Daniel Edwards wrote:Ok I am a husband and father of 3. I was very dumb up till recently and squandered all my money. However the last 3-4 years have been spent escaping debt. I live in Georgia just south of Atlanta. I am acquiring some land this year. And want to begin build my cob house there. The question I have are ones I have while waiting for a couple books to arrive.
1. Is a building permit required? If that depends on my area, where can I find that info?
2. What would I be expecting realistically to pay per square foot for a 1 story house with 5 bedrooms and 2 baths? (I make minimum wage 7.25/hr at both jobs so money is tight)
3. How much time would it take 2 men to build a house, as my friend is moving with me on the land and we each want to build a house.
Patricia Ramirez wrote:
We started work on the cob after we checked with the building dept....when we called them, no one seemed interested or concerned at that time about a permit.
After about a month had lasped the Building Inspector showed up and took measurements and stated we went over by 1 foot and now they required a drawing with dimensions and a site plan of the location of the cob building. My sisters property already contained a residence and this was going to be considered at a feed storage building for her horses.
We have a website where we documented our adventure, if you want to check it out, our website is: billygoatsgruff dot org
Daniel Edwards wrote:Thank you everyone for your input. First I will stay out of debt by not paying a mortgage and no utilities. I have means of building solar power and a wind turbine. Also planning to convert a generator over to biodiesel which I work for fast food so have an abundance of greese to use for that. Now as for camping no. She prefers we live somewhere (prolly a trailer) while building it.
And a 5bd and 2bth is no mansion.
I have seen many examples of even 2 story cobs. So to say you must do it small is not accurate. I simply want to be able to do it ourselves and be self sufficient. As for running electrics very few things will need electricity as we have alternatives for most. Plumbing isn't an issue as wells are easily dug and I have friends who run plumbing for a living. I will document my progress as I have seen many do (above mentioned). But do not make people think they must live in a shack to have a cob...if you want I can provided many sources of vobs that are very elegant and quite large. Although I do get that is the norm. I just like the versatility of cob versus other means of building.
Daniel Edwards wrote:I have means of building solar power and a wind turbine. Also planning to convert a generator over to biodiesel which I work for fast food so have an abundance of greese to use for that.
Daniel Edwards wrote:Now as for camping no. She prefers we live somewhere (prolly a trailer) while building it. And a 5bd and 2bth is no mansion.
Daniel Edwards wrote:I have seen many examples of even 2 story cobs. So to say you must do it small is not accurate. I simply want to be able to do it ourselves and be self sufficient.
Daniel Edwards wrote:Plumbing isn't an issue as wells are easily dug and I have friends who run plumbing for a living.
Daniel Edwards wrote:I will document my progress as I have seen many do (above mentioned). But do not make people think they must live in a shack to have a cob...if you want I can provided many sources of vobs that are very elegant and quite large. Although I do get that is the norm. I just like the versatility of cob versus other means of building.
"If you want to save the environment, build a city worth living in." - Wendell Berry
Brian Knight wrote:
While building codes can be a nuisance they are really just the poorest performing structures allowed by law. Local codes, in my opinion, are terribly lax compared to current international codes. People should be striving to build better than the poorest performance allowed by law. It benefits the environment and is necessary for a society that is constantly moving and exchanging property.
"If you want to save the environment, build a city worth living in." - Wendell Berry
Brian Knight wrote:
The areas of performance that benefit society as a whole are the ones I approve of the most and think need strengthening. Namely, energy efficiency, ventilation standards, bulk water resistance and structural integrity. Those are the performance issues that need minimum standards in my opinion.
"If you want to save the environment, build a city worth living in." - Wendell Berry
Brian Knight wrote:Again, there are many specific details that are silly with building codes but for the most part they improve our society, infrastructure and environment.
"If you want to save the environment, build a city worth living in." - Wendell Berry
Jay C. White Cloud wrote:
On the topic of Code...
Code (no matter the sources) is political... not architectural by any stretch of the imagination.
Brian Knight wrote:Energy Efficiency is measured with R value and blower door testing. Len is absolutely correct that a high R home that has lots of air leaks will usually be less efficient than a lower R home with less air leaks. Air leaks must be accounted for in order for insulation to do its job, otherwise its a waste. This exact detail is one of my major problems with local codes not keeping up with International codes.
You ask if a person should be allowed to build with less insulation because they keep the Thermostat lower? No, there is no guaranty they will keep it low and the home is almost guaranteed to be occupied by other families with different comfort requirements. If they want to keep it low, that's great, they are saving money and helping the environment.
Regulating R values and blower door test minimums is fairly simple
"If you want to save the environment, build a city worth living in." - Wendell Berry
Brian Knight wrote:Len, fair enough but before you go can you educate me on "mass heated"? It takes a lot of energy to heat mass. With no insulation to keep the heat in, it seems like you have to keep heating it. What am I missing?
Brian Knight wrote:I am not familiar with "first world" society members. I wonder if they include the 300,000 people in Charleston WV, who at this very moment, cant drink or shower in their own water? Maybe they include my girlfriend (who rents) and owes a 300$ monthly energy bill keeping her children warm or perhaps my elderly neighbor who recently passed away in a home that was not affordable to heat and cool.
So in closing Daniel, you are going to have to learn to play this game, learn more than you probably expected you would have to, and be prepared to loose everything if you "buck the system" in the wrong way, at the wrong time, with the wrong "official" types.
Jay C. White Cloud wrote:
Even being homeless (have you ever lived that way for any time...I have) is different in America and Canada, that it is in parts of India or Africa.
What's gotten into you? Could it be this tiny ad?
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