Akua Yaa

Terry Ruth thank you so much!
haha you SHOULD write a book lol


The average day time temp is around 85 degrees farenheit. At night it will drop to 70 ( and that would be the coldest) .
The house i'm in now has a nice flow of air due to where the windows are. I never get uncomfortable to the point where i would have to look for a heat source at night i don't even sleep with a blanket and we also don't have and AC or use electric fans.
When it gets hot and dry in august and september we might turn the electric fan on occasionally but thats when the heat goes up to 110 degrees farenheit.
The humidity at night during the rainy season would be 94% at night and during the day 70%
I personally adapt quite well to the heat and sun but thats me...

I previously stated that the temps are between 70 and 80 degrees but this should be 70 and 90!!


Actually my only worry right now is the heat and rain ... i can get a sollution for any other problem but if i build a house with so much work and effort and it turns out to be an oven or melts when it rains i would be really frustrated to say the least.

@ Tobias Ber you are absolutely right.. it all seems so easy but as you actually get going obstacles occur.

I've heard from several people that a cob house in this climate would get too hot. At first i didnt see a too big of a problem but i keep hearing this thats why i have a heath concern.

The toxins in Pemba are real, although you have people eating it and using it on their face and body etc.
I guess i can use something else for the white colour i just figured it is locally and easy available. I am not sure about lime i would have to buy this just like the metakaolin.

I have 2 options right now... either go with my original plan and go for an all cob house. Climate and rainfall can be handled with the right knowledge.
OR use the plastic bottle method fill them with sand and mortar with cob. There are building done this way in many areas here in south america by mr Andreas Froese.

If i would go for cob i would use the location of the windows, overhangings, ventilation holes and the colour and shape of the roof to minimize the amount of heat that would stay in the house.
I would go for an earth floor aswell. Maybe the thickess of the walls might play a role of how hot it wiould get inside too.


If i would go for plastic bottles and cob i can also be able to do my cob furniture but the house from what i hear would be less hot inside.

Right now the more i research the more obstacles and questions rise so maybe i should just stick with my original plan. I will get back to you on the clay when i finished the tests. Are you suggesting that kaolin can be used to water proof the walls?
What are other ways to do this?
And i read about wheat flour paste, what exactly it the purpose? To strenghten or is it just to prevent dusting? I would use lineseed and beeswax on the floor to prevent scracthes and dusting.

@ Tobias Ber Thank you for the reccomendation!

@ Terry Ruth,


Very interesting questions. I called the company today, andddd they are going out of buisness they stopped suplying to the main building stores. The reason for this is because the government doesnt support local companies. They would rather import than use their own natural recourses.
They only have a few bags left... 10 kg for about 65 American Dollars.

I can get my hands on the regular pemba ( calabash chalk), they sell this in almost any store or market. Some people eat it others use it for spritiual work what ever they do so much with it here. There are many mines getting this so thats why i was drawn to it... Its clay so i might be able to use it.

I stumbled on the website and im not that good with all de difficult words regarding to the process so thats why i called them. They explained that they would sell it eventually as a ready mix but also just the metakaolin. But they did not even het to that point.
When i told them my plans they were not sure if it would work without adding concrete.

Basically what i have is clay, sand, sharp sand and the pemba or metakaolin.



They told me a company was trying to make bricks out of it and they will bring me in contact with them.



About the building site... there is a lake... my backyard is right at it. No ocean no salty air... no acidic rain, no earthquakes.
We have some winds that can destroy houses but its mostly the poor contructions with not propperly installed roofs etc. The house i live in now is good and our roof never even moved during these winds. Its a regular type of roofing which they use here (aluminium /steel)


Right now we are in our small rain season.. today its 88 degrees farenheit wind 14 mph and humidity 62%.... its a rainy day...

On average, the temperatures are always high between 70 and 80 degrees.
A lot of rain (rainy season) falls in the months: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, October, November and December.
On average, the warmest month is October.
On average, the coolest month is January.
June is the wettest month.
September is the driest month.


I also did research before writing my plan about building with plastic bottle bricks. But an cob expert told me that it would be better to just use the cob without the bottles. Bottles can move and the cob might crack. Then i thought i will do the cob like that but what a bout the heat?? Found some sollutions but still i want to build my dream house.
The same expert told me you cannot cob over concrete.. it won't breathe. So i will not be able to do my cob furniture and niches etc.
Now i'm thinking plastic bottle bricks and cob with the pemba or metakaolin IF that will make it stronger and cooler?
I would still be able to cob my furniture i dont wnt to use a mix with concrete.

How ever have not met anyone who builds with either of them here so...

Thank you for your response Robert.

I did consider the heath and found ways to keep the house cool.
Most houses here are from the colonial period and they are made from wood. Not all survived and wood is not really what i had in mind,
The people living in the interior have either cement houses by now or small wooden huts which they need to replace from time to time.

I looked at the clay we have, there is a company who sales this:

''PowerPemba Metakaolin is an admixture for cementitious materials such as concrete. Metakaolin is a high-reactivity pozzolan that increases the durability and strength of cement-based products. It is a fine off-white powder that is produced by heating refined kaolin (calcination). Unlike other pozzolans such as fly ash and silica fume, PowerPemba Metakaolin is not a by-product of an industrial process: it is produced as a pozzolan and therefore product quality and specifications can be strictly controlled.


Metakaolin enhances properties of Concrete
Concrete is a mixture of cement, coarse and fine aggregates (crushed stone, sand) and water. Through a chemical reaction of cement and water (hydration), the paste hardens and gains strength to bind each particle of sand and stone together into a rock-like mass. It is known that conventional concrete will deteriorate over time. Through the hydration a by-product called hydrated lime is produced. This hydrated lime has no binding power and makes up to 30% of the cement paste. Over time this hydrated lime is leached out of the concrete, leaving behind micro-channels, and thus weakening the concrete. Due to these micro-channels the concrete is vulnerable to outside influences like water, salt, chemicals, etc. This can lead to concrete corrosion.
Metakaolin gives the solution for this problem: With the proper replacement of cement by weight of approximately 20%, metakaolin has substantial benefits to concrete mixtures. It converts the hydrated lime into a stone-like material, therefore making the concrete denser and stronger. Metakaolin is the most reactive and therefore the strongest (and best) available pozzolan in the market. Metakaolin has been approved by the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM), the Canadian Standards Association (CSA) and the British Board of Agreement as an SCM (Supplementary Cementitious Material).''

I want to build with local available produtcs and this is something which is widely available (i think thats why they came up with the idea to mix it with cement)

It would be a more lighter substance and from what i hear it is very strong.


ANY advice is welcome!!

Hello,

Im new on this Forum so excuse me if i ask anything thas has already been asked and answered!

I am planning on building my cob house in Suriname South America.
Right now i am still in the writing and planning phase and as i write more questions keep popping up.

Is there is anyone with knowledge of:

1. Putting in the floor after the stemwall: It would seen easier for me, the floor will take time to dry and you can work on the walls. Is this teh way or shoudl you place the floor in last?

2. Amazone, Tropical Climate: I will make the roof with overhngings so the walls will stay dry for the rain season. How ever, i wanted a flat roof... i guess this won't work, i'm scared that after long periods of rain my roof will be completely melted. Has anybody have some suggestiosn for me on this? Maybe cover the roof with aluminium plates?

3. Plastering: We have a special chalk here from calebashes. Can i use this for plastering? I would like to have my walls white. So i thought i would use this chalk as a final coat and treat them so it won't dust.
I also read about wheat flour paste. Is this to harden the wall and floor or can it aslo be used to make the colour of the cob whiter or lighter?


4. Niches and Cabinets: Do I freestyle these or should i build this around/over chicken fence or wooden planks?

5. Plumbing: I will use a regular flushing toilet so i will have some pipes etc. Can i just have them going in the floor and walls without the risk of them causing cracks in the cob?

6. Floor: I want an cob/earth floor, and i have set my eyes on this beautiful red sand. I've looked at some floor recipes and i think i get it but should i wait for teh last layer before sealing to add the mix with the red sand? Will this effect the solidness of the floor?
I want to seal the floor with lineseed oil and beeswax. How ever lineseed oil might be tricky since i would have to buy this and i want to uses products i can find in my surroundings. Does anybody know any other hardening sealing oils? ( coconuts, krape oil?? )


THIS IS THE WEBSITE ABOUT THE CALEBASH CLAY: http://www.moengominerals.com/en/power-pemba/metakaolien/
ITS CALLED PIMBA OR PEMBA..

Ok that's it for now lol,

Thank you in advance!