Original Graphic

This is a picture of a Cob house.

Question

After some research, it seems that the main hindrance of using natural building materials, such as Cob, is the negative social stigma of living in a “mud” house. What do you think?

Video

Here is an excellent video on the malleability of Cob and other natural building materials.

Video

Here is a video about a popcorn stand made from Cob in Stanley Park.

 

 

Research Proposal

SUMMARY STATEMENT OF PROPOSED PROJECT

Through cheap, yet effective, building practices and design, an affordable and sustainable housing template will be produced. Building a house with cod and other sustainable materials and using designs such as placing local vegetation on the roof will provide affordable, sustainable and energy efficient housing.

PURPOSE

To provide a cost effective and sustainable template for affordable housing through sustainable building practices, designs, materials and technologies.

GOALS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE PROJECT

The ultimate goal of this project is to provide the first step towards the use of sustainable local materials, design and technology in future building practices. Although it may not adhere to everyone, this will be a step in the direction of sustainable living.

METHODOLOGY AND ANALYTICAL APPROACH

Advertising by newspaper, radio and TV will provide a sufficient base for community support and participation. The building lot will be donated by a generous person living in a rural area, but in the event that it isn’t a small compensation will be provided. The building materials will be donated by local farmers excluding any framing materials. The building material will consist of clay, sand and straw. The framing material will be donated if it is feasible. Doors and windows will be salvaged from construction sites or by community donation. The building will have two windows a door, a toilet and a sink. All electrical and plumbing components will be donated or salvaged from a construction site. The use of auto tinting windows and a composting toilet is preferred but if it is too costly will be dismissed. The construction of the build will be done by community volunteers. An electrical and plumbing tradesman will be hired at a reasonable price. If they volunteer then adequate promoting and acknowledgement will be provided in all ads relating to the project. All vegetation for the building will be by donation, most likely from Lyons Landscaping. Because this is for research purposes, the building will be less than 10m² to eliminate the building restrictions of the British Columbia Building Code. In this project original data will be collected. Once built, the building will be equipped with energy consumption monitors and internal thermal readers. Prior to the experimental use of the building, a survey will be conducted to find the average daily water consumption and what is the preferred temperature. Information regarding energy consumption and thermal loss or retention will be collected by a data collector. The test data will be collected for two months; one month, July, in the summer and one month, January, in the winter. This will reduce the cost of energy use since the land and resources such as hydro are being donated but will give general data for the summer and winter months.

PREVIOUS STUDIES

This will not fill any gap within the field of sustainable building and affordable housing. This is to provide a basis for the combination of sustainable building material and practices for affordable housing. According to Clarke Snell and Tim Callahan, one advantage of using cob is “that the materials used to make it are readily available, inexpensive, and often can be found on-site.” (Snell & Callahan, 2009, pg 219). Incorporating edible landscaping as opposed to the use of conventional lawns makes a large impact on sustainable living. Avi Friedman writes “the benefits of edible landscapes, in contrast to conventional lawns, extend far beyond the reduction of water use, energy, and chemicals. They also provide shade, curb appeal and a sense of community and promote health and leisure (Sacramento Hunger Commission 2005; Kourik 2004).” (Friedman, 2012, pg 201).

PLANS FOR DISSEMINATION OF WORK

Every step of the project, from the promotion of the project to the final data analysis, will be recorded on a blog for everyone to read.

CONTRIBUTION OF THE PROJECT TO MY ACADEMIC GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

During the course of the entire project I will do the preliminary surveying. I will blanket the city asking random Kamloops residents questions about their energy consumption. I will campaign the project to get volunteers to help aid in the production of the building materials (e.g. the cod). I will visit rural residents will also arrange the building schedule for the plumber and the electrician. All outside materials such as the framing lumber and local vegetation I will pick up to save on delivery charges. My overall academic objective is to obtain original data on sustainable housing using local sustainable building materials while using a sustainable building design and apply them to affordable housing.

BUDGET

The building will be less than 10m². For most of the materials used in this project, it would be preferable to use salvaged items such as doors and sinks. The materials for the cob will be by donation. The framing of the building will consist of SPF 2x6 lumber. At Home Depot, a SPF 2x6x10 is priced at $5.95. A rough estimate of the total length for the lumber is 300ft. So at $5.95 per 10ft of board, the total cost comes to $178.50.  If it is practicable, a RavenBrick’s smart windows would be preferred over salvaged or donated windows. On RavenBrick’s website suggested that the windows could cost $25 per square foot. Two windows would be sufficient so a rough estimate would be $225 for the windows.  The cost of a temperature/humidity monitor is $200from Global Industrial. The energy consumption monitor will cost roughly $200 and $400 will be allotted for the data recorder. $200 will be used for the wiring, for the lights and receptacles, etc. The rough estimate comes to $1,403.50.

Welcome!

The purpose of this blog is to share my research as I look into the possibility of providing a cost-effective and sustainable template for affordable housing through sustainable building practices designs, materials and technologies.

Hopefully what I find out as I research these methods will prove useful to other Architectural and Engineering Technology students.