Suzanne's Pumice Cob House
Donation protected
I am a 56 year old student of life. I am the proud mother of the most wonderful young man. I work as a Nurse and as an Acupuncturist. I live in rural Upstate/Western New York and I believe we need to be gentle with this earth.
I lost my house due to a catastrophic failure of the septic system… Yes, I had sewage everywhere. I have studied and researched natural building techniques for at least nine years and I have decided to rebuild my house using an environmentally friendly material and process: Cob.
Cob is an ancient technique of green building using on-site, clay soil as the base, and sand and straw for structure and strength. Basically, the clay holds the sand together and the straw acts as rebar distributing sheering forces. This medium allows the builder to sculpt a house in any way you would like, relying on the mass of the walls for strength and also as a temperature regulator. It is similar to adobe, but is monolithic instead of many bricks.
After a great deal of research on line and talking with experts, I decided to use pumice in place of the more traditional sand in the outer 1/3 of the walls because we have very cold winters, and pumice is a better insulator. It is also super strong -- because it is sharper than sand, it holds the clay better. The center 1/3 of the walls will be pumice and sand in equal portions, so as not to have a possible fracture line between the pumice cob and the sand cob. The inner 1/3 of the walls will be traditional sand cob. The inner walls will take advantage of sand cob's ability to hold heat and radiate it back out into the living space, reducing the need for winter heat. By the same properties in the summer it will hold the nighttime coolness and radiate that during the day, keeping the house cool.
My plan for this house will also have a stone basement for storing rain in the collection tank, and an attached walk out below ground greenhouse
I plan on using an insulated, reciprocal roof, as it is beautiful and strong.
The money will be used to pay for supplies that need to be imported, and the things that I lack the equipment for, or strength, or skills to accomplish on my own. I have saved up and paid for some of this already but I’m not a good candidate for a traditional mortgage, and wanting to complete this soon has made raising money imperative. Please see the financial info for details.
This is my dream: to build a house with little toxic impact to the earth, using time worn techniques that will last long after I am gone. I will offer free weekend building workshops to anyone who is interested to come and learn along side me. My hope is that this project will inspire my neighbors to build affordable, green housing, instead of buying the quick, cheap double-wide manufactured home that is so toxic, doesn't last and is terribly inefficient to cool and heat.
Realizing my dream and having a home once again will be the best thing ever! Being a part of something so fun and beautiful and good for the planet makes my daily living, every breath, a JOY!
Anyone who funds me who wishes to visit or help build -- you are welcome. If you cannot afford to contribute, you are still welcome to come see the project or offer some physical assistance. When the house is finished, I will gladly offer any of you a chance to spend a few days in the house. Maybe it will inspire you to build one yourself! Please contact me if you wish to stay in the house as a thank you for donating.
I have posted construction pictures to date. I will update the pictures soon and hope to also have a video explaining the process. House plans will be posted as soon as I figure out how....
I lost my house due to a catastrophic failure of the septic system… Yes, I had sewage everywhere. I have studied and researched natural building techniques for at least nine years and I have decided to rebuild my house using an environmentally friendly material and process: Cob.
Cob is an ancient technique of green building using on-site, clay soil as the base, and sand and straw for structure and strength. Basically, the clay holds the sand together and the straw acts as rebar distributing sheering forces. This medium allows the builder to sculpt a house in any way you would like, relying on the mass of the walls for strength and also as a temperature regulator. It is similar to adobe, but is monolithic instead of many bricks.
After a great deal of research on line and talking with experts, I decided to use pumice in place of the more traditional sand in the outer 1/3 of the walls because we have very cold winters, and pumice is a better insulator. It is also super strong -- because it is sharper than sand, it holds the clay better. The center 1/3 of the walls will be pumice and sand in equal portions, so as not to have a possible fracture line between the pumice cob and the sand cob. The inner 1/3 of the walls will be traditional sand cob. The inner walls will take advantage of sand cob's ability to hold heat and radiate it back out into the living space, reducing the need for winter heat. By the same properties in the summer it will hold the nighttime coolness and radiate that during the day, keeping the house cool.
My plan for this house will also have a stone basement for storing rain in the collection tank, and an attached walk out below ground greenhouse
I plan on using an insulated, reciprocal roof, as it is beautiful and strong.
The money will be used to pay for supplies that need to be imported, and the things that I lack the equipment for, or strength, or skills to accomplish on my own. I have saved up and paid for some of this already but I’m not a good candidate for a traditional mortgage, and wanting to complete this soon has made raising money imperative. Please see the financial info for details.
This is my dream: to build a house with little toxic impact to the earth, using time worn techniques that will last long after I am gone. I will offer free weekend building workshops to anyone who is interested to come and learn along side me. My hope is that this project will inspire my neighbors to build affordable, green housing, instead of buying the quick, cheap double-wide manufactured home that is so toxic, doesn't last and is terribly inefficient to cool and heat.
Realizing my dream and having a home once again will be the best thing ever! Being a part of something so fun and beautiful and good for the planet makes my daily living, every breath, a JOY!
Anyone who funds me who wishes to visit or help build -- you are welcome. If you cannot afford to contribute, you are still welcome to come see the project or offer some physical assistance. When the house is finished, I will gladly offer any of you a chance to spend a few days in the house. Maybe it will inspire you to build one yourself! Please contact me if you wish to stay in the house as a thank you for donating.
I have posted construction pictures to date. I will update the pictures soon and hope to also have a video explaining the process. House plans will be posted as soon as I figure out how....
Organizer
Suzanne Cornell
Organizer
Chemung, NY
