we wish we would have known going into this project, but this video and channel is a great start for anyone that is looking to construct her/his own economic natural home. Here is the link to our tour in English: ua-cam.com/video/pfTorMOjUo8/v-deo.html We will upload videos of our whole build in the coming days/weeks! Thanks again for sharing all your knowledge Miguel!
Hi, i would like to say big thank you for sharing all the info about your cobins. Yours videos are very inspirational. I am from the Czech republic and right now in the proces of building this cob structer. It brings me so much joy. The cool thing is that everybody is able to build it! Thanks again for spreading this low cost way of construction! Keep up the good work!
Thanks, glad you like. Hope your cobin build goes well.
Ahoj Ludku, jak to jde? Ja jsem v Anglii a chtela bych to taky vyzkouset na pritelove pozemku
Bohol Philippines is one of the island that got hit by typhoon signal #5 and houses are damage,short of materials for rebuild as nearby islands also got hit so this would be a good way of people rebuilding their homes,thanks for sharing.
This would be a great structure for emergency housing, for Sure
God bless you miguel 🙏🏼 I hope you realize what a blessing you are offering to the world by sharing your knowledge 🫶🏽 I just moved to zanzibar bought a piece of land and can’t wait to get my hands cobing 😁 you give hope to all people who want to live natural and simple 🙌🏽 Blessings to you bother 🤍
How very kind of you to say I appreciate your words. I hope my videos are helpful to your endeavors. take great care, Migz
Cob is awesome. I made a few chicken pens out of pallets and cob and it’s so cheap to do. My chickens have also been protected from this heat wave in NM. Like you mentioned too it’s also therapeutic. I am an oef oif vet and it helps with ptsd.
Coming from a background of building with Adobe, cob and light clay straw this is fantastically fast and easy. Wow! I can’t believe I never heard of it before, very inspiring, thank you!
Thank you for the tutorial. I am wanting to build a Art studio in Arizona.
My family and I are putting this method to work for our new homes at a count of 4 new tiny homes. We were going to do two with earth bag and two traditional cob. We have all the foundations in currently, but we are going to have to modify and use the downed trees on our land from last winters terrible snow storm and cut the wood slats ourselves because here pallets aren't free anymore and we do need a use for the downed trees anyway. The houses are a bit larger than these but I still believe with a bit of finesse this method should still work. The walls are thicker of course but again with some finesse the modification will just add for more insulation. Thank you so much for the step by step process this is going to save my/ our backs, legs and arms!!! Not to mention time!!! Love from Virginia!!!
Wow! Sounds like quite a project there! I hope it goes well. Id love to see photos if you get a chance. My email is cobalot9@gmail.com
Ck out Izzy Swan on you-tube for a cool, easy "chainsaw mill' meets a come along. Happy new year.
Great video, you shared extremely useful information for humanity. You have a follower from Barcelona
Thank you very much!! was a pleasure to see it and take some tips. Greetings from Uruguay!!
Subscribed, have went to dome building class, aircrete class, looking at straight cob but this really resonates. Thank you. I'm all in.
I'd been thinking about this idea for a long time and this video is exactly what I needed! You've figured out all the details and I am extra excited to start my ecovillage now. I hope we can meet someday Miguel. Thank you so much!
Hey, cool! We should talk!
@@cobalot9 Do you use 2x6's for the roof? Did you get my number that I replied to yesterday?
You are a life saver. At least you saved mune. Thanks
Real solutions for homeless
People …. Bravo !!!!
Thank you for the videos and the inspiration, a group of friends and myself are looking at making sustainable low cost housing here in South Africa, and we've landed on Cob as one of the best means available for us in South Africa, seeing this method of using pallets as WELL makes it even more feasible so thank you very much, if possible could you share those engineers specs to make it to code. As we would also love also work it to be in line with our our building regulations here.
Hi there, cool,.glad.to hear you are trying out the Palletable Cobin there in South Africa. Sure, if you send me your email to cobalot9@gmail.com I'll respond with those engineered plans...
@@cobalot9 Thank you. I just sent you a mail
Thankyou for posting. I've built with rammed earth and cob. And I've built from pallets . even built from tires. But never all together. Brilliant work. Thankyou for sharing and best wishes
Hey thanks Robin! Have you built Robin's Cobin yet?
Brilliant!! Thanks for the excellent tutorial. Now I know what I am going to put on my property!! I will be thinking of you as I enjoy my new home.
Thank you for sharing all this priceless information
You are Amazing Cob king. Thank you brother. Jah Bless
Cob King... That has a nice ring to it...
This is an excellent, particularly cost effective technique. Love the insulation inside the pallets. Save on thickness of the wall
Thanks. Yes, I agree that its a great design.
My husband of 43 years are wishing we had been interested in this when we were younger. This is so cool. Thank you Michael for your great ideas even if it's now my daydream. I'm not a spring chicken anymore but it is a wonderful idea.
Fantastic go to of how to create a sleep out or sheep milking shed or a home! Love your easy to follow video and instructions
What a nice video with such a detailed explanation
I absolutely love this! This is the next step in our evolution. Great video!
Yes!!! What a confirmation because I have been envisioning the same thing using 4x4 uprights with lightweight insulatable scaffolding between. Cobb has to be so massive in order to get the insulation factor and being able to move a tiny home seems very important with alternative structures for DIY earth and recycles projects. Thank you so much for inspiring people to create their own homes inexpensively.
Sure thing Ann! Yes, the Palletable Cobin has many benefits. Glad you are inspired to give it a try! Hope the video serves as a helpful guide.
Hi! dennis here. I live in Welland, Ontario, Canada, where in winter we still get snow, at times between October and March, perhaps. We can also have times now with climate change where we are without snow, but still have COLD! We also have folk who are homeless that I would like to see housed without them having a heap of debt.
Beautiful information video
Awesome! I love learning about this stuff
Very detailed, awesome thank you so much Miguel!! Love and Light from the Netherlands
Thank you for sharing!
I love this idea. Just one thing…. I was under the impression that you are supposed to use straw as opposed to hay to pack the walls? My brother has built several straw bail houses and he told me that the reason they use straw and not hay is the cellulose content. My understanding is that hay will break down and want to decompose over time whereas straw is more cellulose so not a problem. (?)
Yes hay is for horses straw is for houses. I always insulate my walls with straw instead of hay. Hey Will start to smell when it heats up and also it can sprout. Did you see somewhere in my video where I say that I add hay instead of straw?
Very neat and inspiring! :)
Good idea, really helped me to understand how to work with pallet and mud.
Amazing! I would love to be part of a workshop, as I want to build my own cob structure. This is so exciting.
Nice! Thanks Olivia! Hope this video is helpful for you ..
Santa Rosa??? I’m in Sonoma County too and my desire is to someday build a cobb village!!!! My husband and I are in our 70’s so it’s not something we can do as we are….but someday, according to our hope for the
future!!! But we can hope….right???? I watch your videos and try to learn all I can!!! We have 3 grown kiddos and spouses…so who knows. Love the idea of sculpting artistic expression etc…..thank you for sharing!!!
Love this project. We have lots of metal roofing remnants that we will use. What considerations should be designed in the beginning for plumbing and electric? While we are fine with a compost potty and water catch tanks we will use this as a guest house. Thanks. 🌞🌱❤️
Amazing design! Thank you.
G'Day from Australia.
Thanks' for sharing all your knowledge, inspiration and skills. We have just moved into our next home. It has a defunct inground swimming pool that I'm hopping at some stage, to convert into bespoke sunken guest accommodation! It won't be the easiest thing to achieve (as it's a kidney bean shaped pool) But myself being OK on-the-tools, and thanks to inspirational videos like yours, I'm keen to have a crack at it, I love a building challenge!
Great! So glad you like the video. Hope it helps with your building project!
Wow that sounds absolutely awesome❤❤❤❤❤
Brilliant. I needed to see this today.
Great I hope you find it helpful
How wonderful! such great work! Such helpful instructions!
Thank you so much for showing the whole process 🙏
Thank you for taking your time sharing your knowledge. I have learnt so much just watching your videos.
This is genius. Thanks for sharing this info!
Great video. Got to visit the Cob Cottage folks when I lived in Oregon. Plan to build myself a retirement home next year in the Ozarks.
You are amazing! Thank you very much for sharing your knowledge! 😊
Thank you so much !!
This is wonderful and practical. Thank you for sharing.
Awesome!! Thank you for giving us your knowledge and time, I will definitely be looking into hosting one of your clinics, you rule!
Oh wow, just found this video. This is so great! Thank you so much for taking the time to do this tutorial. I have been wanting to do a cop house for years. Just a lot of trials and stuff that are taking up so much timeare getting in the way. One day though I will do it. In the meantime I keep watching videos on how to do it and this one was excellent. Thank you so much
Hi Susan, so glad you like the video. I hope if you build your own cobn you will find this video helpful.
glad i found this video, very educational thank you!!
I built a straw bale house in Nova Scotia. I like your small scale ideas. Thanks.
Very informative! Thanks so much!
Sure thing! Hope it's helpful!
These are super cool
Thanks a lot for this wonderful practical information.
El Bolson! I was there in December and loved it!
Cool! Yeah, pretty awesome place, yeah?! Did you do some natural building there?
@@cobalot9 siii me encanto mucho! I actually didn't realize what a hub it is for natural building and only stumbled upon the Earthship Patagonia hostel while visiting for a quick day trip. Definitely need to go back next time and connect with that whole community! Pretty amazing you helped lead the minga culture and building with natural materials though!
Need to further that culture in the states and especially in joshua tree! ;)
Amazing video. Keep it up! ❤
This is awesome, thanks for this video Miguel!
Hey, thanks, glad you like. Hope you find it helpful
Nice one
This is so awesome! I'm looking to build with my boys, and this opens up more options!
Me too😁
Good man.
Wow! Beautiful! Gracias Miguel!
Hi there! You are most welcome. Hope it is helpful for you
@@cobalot9 Yes, Very inspiring! I hope to learn the skills one day to build in this style to live in. It would be great to take a workshop with you someday! Love your videos! Thanks again for sharing.
thank you so much this was super informative
thanks 🙏
Great way to.use up all those pallets now being sent to the dump. For insulation using up some of our old clothing, which is now being sent to Africa, where they do not want it. We could shred it for inusulation.
so sorta like a pallet/wattle daub. awesome
Exactly! Just way easier... The space in the pallets is a perfect recepticle for the insulation...
But also I have been learning soo much from you! I want to thank the time you put into these videos they are awesome and I love that this is given to the community to learn from! You are definitely a role model!
How nice of you to say! I appreciate your kind words. Its a pleasure for me to share what I can ..
You are awesome
This is really cool! An innovative approach to an already great building method. A few related questions though. Is the distance between the posts too wide? Not sure if the pallets would provide enough lateral strength. Is this why you build round? Wondering if a more linear design would work. Thanks for so generously posting this!
You're so cool♡
Love what you do.
Much thanks! I really appreciate it!
I've dreamt of making one of these for years! Wow...thanks for the video... I'm in North West England 🇬🇧....too wet????
Hi! Glad to hear you've been inspired to build a Palletable Cobin' there in the UK. As you probably know there are lots of Cob houses in England with all the rain so it shouldn't be a problem especially if you build the roof first with a good roof overhang. Do a lime plaster on the exterior to help protect it from the water. I'd love to see photos of your progress if you are able to share
A cob house is my dream home!! I want basically a cob castle though 😂 I want at least 5 decently sized bedrooms. My dream closet and beauty room. 2 living areas one with a sunken in floor for a conversation couch and a sun room. A corridor that’s a green house combo. I have met many builders in my area and none of them have ever heard of a cob house I met one native man that was building in this elite neighborhood a home enforced with metal bars and concrete that knew somewhat of it and he told me a story of a cousin he had that married a New Mexico native and he built her a house outta mud and left the floors as dirt and she said I’m not living in a dirt floor house you may as well take me back to Oklahoma that’s exactly what he did dropped her ass off back home with her dad 😂😂 hopefully my dream house will come true though ❤😂
Really great idea to use pallets with the cob,I would imagine it goes up very quickly compared to pure cob. Regards the video - it would be helpful to spend a lot more time demonstrating what you are explaining, would give a much better idea of what needs to be done.
Ty
Fantastic video!
Any advice for building a cob house in a place that gets lots of heavy snow? Would you just add more layers of the lime plaster?
I absolutely adore cob, do you ever have hands on workshops? I want to eventually build a cob house in florida but their building codes are extremely hard to work with. I've been told by friends. I've done research on cob for almost 4 years now and watched a million videos on it but still believe It would be more beneficial to have hands on, so I can better understand all my reading material.
Beeoooteeeful!
Miguel, much love for this!! Just genius!!! And so beautiful..
I am in love with cob for so many years now, and you have come in the perfect moment to make possible the construction of a little hut to begin with. Great, great work and spirit!! I´ll try to register my own as you did.
And if you come to Brazil one day (I hope so..), please, let me know!! There is a lot of wonderful possibilities and people here, plenty of materials, and much interest in this kind of investigations.
So, best wishes friend! Thank you so much for sharing your work!!!
Hey Neta, thanks for writing I'm glad you are enthusiastic about Cob building and like my palatable cobin design. I am curious where in Brazil you have land to build on? My buddy Joe is here with me and he goes to Brazil a lot and speaks Portuguese fluently. If you have photos of your land I'd be happy to see them take care and good luck with your project I'm open to coming down to Brazil one day. Joe is coming down next month and may be able to visit your property if it's near where he is going.
@@cobalot9
Hi Miguel, well that's good news!! I have a land in Minas Gerais near São Paulo. It is near the city of São Bento do Sapucaí, and the region is called Serra da Mantiqueira. We have water abundance and cold whether during approximatly two months, but the rest of the year the temperature is ok. My goal is to improve my skills on rocket stoves building, both for outside and inside banches and hot showers. And a cob house as well.
Where can I send some photos? By email? Where does Joe usually travel around here?
Great to hear from you 👍💓!!!
Thats great. Yes, my friend Joe is going very near there in a month or so. He would like to come visit. He had been working with me lots and has great skills .. you can send pix of your property to my email cobalot9@gmail.com
Miguel
@@cobalot9 Wow, some more great news that you friend Joe is coming soon. Let's talk more about It by email and I'll send you some photos! Best whishes 🤗🌈
Hi Miguel! I've sent you an e-mail wednesday. Please, see if you got It👍😉
Awesome video! Turns out were doing quite similar things :)
So nice to pick each others brain by displaying what we are doing. Going to chec out the rest of your chanel as well
Be well
I'm wondering : the strength of cob in earthquake zones? Tis really appeals to the artist in me. Thank you for the video.
This is amazing!
Thank you!
Do you think this method is doable for a 1200 or 1400 sqft structure?
Thank you for sharing this documentation and your enthusiasm. What do you think about a structure like this in a coastal climate of central America? Are there any good examples or do you have ideas how this could be extended, modified to be in the best resonance with the elements such as much warmer temperatures, months of heavy rains and times of high winds, possibly hurricane style? Thank you Miguel for your continued efforts to educate and inspire.
Hi, Yes, a Palletable Cobin' would be just fine in any part of the US. Just build a nice roof overhang and plaster it well
@@cobalot9 If I'm understanding you correctly, a tropical design isn't much different and you would encourage a similar design for a structure built in Central America. Thanks for clarifying.
How well would this work in the upper midwest/northeast? My plan is to use a framework of timber from trees to support the living roof, stone exterior, strawbale (set on edge) insulation and a cob interior. In your experience, do you think that it would be suitable for a climate that's much more extreme than California?
aloha Harry, Yes, you can build these in cold snowy climates for sure. There are many earthen structures built in snowy climates, especially strawbale, which has excellent insulation value.
I can see a chicken coop made this way.
Yes, or a house...
That's nice do you have a tutorial on how to make roof structures?
Could you build one of these where the winters get a lot of snow and if the winters are very harsh would it be possible to make the walls two pallets thick for more insulation? I love the accessibility and flexibility of these, plus they are so cute!
Yes, but you need a lime plaster on the exterior to protect it from the water.
Hello 👋 I just found your video. Love this simple, economic and sustainable way of building. I wanted to ask you, how do the palates and non-treated 4x4s stand to the humidity in Florida? I'm concerned about termites. Also, how about rain & wind? We have really nice hurricanes that visit us from time to time 😢
Much appreciation goes to you for sharing this creative way of building 🙏🌎
Hi Maria, glad you like my form of building. I have not had any issues with termites eating my 4x4 uprights. You can use pressure treated wood if you are concerned about this. Once it is encased in cob there is no off gassing so it's totally safe.
Very cool. Does the cob need protection from rain during construction? Like before the lime plaster goes on?
Let’s do a work party 🎉 Somoma County here
Cool! You're in Sonoma County? Where? What do you want to build? A cobin?
would this be suitable for tropical weather?
And what happens when it rains when you are doing the cobbing? It wouldnt dry mutch i suppose and it might all collapse? Do you cover it up?
Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge!
Yes it would be totally fine in tropical weather. If you are concerned about the rain, you can build the roof first before doing any cob. I have never had any of my cob collapse. If I dont have a roof on it, then sure, Id cover it up with a tarp if its raining. Once it had a good hydraulic lime plaster on it though it can handle some water on the walls.
Thank you so much for sharing your technique How’s the insulation with this method of cob? Also what do you do about plumbing? Lastly, what’s the largest structure you’ve with this method?
Hi the insulation for a pallet cob structure is pretty good to insulate from the cold but not great from insulating from the heat. The pallets can be filled with Earth or more mass. It is possible to put plumbing into the structures no problem the largest palate carb structure I built has been 350 sq ft but I don't see why you can't build bigger than that
Hi Miguel. Great instructional video. Thank you! Love the natural building material. Would this design have a high enough R-value for colder climates, such as more northern parts of Canada? Would the walls need to be thicker, perhaps doubling up on the pallets and using more straw? Also, can a wood stove be installed for heat? I’m seriously considering a cob cabin, perhaps 400~500 sf or so. For ease of construction, I plan to build a simple rectangle shape. Would straw bale with cob be warmer? Just starting to research natural building more now. Again, wondering if suitable for Canada’s colder, often wetter climate. Thanks in advance for sharing your opinions.
Hi, Yes, you could build these in Canada. You would still want to use some sort of heater though. You could double up the pallets but that would make framing in the windows and door more complicated
Yes, I would recommend Strawbale for a building that size...
@@cobalot9 Hi Miguel. Thank you for your reply! I really like the natural cob material for building. My biggest concern is making it warm enough. I expect it can be done. Canada dies get more rain, so wondering if this may be a problem, or not?
@@cobalot9 What is the maximum size you would recommend for a pallet cobin?
@@ShikokuFoodForest you can always coat the outside with cement plaster for waterproofing or just build a very large covered overhang
My children live in South Korea. Visiting, I learned that they have a lot of masonary structures. Masonry roofs as well. What I really want to mention is there type of heating. These masonry structures have there heating in the floors. They have a boiler on the outside of an outside wall with hoses that are set into the floors, Naturally, for the portion of hose that travels outside from the ceiling height efficient oil or gas boiler, toward the cement floor, said hose is covered with insulation. I mention this because I think that such an insulated, from the ground, base for a small building enclosure would also be a fire safe structure to stay warm in! By using an anti-freeze solution in the hoses and a coin operated payment for fuel, if necessary, would give the occupants the choice of how much heat or cold they chose to endure. Now, the question remains, how to make such a structure legal, and affordable, self built, & mortgage wise.
These earth/con houses are so cool. I’m building a treehouse . May incorporate your technique . Right now I’m using tree bark for the outside so it’s somewhat camouflaged.
Cool Michelle, Yes, I have wanted to build a Palletable Cobin' in a tree, just havent yet. Its a good idea... Hope you have help hauling the cob up there ..
@@cobalot9 almost finished. I’ll post finished product on my Chanel & send you the link.
Some will say it’s good from a far…, far from good.😂😂😂😂🤷♀️. Or that’s pretty cool.
@@MichelleBertsch I can't find your tree house video on your channel
@@davidhayes5382 I’ll post one tonight along with my little waterfall.
Hi I was thinking to use wood chips for insulation to fill the pallets instead of straw, Im in Hawaii and had to cut my way through dens thickets of guava trees and branches to clear a spot to build my structure, I used the bug guava logs for building but got huge piles of small branches, I could use.
Hi Sasha,sure, dried wood chips would work. I'd be concerned though if there is still moisture in the wood chips & branches, that it might rot inside the walls causing the cob inside to smell. When I've added hay into the walls instead of straw, we could smell it when it heated up.
❤️❤️❤️