Let’s take a break from primitive weaponry so I can show off my cool new video on building an earth oven with cob construction.
My friend Joe Pierce at the Mosswood Farm Store in Micanopy invited me to join he and some friends as they added a new layer of cob to his amazing off-grid wood-fired bread oven.
I had to go and film so I could share it with you. Joe is very knowledgeable and his cob skills are worth checking out.
Watch the video and check out all the things this oven can do:
The book Joe recommends for anyone wanting to build earth with cob is this one:
I checked out a copy at the Mosswood Farm Store and it was impressive… some of the ovens are sheer art.
6 responses to “Building an Earth Oven with Cob Construction”
So cool. Kiko’s book is awesome. Highly recommended. He’s a friend of mine and frequent commenter on my blog. I’ve had a lot of interesting conversations with him about fire and lots of other stuff. His website is great too, check it out. http://www.handprintpress.com/authors/kiko-denzer/
I would love to talk with him. Off-camera, Joe told me that book was a must-read. Thanks for the link.
Wow-I have been tempted to go study this in North Carolina, had no idea someone local did Cobb. Any idea if they do structures like Cobb houses? Gotta get in touch with him
Oh yes – cob houses are just a larger application. Marvelous insulative power.
Thanks David for the excellent video on Joe’s oven … so cool! Hey I probably have this wrong but I’m exploring using cob on our interior walls (exterior walls will be hempcrete) and my ‘impression’ is that cob provides good thermal mass but poor insulation. These words from a neophyte so it can be taken with a grain of salt.
Just got into your site and am keen to read and see more of your explorations!
Cheers
Yeah. To up the insulation value of cob you want to slow the passage of heat through it. You can pack in unbroken bottles, perlite, extra straw, etc. Air gaps will result and keep the heat in longer.