J Kyriacou

Hi Linda,

Thanks for joining the conversation, I'm also in North London, Camden to be more precise. I'd very much like to meet up I'll PM you with my details so we can arrange something.

Hi,

Yes, I'll take some more measurements, the roof must have a slope to it, and I see now my numbers don't add up on each side...

Another clarification I should make is regarding the four 47cm elements on the diagram - they aren't windows, they're protruding bits of the brick wall, one brick deep. I think they used to be supports for a previous roof. I will post new diagrams (I might even try to use a computer to make them this time!) including a side elevation.

Andrew, would you be able to point me in the direction of a project that uses "wall of used wooden pallets stuffed with light straw clay then finished with clay plaster"?

Thanks again

Hi again,

Sorry for the delay and apologies for the quality of the sketching. The dotted line indicates the boundary of the roof, and the red lines are where I would like the new walls to be. I am dividing the space inside, the smaller left space will be for tools and supplies, the right space will be a general purpose room.

The top view image shows where I would like the doors to the spaces to be, probably not very important right now.

I am intending to use corrugated plastic sheeting for the additional section of roof required. I will put a drain around it, and have the roof at a downwards angle, overhanging the new wall. Any thoughts on that?

Jay C, you are correct that the primary philosophy here is to recycle and remain as natural (and cheap within reason) as possible. I am not attached to the idea of any particular building method, nor am I trying to necessarily be traditional in my approach.

Thanks again

Thanks for the responses!

Jay C, I've attached some pictures, you'll have to envision it without the ivy, as it will be getting trimmed back very shortly. I'm probably going to leave it on the top of the roof though.

Andrew, I'm intending to use wooden pallets inside the structure for built-in shelving and some other furniture - I hadn't considered them for the wall, but it sounds promising.

One of the reasons I was interested in using cob is that I was intending to embed glass bottles in the wall to allow lots of light through. My building is four stories high, and it blocks the direct sunlight for much of the day. The other is that I wanted to build some curves (extending the wall out a little to make the inside space larger), though I suppose there's no reason I couldn't fashion a curve using pallets.. right?

I'll get a sketch of what I'm imagining up soon.

Thanks again guys

Hey everyone, brand new to the forum, but loving what I've seen so far

I'm based in London, UK and I have a small (6mx8m) concrete 'garden' surrounded by brick walls on three sides. Half the garden is given over to a shed, which is nothing more than a flat roof that covers the full width and half the length of the garden, and a 'wall' made of bits of old doors nailed together...

I'm intending to pull down the wall and replace it with something more attractive and insulating, and turn the shed into a useful, proper indoor space. I got very excited about the idea of cob when I learnt about it recently, but I'm not sure that it's appropriate here. Beyond the issue of cheaply sourcing straw, clay and sand in the city, I have a few concerns that hopefully someone here can help me with:

1. This won't be a load bearing wall - Does this matter for stability?

2. The ground is concrete - Is this an issue in anyway?

3. Is cob a poor choice for some other reason?

Any advice will be greatly appreciated, thank you for reading