Cob House Roof Construction

The top part of the compressed earth block parapet wall is lined with a layer of baked brick.

Cob house roof construction.

Once the perimeter of the roof was covered with sod we covered the rest of the roof. To make vents in the cob walls bury a three inch pipe running through the cob. The top and bottom of this space need to be vented out of the roof through the cob walls. Doing the edge was the trickiest part since i had the fold the epdm underneath itself and leave a little bit exposed to protect the edge logs.

The staircase and parapet walls are made with the same blocks placed on their 4 inch edge put together with mud lime mortar. Unlike traditional houses which can got up very quickly cob is a slow process so be prepared. Some are built with moss in the roof and some with a tarp type fabric for more of a teepee effect. The roof can be constructed the same way and many are made with a flowing roof.

A cob home has a lot of benefits the one down side is that it s very labor intensive and takes a good while. Since i already wrote about cutting sod for my roof i will describe how the sod was loaded. Since you aren t using a linear building material like lumber many cob homes are made with curves bumps and flowing lines. Set the foundation for your cob house.

Using the same mix as cob the cmb s are made on the construction site itself.