Hello new to the forum and have been doing a lot of research on cob building. Does anyone know any architect or structural engineer near North West Fl. I am trying to keep it as cost effective as possible and plan on building it with family and maybe volenteers. I know that the roads in the neighborhood are clay so finding that won't be a problem and most likely have it right on the property.

Jeffrey Howard wrote: I know that the roads in the neighborhood are clay so finding that won't be a problem and most likely have it right on the property.

Have you dug any test holes to confirm that? I haven't spent much time in the panhandle, but I was born and raised in central FL and have been all over much of the state at one point or another. Through all that time I don't recall ever seeing anything but sugar sand or limestone. The clay for the roads was most likely trucked in from somewhere else. I'm old enough to remember a time when central Florida had many dirt roads paved with clay (before they were paved over with asphalt.) The street I grew up on was a red dirt road. If your life depended on it you wouldn't be able to find enough clay in the rest of the neighborhood to even make an ash tray with.

You would think that they wouldnt spend the extra money on clay if it wasn't close/cost effective may as well pave it. I know for a fact there is a lot of clay in north Fl and south GA I have lived in central fl my whole life too and I have been to every end of this state. I just google searched it and where I'm building in the panhandle there is a lot of red clay. I know I need to still do a soil test and will be driving the 6 hour drive to check out the property and get a soil sample during the upcoming holiday weekend. Any tips on how to get a soil sample? Also if I get this figured out this neighbor hood is great for permies people, the lots are no smaller then 1 acre some as low as $900 it's called compass lake in the hills

Just making sure. Like many people, many soils aren't always what they appear to be on the surface. While you may find that having to truck in clay might still be cheaper than buying more mainstream building materials, if your budget is super tight even that might be too much. The process of taking a soil sample is described pretty well here. Be sure to take at least 3 or 4. An even half-dozen would be better.

A question about the cheap land. Are the lots part of a planned community. Do you have to hire them to build or service it. Are there condo fees or something similar. Sure sounds cheap. A decent acre near Victoria costs a few hundred thousand.

Thanks, it is a planned community so no one will ever have less than a acre it is mostly undeveloped. There is houses here and there and the power is only run to the existing houses so if you are more then the next lot over you have to pay the power company to run it the extra way. Here is the link ( http://www.compass-lake.com )to the community and a pic of all the land and lots most if not all of the purchased properties are marked in numerical order of purchase.

If you are viewing the pic from a iPhone I had to save it to zoom in to see the numbers. Also the south side of the community boarders Florida water management property so nothing can be built there.