Use cob to fill between logs on WOFATI - PEP BB naturalbuilding.sand.cobfill

Ok, I did this one yesterday at the PEP1 event while working up at Allerton Abbey.  I was working alone so I couldn't get pictures of myself doing the stuff.  Plus there was muddy cob all over me so I didn't want to dirty up my phone.

Low Grade Cob is just dirt and water.  No straw and no additional clay slip.  Or at least the dirt here has enough clay for it to work.  I sifted the dirt through a 1/2" hardware cloth sifter and mixed it in a bucket with a small amount of water.  

Normally this BB would be easy, slapping cob up in the gaps/chinks of a log wall as you build a wofati.  In this case, the wofati was already built and the cob had to squeeze between log gaps and/or through 1" holes to get to the other side of the wall.  I make a plunger tool that kind of helped.  Anyone else doing this under "normal" conditions will probably get the job done in 1/3rd the time since access will be much better.  I also used a big pastry bag to squirt the cob into gaps.  I made it extra soupy so it could be plunged/pastried into place.  (Hint) If anyone else is doing this same job at the abbey, sift your soil down to 1/4" or smaller so the pebbles don't plug up your applicator(s).

I did about 22' of linear cob on this project.  I photoshopped red lines on each log above where the cob was applied so you can see where it worked.  I skipped the middle of the wall since there's a big post on the dirt side of the wall that creates a huge void.  Filling that will probably take a 2-3" hole at the top and a couple wheelbarrow loads of sloppy cob and a funnel contraption.

I'm late to looking up all these BBs... I did the top 3-4 gaps in the left hand wall in your picture during the 2019 ATC and could have gotten credit if I had taken pictures to document it, DOH!

Made some cob to fill the logs in at the wofati known as Cooper Cabin. Covered well over 20ft. Now the bathroom will have a bit more privacy.

I completed this badge bit as part of the PJT. I chinked in 22 feet on the walls of the Cooper Cabin. It reached 106 degrees today so I was very grateful to be able to work in the blessed cool of the Wofati.

Here is my submission for the Natural Building - Sand - Make 12 Adobe Bricks BB.

To get certified for this BB, I:
  - used low-grade cob as filler between logs in a wofati (Cooper Cabin)
  - a minimum of 20 linear feet of filler (Five runs that measured about 4'-8" each = ~23 linear feet)

To document the completion of the BB, I have provided the following:
  - the before pic
  - the cob being prepped for use
  - the cob being put into place
  - the final result

Hello Fellow permies

To get certified for this BB I:
 - used low-grade cob up at Cooper Cabin to fill in some walls! Each wall was 5'3" and I did four of them to total 21'!


To document the completion of the BB, I have provided the following:
 - pics before of mixture and me mixing
 - the wall before, me applying,  and after!

the clay and tarp before mixing


stompy stompy!!!


wall before


smeary smeary


and the four rows of cobey cobey!

I completed this BB at the SKIP 2023 event. I filled space between the logs of one of the walls in Cooper Cabin--a bit more than 20 linear feet.

 - the before pic (with hand gesturing to the top row of the 4 I filled)
 - the cob being prepped for use
 - the cob being put into place
 - the final result
 - a measuring tape showing the wall length is a bit over 5' (so 4 rows was a little more than 20 linear feet)

Thanks!

I made and used cob for the first time today to fill between logs at Wheaton Labs.