Sensationalist rage bait about cob houses

A friend of a friend sent me this YouTube video that I think y’all might get a kick out of

A worthwhile video
Actually called 'This Home Costs $300 to Build and $0 to Heat FOREVER. Why Is It Banned?'

That video's been in my "Watch Later" queue for a week or so. I believe $0 to heat, but I don't buy $300 to build. Guess I'll have to watch it and find out.

$300 does seem low, but it would be possible if you did not purchase the following;
- electrical
- plumbing
- water tanks
- window framess
- glass
- doors
- flooring

The video is not about cob, instead the video is about adobe, adobe bricks.  

I do not have sound on my computer so I can only guess.

The video shows that it cost 0.03 cents a brick for adobe bricks.

Th video shows that there is no a/c and I bet they are talking off grid.

Maybe there are no door or windows?  No plumbing, solar, etc.

It might be banned in California though it is certainly not banned where I live in Texas ....

It actually is $300, but for square foot if owner built with some hired help,  world top materials, years of study and research and extreme sacrifice.

Anne, California has adobe chapter in its building codes. You need engineers plans (and you need it even for custom sticks here).

I spent around $300 for protective sheeting to protect materials and tons of tools from the rain.

Watched the video last night.

$300 was the estimated cost just for the materials to build the walls, translated into our money since the specific home in question was built a thousand years ago. The home itself did not cost $300, nor would a comparable home built today using the same methods and materials.

The main content of the video is about how natural building methods like Adobe and cob have been systematically suppressed by various boards, committees, lobbies, etc. each pursuing their own financial incentives.

The video ends on a positive note, that spreading the word and experimenting with these methods is gradually beginning to reverse the trend.

But I think this is ironic, because in my opinion few things are as harmful to the cause of promoting natural building (or really any cause) as being deceptive about its costs.

I also disagree with the multiple times the video said that rules against natural building methods had "nothing to do with safety". Residential building codes are indeed partially compromised by financial incentives, but not totally, and I believe those codes are at least partly responsible for the decrease in house fires, structural failures, etc. that used to be relatively common. We should never take safety and structural integrity for granted. There are other parts of the world where amateur building prevails, and in those parts of the world build problems affecting safety are relatively abundant.

In that regard, the video falls prey to black and white thinking as well, which in my opinion is another stumbling block on the path to promoting natural building.

So over all, I'd say the video was interesting, and I was happy to see the information about the lady who is helping people build with Adobe, the three US states where it's easy to do so, but its assessment of cost and its conclusions about building codes were not conducive to the goal of getting more people to actually build with, or be able to build with, Adobe and other natural building methods.

Couldn't have said it better, so I will agree wholeheartedly with Cristo and Ned.

Anne,  I bet there is a solution for you to have sound.....does your computer include a headphone jack? Having only video, no audio, is only half the fun

Rico, thanks for the tip. My computer just might have that as I can feel two places that might be for a jack.

Dear hubby recently gave me some ear buds(?).  

What would happen if I just stuck them in what I can feel?

Try that, it should snap into place quite easily.  If headphones spring to life, good.
You also have options like 6 bucks for a tiny speaker there. ........ up to you