why rising earth?

The title of this blog draws from my time as an apprentice at the Cob Cottage Company in costal Oregon. If you spend time with natural building folk, you'll eventually find yourself around a fire, sing silly songs about cob and natural building. Folks usually refer to these oftentimes improvised tunes as "cobsongs". I often sang..."There is a house in old coquille, they call the rising earth, it's been the work of many hands, and you know what that's worth..."

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Sod Roofed Cellar


I'm pleased that this 9x12 root cellar turned out to exhibit such a harmonious blend of building convention and natural materials. The 8" thick poured concrete foundation walls and slab floor are set against clay plaster and a sod roof. The sharp and shiny flashing contrasts with the urbanite and little funky door.

We will complete the building by lime plastering the gable walls, for durability and interior brightness. The floor of the cellar rests about 30" below grade and sits above an extensive drainage system. It rained last night, just perfect timing to get growth on the roof started after this little drought we've had in central NC.
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